This Week in Programs: Landlord & Homeowners

Liberty Mutual's Comparion agents are selling Sola's standalone wind and hail cover in 12 states. Sola Insurance and Comparion Insurance Agency announced on September 16 that Comparion agents now offer Sola's standalone wind and hail coverage to homeowners in 12 Midwestern and Southern states; Sola writes in 16 states. The partnership began in July 2026, so the announcement formalizes distribution already under way. (GlobeNewswire)

→ For MGA operators and wholesalers: A Liberty Mutual-owned agency channel placing a third-party wind and hail product in 12 states is the distribution a peril-carve-out program needs when the homeowners carrier raises wind deductibles, and Comparion's footprint is the list to compare against your own filed states.

Bamboo's Greenshoots Re sidecar has taken in $400 million of third-party funds. Artemis reported on September 15 that Bamboo's S-1 says Greenshoots Re has attracted $400 million of third-party capital in total, a figure Artemis notes differs from the roughly $175 million facility size Bamboo cited in July; it backs four fronting carriers, including Sutton National, Accredited and MS Transverse. Bamboo also holds a $100 million Greengrove Re catastrophe bond. The filing says the structures "reflect strong demand from alternative capital providers and enhance the breadth and flexibility of our capacity ecosystem." (Artemis)

→ For fronting carriers: Sutton National, Accredited and MS Transverse sit between Bamboo and $400 million of sidecar money.

American Coastal made its AmRisc managing agency agreement evergreen. American Coastal Insurance Corporation said on September 14 that it restructured its exclusive managing agency agreement with AmRisc, effective July 1, 2026, removing the fixed January 1, 2029 expiry and replacing it with automatic one-year renewals and a 48-month notice requirement for termination. AmRisc has been American Coastal's exclusive partner on Florida commercial residential business, meaning condominium and homeowners associations, apartments and assisted living facilities, since 2007, and the book "has been profitable in every year since inception." CEO Brad Martz said the change "puts that partnership on a permanent footing." No fee or commission terms were disclosed. (GlobeNewswire)

→ For program administrators and PE-VC investors: A 48-month termination notice turns an AmRisc contract that ended on January 1, 2029 into a four-year minimum runway, which is how a program administrator's commission stream gets valued as durable in a sale or a financing.

Moody's buyer survey puts 2027 property reinsurance prices most likely down 7.5% to 15%. Moody's said in survey results published September 16 that reinsurance buyers most likely expect property reinsurance prices to fall 7.5% to 15% in 2027, with 86% of respondents expecting declines against 74% a year earlier. Moody's said "reinsurers can still generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for property reinsurance and this will drive competition for 2027." In a companion release on September 14, 28% of buyers said they expect to increase their use of alternative capital in 2027. (Artemis, Artemis)

→ For MGA operators: Moody's 7.5% to 15% band is the range to write into a January 1, 2027 quota share negotiation, and the jump from 74% to 86% of buyers expecting cuts means your fronting carrier's reinsurers are hearing the same number.

Allstate's August catastrophe losses of $748 million took its aggregate year to $3.15 billion. Allstate reported $748 million of pre-tax catastrophe losses for August ($591 million after tax) from 21 events, half of them from a single wind and hail event, and Artemis calculated on September 17 that its pre-tax catastrophe losses for the aggregate risk period that began in April now total $3.15 billion. The $150 million Class B of Sanders Re III 2023-1 attaches at $4.78 billion and exhausts at $5.28 billion, covering all states except Florida, and a separate $1 billion aggregate cover attaches at $8.5 billion. (Artemis)

→ For reinsurers/ILS: Allstate added $748 million in one month and still sits at least $1.63 billion below the Sanders Re III attachment on a gross basis, and further once the $50 million per-event deductible is applied, so a convective season has to run heavy through the end of the risk period before aggregate cat bond holders pay anything.

Florida's State Board of Administration plans to cut property catastrophe exposure as rates fall. The State Board of Administration, which runs the Florida Retirement System pension, holds insurance-linked securities at 0.9% of a $234.6 billion fund, about $2.11 billion, and senior portfolio manager Subhasis Das said in remarks reported September 17 that it will "reduce P&C property casualty exposure over time as the rates come down" while diversifying through a Lloyd's investment in its pipeline. Artemis reported that the reduction is seen as likely to occur over the next six to nine months, according to a meeting document. (Artemis)

→ For reinsurers/ILS and state entrants: A Florida pension with $2.11 billion in insurance-linked securities stating it will trim property catastrophe exposure as rates fall is one named allocator planning to deploy less as the June 1, 2027 Florida renewal approaches, and that money is a separate pool from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund the same board administers.

Orion180 priced at $12.00, below its range, and slipped on debut. Orion180 Insurance Group priced 20,000,000 Class A shares at $12.00 on September 17 for $240 million of gross proceeds, against a marketed range of $15.00 to $17.00, with a 30-day underwriter option on 3,000,000 more shares; trading on Nasdaq began September 18 under OIG. Reuters reported the stock opened at $11.50, valuing the Melbourne, Florida homeowners and private flood writer at about $1.14 billion. Orion180 describes itself in its prospectus as the second largest excess and surplus lines homeowners insurance provider in the United States by direct written premiums, operating in 14 states with more than 14,000 agents, and Insurance Business reported a $1.15 billion reinsurance program with 41 reinsurers. CEO Kenneth Gregg said, "It was the right decision for our business and our team regardless of macro environment." (GlobeNewswire, SEC prospectus, Investing.com/Reuters, Insurance Business)

→ For PE-VC investors: A $1.14 billion opening value against roughly $601 million of trailing premium is the public mark for an excess and surplus homeowners business that runs its own carriers alongside a services arm Insurance Business puts at about 70% of revenue, including intercompany revenue, and any private residential writer raising equity this autumn will be priced off $12.00, the price investors actually paid, instead of the $15.00 to $17.00 range.

Bamboo had not priced as of September 21 and reported lower first-half net income. Bamboo Insurance, marketing 35,000,000 all-secondary Class A shares at $18.00 to $20.00 for sale by CVC Capital Partners and White Mountains, remained unpriced on September 21, when IPOScoop listed it at the top of its late-September calendar with no set pricing date. Insurance Business reported first-half 2026 managed premiums of about $900 million, revenue of $173 million, up 40%, and net income of $13.8 million, down from $23.7 million a year earlier. (IPOScoop, Insurance Business)

→ For PE-VC investors and fronting carriers: Bamboo goes to price after Orion180 priced 20% below the low end of its range, carrying revenue up 40% and net income down from $23.7 million to $13.8 million.

The Dell family office and Sequence Holdings agreed to take Baldwin private for $7.7 billion. The Baldwin Group agreed on September 14 to go private through a majority investment by Sequence Holdings and DFO Management, the Dell family office, at $32.50 per share in cash, an 88% premium to the unaffected June 17 share price, in a transaction valued at about $7.7 billion including roughly $3.1 billion of net debt, expected to close in the first quarter of 2027. Baldwin's managing general agent, MSI (Millennial Specialty Insurance), writes homeowners, renters and personal flood programs. (Business Wire, Insurance Journal, Baldwin, MSI)

→ For MGA operators and fronting carriers: MSI's residential programs change ownership in the first quarter of 2027.

Kin cut South Florida homeowners rates by more than 20% and raised its insurable value cap to $14 million. Kin Insurance said on September 14 that new and existing policyholders in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties will see an average rate reduction of more than 20%, that it raised its maximum insurable value to $14 million, and that it added four new discounts; the release gives no effective date or OIR approval reference. Kin cited Florida Office of Insurance Regulation data: OIR's July 2026 stability report shows HO3 litigation rates falling from 24.1% to 2.0%. (PR Newswire)

→ For HNW incumbents: A $14 million insurable value cap puts Kin into higher-value homes in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach at average rates more than 20% lower.

Honeycomb entered Tennessee and South Carolina for apartments and condominium associations. Honeycomb said on September 16 it now writes in Tennessee and South Carolina, bringing it to 26 states for its apartment and condominium association property book, which produced $275 million of gross written premium in 2025. (Insurance Business)

→ For wholesalers: Honeycomb at 26 states with $275 million of 2025 premium is now a direct competitor for small condominium and apartment accounts in Tennessee and South Carolina, quoting both admitted and non-admitted habitational forms.

Texas answered Governor Abbott with a proposed roof-age rule, a FORTIFIED bulletin and a fraud task force. Governor Greg Abbott announced on September 16 the Texas Department of Insurance's response to his August 24 directives, delivered in a letter from Commissioner Amanda Crawford. TDI will enforce Commissioner's Bulletin B-0008-26, which directed insurers to account for FORTIFIED roof status in rates; will propose a rule that "will make clear that insurers may not use the age of individual components, such as the roof, as a basis to refuse to write or renew residential property coverage"; will enforce Bulletin B-0007-26 on price optimization; will create an insurance fraud task force; and will study claim cost drivers in the "commercial auto, personal auto, and homeowner markets" "by the end of 2026." Abbott said he "will work with the Legislature next session to further curb premium increases." The roof-age measure is a proposed rule, with no adoption date published. (EIN Presswire, Newsline Local)

→ For MGA operators and fronting carriers: The roof-age declination rule is still only a proposal, so a Texas homeowners program should watch the Texas Register for the proposed rule text and its comment deadline.

California signed AB 1795, presuming wildfire smoke damage in impact areas. Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1795 on September 15, creating a presumption that smoke damage within a wildfire impact area was caused by the fire, requiring insurers to pay for testing, and barring additional living expense coverage from ending until the home is restored and safe. APCIA called it "a meaningful step toward clearer guidance on smoke damage claims." (Claims Journal)

→ For HNW incumbents and reinsurers/ILS: AB 1795 moves the burden on smoke claims to the insurer and extends additional living expense to restoration, which lengthens the tail on every future California wildfire and belongs in 2027 California reinsurance submissions as a loss-adjustment load.

New FEMA flood maps put 2,344 Escambia County, Florida properties into required flood coverage. Cotality said on September 21 that new FEMA flood maps moved thousands of homes into Special Flood Hazard Areas in more than 100 communities across 12 states, giving mortgaged owners 45 days to buy flood insurance. Escambia County, Florida led with 2,344 newly mapped properties, followed by Pender County, North Carolina with 678 and Chattanooga with 635. (Insurance Journal)

→ For private flood MGAs: A 45-day mandatory purchase clock on 2,344 Escambia County properties is a burst of new-business demand that private flood programs can quote against NFIP pricing before NFIP's current authorization lapses on December 11, 2026.

Ryan Specialty withdrew its protest of Florida Citizens' clearinghouse award. Risk Market Infrastructure, a Ryan Specialty subsidiary, withdrew on September 14 its September 4 notice of intent to protest Citizens Property Insurance's award of the commercial clearinghouse contract to Bridge Specialty Group, a Brown & Brown division, writing that "RMI withdraws its notice of intent to protest filed on September 4, 2026, regarding the referenced procurement." The contract with Bridge is not yet final, Citizens said RMI would be considered if negotiations with Bridge fail, and the contract value remains undisclosed; the 2023 residential clearinghouse contract with EZLynx was worth about $36 million over five years. (Insurance Journal)

→ For wholesalers: With the Division of Administrative Hearings off the table, Brown & Brown's Bridge is negotiating alone for the surplus lines match on Citizens' commercial book, and the $36 million EZLynx residential contract is the only public price reference.

Los Angeles County opened a civil investigation into Farmers' wildfire smoke claims. Los Angeles County opened a civil investigation into Farmers Insurance's handling of claims for smoke damage and toxic contamination from the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires, in a letter dated September 9 and reported September 14. Farmers projected in early 2025 about $600 million of losses from the fires. The inquiry follows the county's August 31 lawsuit against State Farm General Insurance Company over the same fires. (Insurance Business)

→ For HNW incumbents: Los Angeles County has now moved on State Farm General on August 31 and Farmers on September 9, both over smoke claims from the same two fires, and any carrier with a large Eaton or Palisades book should assume its smoke-claim files are the next request.