Yet another property insurance carrier has been approved to do business in Florida, this one a sister company to Monarch National Insurance, based in Tallahassee.
Viceroy Preferred Insurance Co. is at least the 15th new insurer to enter the Florida residential market since state lawmakers in 2022 and 2023 enacted major reforms that have tamped down runaway claims litigation, Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky said. He gave tentative approval to Vision Insurance Exchange earlier this month, marking the sixth new residential insurer this year.
The fresh competition in the market prompted soundbites from regulators.
“Florida’s insurance market continues to strengthen and improve because of the legislative reforms we have put in place,” Blaise Ingoglia, Florida’s new chief financial officer and former state senator, said in a statement Thursday. “Floridians now have more choices for their insurance carriers. More options allow competition in the marketplace and help to drive costs down.”
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation signed off on a consent order for Viceroy in May, noting that Viceroy leadership was granted a permit to form a company. If the group complied with requirements, including minimal cash deposits, adequate reinsurance, articles of incorporation and a disaster response plan, it would be eligible for a certificate of authority.
The company appears to have complied. Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky said in a bulletin Thursday that Viceroy had been approved to write polcies. The OIR website shows a license was granted Aug. 1 for the firm, which can now offer homeowners’ multiperil and dwelling fire policies.
Viceroy was formed with 500,000 shares of common stock, with Monarch holding 90,000 of those shares. Hale Partnership Capital Management will hold another 10,000 shares, the consent order notes.
Hale Partnership, a hedge fund based in Charlotte, is led by Steven Hale, who became president of Monarch National in 2022 when his investment fund pumped $15 million into Monarch. Monarch was a subsidiary of FedNat, which went through restructuring that year and eventually was deemed insolvent. FedNat was liquidated in September 2022, becoming one of a dozen Florida insurers to go under during the worst of the Florida property insurance litigation crisis.
Hale Partnership became the majority owner of Monarch in May 2022, and Monarch assumed about 83,000 of FedNat’s Florida policies.
David Lockhart is listed as president and chief financial officer of Monarch and now is president of Viceroy, according to the consent order and Monarch information. He was previously CFO at Florida-based Security First Insurance and Cabrillo Holdings.
Other new property insurance companies approved since early 2023, and offering homeowners or condominium policies, according to OIR:
- Vision Insurance Exchange (tentatively approved Aug. 7, 2025)
- Incline National Insurance
- Apex Star Reciprocal Exchange
- Mangrove Property Insurance
- Patriot Select (reformed; formerly Anchor P&C Insurance)
- Tailrow Insurance Exchange
- ASI Select Insurance
- Florida Insurance and Reinsurance
- Ovation Home Insurance Exchange
- Trident Reciprocal Exchange
- Orange Insurance Exchange
- Orion180 Select Insurance
- Mainsail Insurance
- Geovera Insurance
- Condo Owners Reciprocal Exchange
Top photo: A viceroy butterfly, similar in appearance to a monarch butterfly. (Adobe Stock image)
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