There have been 2 wind only takeouts that I can recall. HomeWise and Florida Peninsula. HomeWise failed miserably and Florida Peninsula seems to have everything together. I guess it’s a coin toss isn’t it?
Congrats, great move, you just removed 31,000 policies from the books however since the posting of this article 32,000 new policies came through the door.
Call your insurance agent as I did, I am not comfortable with a start up company. My agent said they were notified 3 weeks before Citizens shed policies to Weston and at that time the agent could find nothing on the company; it had no ratings or anything. The beginning of May all agents in Florida who submit applications to Citizens were provided with a “Confidential” document on FAQ’s about Weston that was created by Weston…as of May 20th Weston now has a Am Best Rating of B…how does a company go from no rating to B rating in under 30 days? Says to me they are using the policy premiums that they’ve negotiated with Citizens as the basis of their financial strength. I don’t know about anyone else but this scares the hell out of me. By the way…my agent sent me the Confidential Document, yours can too!
My name is Michael Lyons, and I am the President & Chief Operating Officer of Weston Insurance Company. Your comments contain a number of false and misleading statements. First and foremost is your assertion Weston Insurance Company uses premiums as policyholder surplus. Weston Insurance Company entered the Florida property insurance market with US$50,000,000.00 of statutory policyholder surplus (i.e. unencumbered capital). Additionally, Weston has in excess of US$1,000,000,000.00 of claims paying resources, primarily through its reinsurance program structure. As of the date you cite above, Weston had received ratings from 2 different rating agencies, both of which satisfy the underwriting requirements of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Policyholders can visit http://www.weston-ins.com/About.aspx to learn more about Weston’s financial stability rating and statutory policyholder surplus. Weston’s Agent FAQ is not given to “all agents in Florida who submit applications to Citizens.” The FAQ was distributed to a limited number of agencies which signed an Authorization & Appointment Agreement with Weston, and was marked as “confidential” since it contains sensitive information including agency compensation.
Like you, I share a natural skepticism when it comes to new companies, but unlike you I draw the line at spreading false information and would appreciate you refraining from continuing to do so. Thank you.
Sounds like a disaster in the making, the people of Florida will be holding the bag.
There have been 2 wind only takeouts that I can recall. HomeWise and Florida Peninsula. HomeWise failed miserably and Florida Peninsula seems to have everything together. I guess it’s a coin toss isn’t it?
Congrats, great move, you just removed 31,000 policies from the books however since the posting of this article 32,000 new policies came through the door.
Tried to research this new company and it principals.
Got nothing.
http://www.weston-ins.com
I also had this problem. Couldn’t find much.
I’m sure they’re Demotech Rated A!!
i am one affected by this. have a residential wind only policy. should i opt-out and stay with citizens or just let it go over to weston?
Call your insurance agent as I did, I am not comfortable with a start up company. My agent said they were notified 3 weeks before Citizens shed policies to Weston and at that time the agent could find nothing on the company; it had no ratings or anything. The beginning of May all agents in Florida who submit applications to Citizens were provided with a “Confidential” document on FAQ’s about Weston that was created by Weston…as of May 20th Weston now has a Am Best Rating of B…how does a company go from no rating to B rating in under 30 days? Says to me they are using the policy premiums that they’ve negotiated with Citizens as the basis of their financial strength. I don’t know about anyone else but this scares the hell out of me. By the way…my agent sent me the Confidential Document, yours can too!
Terri,
My name is Michael Lyons, and I am the President & Chief Operating Officer of Weston Insurance Company. Your comments contain a number of false and misleading statements. First and foremost is your assertion Weston Insurance Company uses premiums as policyholder surplus. Weston Insurance Company entered the Florida property insurance market with US$50,000,000.00 of statutory policyholder surplus (i.e. unencumbered capital). Additionally, Weston has in excess of US$1,000,000,000.00 of claims paying resources, primarily through its reinsurance program structure. As of the date you cite above, Weston had received ratings from 2 different rating agencies, both of which satisfy the underwriting requirements of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Policyholders can visit http://www.weston-ins.com/About.aspx to learn more about Weston’s financial stability rating and statutory policyholder surplus. Weston’s Agent FAQ is not given to “all agents in Florida who submit applications to Citizens.” The FAQ was distributed to a limited number of agencies which signed an Authorization & Appointment Agreement with Weston, and was marked as “confidential” since it contains sensitive information including agency compensation.
Like you, I share a natural skepticism when it comes to new companies, but unlike you I draw the line at spreading false information and would appreciate you refraining from continuing to do so. Thank you.
Thank you Mr Lyons.