JUPITER, Florida (March 17, 2011) — This week regulators took control of a property and casualty insurer, Seminole Casualty Insurance Company of Tamarac, Florida, following the signing of an order of receivership for purposes of its immediate liquidation by the Leon County Circuit Court.
Seminole Casualty Insurance Company provided private and commercial auto coverage as well as artisan contractor liability insurance in Florida and auto insurance coverage in Maryland. With assets of $35.6 million at September 30, 2010, and four years of underwriting losses, it had been rated D (“Weak”) for several years by Weiss Ratings. It reported a loss $12.1 million in the fourth quarter 2010, far exceeding the $6.8 million in capital and surplus that it held. Additionally, cash and investments fell 64% in the fourth quarter to $4.3 million.
The consent order appointing the Florida Department of Financial Services receiver, states that the insurer is insolvent and all coverage will be discontinued from midnight on April 14, 2011. Consumers looking for information on what to do if an insurance company fails can review the FAQ section of Weiss Ratings’ website.
Weiss Ratings, the nation’s leading independent provider of bank and insurance company ratings, accepts no payments for its ratings from rated institutions. It also distributes independent investment ratings on the shares of thousands of publicly traded companies, mutual funds, closed-end funds and ETFs. For Weiss Ratings’ complete lists of strongest and weakest auto insurers, visit www.weissratings.com/autolists.
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