Starting an insurance company in Florida means incorporating a domestic insurer under Chapter 628, raising the minimum surplus required for the lines you plan to write, and obtaining a Certificate of Authority from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR). The financial bar is steep: $5 million in surplus for property and casualty, $2.5 million for life and health, and $15 million for a standalone residential property insurer. Once the OIR accepts your application as complete, expect roughly 60 to 90 days of review before you can begin the separate work of getting rates and policy forms approved.
Incorporate a Florida Domestic Insurer
You need a legally formed entity before you can apply for a license. Florida recognizes three types of domestic insurers: stock corporations, mutual corporations, and reciprocal insurers.1Florida Statutes. Florida Code 624.404 – General Eligibility of Insurers for Certificate of Authority The stock model is the common choice for new entrants because equity financing and ownership are cleaner.
Chapter 628 sets structural rules that go beyond a normal Florida corporation. A stock insurer needs at least five incorporators; a mutual insurer needs ten. All must be at least 18, and a majority must be U.S. citizens. The board must have at least five directors. Articles of incorporation are executed in triplicate, with at least three incorporators acknowledging execution before a notary.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 628.081 – Incorporation of Domestic Insurers
The articles must also state what a standard business filing would not: the kinds of insurance the company will write, the authorized capital stock with par values between $1 and $100 per share, and the Florida county where the principal office will sit.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 628.081 – Incorporation of Domestic Insurers Any inconsistency between these articles and your later license application will slow the review, so get the details right the first time.
Meet the Minimum Surplus Requirement
The single biggest obstacle for most founders is capital. Florida sets minimum surplus by line of business, and the thresholds are not negotiable.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 624.407 – Surplus Required New Insurers
- Property and casualty (non-residential): $5 million.
- Life, health, and other non-P&C lines: $2.5 million, or a percentage of total liabilities (4 percent for life; 4 percent plus 6 percent of health liabilities for life-and-health), whichever is greater.
- Residential property insurance, standalone domestic insurer: $15 million.
- Residential property insurance, subsidiary of an out-of-state insurer: $50 million.
- Sinkhole-only coverage: $7.5 million.
- Renters and tenant coverage only: $10 million.
These are surplus-as-to-policyholders figures, meaning assets minus liabilities, and they apply to your entire book across all states, not just Florida.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 624.407 – Surplus Required New Insurers
Ongoing surplus rules kick in the moment you are licensed. A property and casualty insurer must maintain at least $4 million in surplus on a continuing basis; a residential property insurer must hold $15 million.4Florida Statutes. Florida Code 624.408 – Surplus Required Current Insurers Dropping below the maintenance level triggers regulatory action, so your capital plan needs to survive years with heavy claims, not just the opening balance sheet.
Apply for a Certificate of Authority
The Certificate of Authority is your license to sell insurance in Florida. Applications are built around the Uniform Certificate of Authority Application (UCAA), the standardized package administered through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.5National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Uniform Certificate of Authority Application Florida layers state-specific materials on top of the UCAA forms.
Business Plan and Financial Projections
Regulators expect a multi-year business plan with at least three years of financial projections covering expected premium income, loss reserves, and administrative expenses.6Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. 2026 Health Blank Filing Requirements Analysts test the assumptions. Loss numbers that look artificially low will draw pointed questions, especially from anyone proposing to write property coverage in a hurricane-exposed market.
Organizational Documents
Your Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws go in alongside the UCAA. Both need to align with Chapter 628, not just the general Florida business corporation statute. Bylaws should spell out board powers, internal audit procedures, and governance of policyholder protections. Multiple classes of stock must appear in the articles.
Biographical Affidavits and Background Checks
Every officer, director, key manager, and any beneficial owner of 10 percent or more must submit an NAIC Biographical Affidavit.7National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Uniform Certificate of Authority Application – Biographical Affidavits Each affidavit requires a 20-year employment history, professional licenses held, and disclosure of any regulatory or legal actions.8Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Florida OIR Biographical Affidavit Form OIR-C1-1423
Florida also requires independent third-party verification and fingerprint cards for each person filing an affidavit. Florida residents can use LiveScan; out-of-state individuals submit ink cards.9National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Domestic Fingerprints and Biographical Affidavit Requirements Applications frequently stall here. International employment or education records take weeks longer to verify, so start collecting this information early.
Experience is substantive, not cosmetic. The OIR expects meaningful insurance or financial industry backgrounds on the leadership team, and a thin résumé across the officers can sink an otherwise clean application.
Filing Through iApply
Florida takes new company applications through iApply, the OIR’s online Company Admissions system on the Industry Portal.10Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. iPortal You upload the UCAA, business plan, affidavits, organizational documents, and financial statements, and authorized officers sign electronically. The filing fee for an original Certificate of Authority is $1,500.11Florida Statutes. Florida Code 624.501 – Filing, License, Appointment, and Miscellaneous Fees Depending on the lines you propose and the supplemental filings involved, additional processing costs may apply.
Review Timeline
Once the OIR accepts the application as complete, the office targets a 60-day review.12Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Company Admissions Under Florida’s general licensing statute, the outer limit is 90 days from receipt of a completed application, and inaction inside that window deems the application approved.13Florida Statutes. Florida Code 120.60 – Licensing In practice, the clock does not start until the file is genuinely complete. Missing items trigger a deficiency notice, and the timeline resets when you respond. Multiple rounds of follow-up questions are common, particularly for residential property applicants, where catastrophe exposure and reinsurance adequacy get close attention.
Get Rates and Forms Approved Before Selling
A Certificate of Authority does not, by itself, let you write a policy. Your rates and forms have to clear a separate OIR review.
Rate Filings
Florida runs a dual-track rate system. File rates at least 90 days before the proposed effective date and hold off using them, and the filing is treated as “file and use”: the OIR has 90 days to act, and silence deems approval. File within 30 days after you start using the rates, and it becomes “use and file”: you can charge immediately, but the OIR can later order refunds if it finds the rates excessive.14Florida Statutes. Florida Code 627.062 – Rate Standards For a new insurer, file-and-use is the safer path. A refund order in your first year is not a good start.
Policy Form Filings
Policy forms, endorsements, and applications must be filed at least 30 days before use. If the OIR does not act within 30 days (extendable by 15 days), the form is deemed approved.15Florida Senate. Florida Code 627.410 – Filing, Approval of Forms Build the lead time into your launch plan. Submitting forms the same week your certificate arrives puts you at least a month away from writing business.
Ongoing Obligations After Licensure
Once you are licensed, financial reporting, tax, and membership requirements start immediately. Missing them can lead to suspension or revocation.
Annual and Quarterly Reporting
Every licensed insurer files an annual financial statement covering the prior calendar year by March 1. Quarterly statements for the periods ending March 31, June 30, and September 30 are due within 45 days of each quarter’s close. All filings follow statutory accounting principles and must be sworn to by at least two executive officers. An independent audited financial report is due by June 1.16Florida Statutes. Florida Code 624.424 – Annual Statement and Other Reports A missed filing that raises doubt about your eligibility can result in immediate suspension.
Premium Tax
Florida taxes gross premiums from Florida policyholders at 1.75 percent, due annually by March 1.17Florida Senate. Florida Code 624.509 – Premium Tax Rate and Computation Some lines have different rates: annuity premiums at 1 percent, surplus lines at 4.94 percent, marine at 0.75 percent of gross underwriting profit, and title insurance at zero. The tax applies to gross receipts without deduction for reinsurance ceded or policyholder dividends, so build it into pricing from the start.
Florida Insurance Guaranty Association
Every licensed insurer must join the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association as a condition of doing business. When a member insurer becomes insolvent, surviving members are assessed to cover claims, proportional to their net direct written premiums in that account. The annual cap is 2 percent of your net direct written premiums per account.18Florida Statutes. Florida Code 631.57 – Powers and Duties of the Association Even at the ceiling, an assessment can strain a young company.
Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund
Writing any covered property policies in Florida triggers mandatory participation in the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. The fund provides a layer of reinsurance to participating insurers in exchange for reimbursement premiums calculated from your exposure.19Florida Senate. Florida Code 215.555 – Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund New insurers writing covered policies mid-year pay prorated premiums. Insurers with less than $10 million in aggregate covered exposure may be exempt, but most property writers pass that threshold quickly in Florida.
Actuarial Opinion
Insurers writing life, health, or deposit-type contracts must have a qualified appointed actuary submit an annual opinion on whether reserves are computed appropriately and comply with state law.20Florida Statutes. Florida Code 625.1212 – Actuarial Opinion of Reserves The actuary has to meet the qualification standards of the American Academy of Actuaries and the valuation manual. Property and casualty insurers face their own reserve adequacy rules under separate provisions. Either way, budget for qualified actuarial work before launch, because the OIR will scrutinize your reserve methodology from your first annual filing forward.