Tampa insurtech startup continues to acquire policies from rivals

Slide, an insurtech startup founded by former Heritage Insurance Holdings CEO Bruce Lucas, has acquired exclusive renewal rights for more than 91,400 Florida homeowners insurance policies, representing $292 million in annual premiums, from UPC Insurance, which has ceased operations in Florida.

According to a news release, the acquisition brings Slide’s total in-force premium value to $560 million. In March 2022, Slide acquired $400 million worth of premiums from Orlando-based St. Johns Insurance Co., which ceased operations after a ratings agency downgraded it.

Slide also announced that it will accept new business, making it the first Florida-based insurer to do so in 2023 as the industry struggles to rebound from last year’s hurricane-related losses and the Florida Legislature’s reluctance to address sky-high attorney fees and frivolous lawsuits.

"We are accelerating our expansion in Florida given the rising demand from homeowners who need better, more affordable insurance options,” Lucas states in the release. “The December legislation passed by the Florida Legislature has given us confidence that now is the time to expand our presence in the state. I firmly believe that these reforms will work. The reforms apply to all the newly issued replacement policies, giving Slide a sizable underwriting advantage over the legacy Florida market.”

Lucas, who serves as Slide’s CEO, also says UPC’s “impressive intellectual property and immense data … will add to our data-driven technological advantage.”

In 2022, its first full year in business, Slide, the release states, closed a record-breaking $105 million Series A funding round, recruited more than 100 employees and generated more than $600 million in revenue.

United Insurance Holdings Corp., UPC’s St. Petersburg-based parent company, reported gross revenue of $634.53 million in 2021, down from $846.66 million in 2020 — a decrease of more than 33%.