Florida insurance regulators have placed United Property & Casualty Insurance Co. (UPC) into receivership, declaring the company insolvent. The company will be liquidated.

The company said mounting and higher than expected claims from Hurricane Ian pushed them into insolvent.

In a letter to state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, interim Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworksy said he would seek court approval to place UPC into receivership.

At one point, St. Petersburg-based UPC was once one of the larger carriers Florida with more than 180,000 policies in force, according to a report by the Insurance Journal website.

In August, UPC said it would exit stop writing homeowners insurance policies in Florida. In early February, Slide Insurance Co. based in Tampa, agreed to pick up to 72,000 of UPC’s policies.

Slide will not be liable for claims filed before Feb. 1 by former UPC customers. The insolvency and receivership likely will end up with the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, which will need to to step in to help pay UPC’s claims.

United Property & Casualty is the latest casualty to Florida’s property-insurance market. In 2022, the state placed six insurers into receivership due to insolvencies.

For the entire Insurance Journal report, click here.