Florida OIR Grants Permit to Startup Sypher Insurance and Takeouts for Others

Sypher Insurance Exchange, the startup property insurer that the Florida Association of Insurance Agents invested in two years ago, has won a permit to operate from the Florida Office of Insurance Agents.

The Tampa-based reciprocal now has until mid-May to file additional documentation, showing bank deposits and other information, with OIR before receiving a certificate of authority, reads a March 16 consent order signed by OIR and company officials.

The company represents that it has “the required minimum surplus on hand to satisfy” statutory requirements, the order notes. Company officials said in 2024 that they had planned to raise at least $35 million before a late 2024 launch date. Unlike several other startups in Florida, Sypher is not going the Citizens Property Insurance takeout route but is sticking to a “100% organic new-business strategy,” Sypher’s Chief Operating Officer Crystal McInnis said Wednesday.

Sypher said more information will be provided when OIR approves the certificate of authority, according to AM Best, which reported the permit approval this week.

The 2,000-member FAIA made headlines in spring 2024 when leadership voted to become a minority stakeholder in Sypher, investing an undisclosed amount. The idea is to keep insurance agents in the game and help bring more capacity to the rebounding Florida market.

Also last week, Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky approved more takeouts of Citizens policies, including: as many as 10,000 personal residential policies for One Alliance North America; up to 100,000 residential policies for Manatee Insurance Exchange; up to 30,000 residential policies for Slide Insurance; and up to 50,000 residential policies for Southern Oak Insurance.

More About Sypher and FAIA’s Investment

Topics InsurTech Florida