From Florida Association of Realtors
The state is seeking the return of more than $34 million from affiliates of Poe Financial Group, the latest twist in the saga surrounding the collapse of the state’s third-largest homeowners insurer last summer.
Poe’s three failed property insurance companies, Southern Family, Atlantic Preferred and Florida Preferred, were taken over by state regulators in July. Cases related to the failures are winding their way through various state and federal courts. A hearing in bankruptcy court in Tampa could determine the venue of the suit over $34.4 million.
If the Poe affiliates were forced to pay back the money, it would put a damper on plans of Poe founder Bill Poe Sr. to rebuild part of his insurance empire.
Poe, a former mayor of Tampa, is trying to move beyond the biggest insurance failure in Florida history by going back to his roots as an insurance agent. He started the business more than 50 years ago, turning a one-man office in Tampa into one of the nation’s biggest insurance brokerage firms by the time he sold it in the 1990s.
Attorneys for the Florida Department of Financial Services will ask a bankruptcy judge for permission to proceed with their lawsuit in Leon County Circuit Court. The department contends that the $34.4 million in commissions should go toward paying some of the costs of the $502’million insolvency.
The gist of their argument has to do with the way insurance premiums were collected.
Poe & Associates, the insurance agency, acted as the agent for about 72,000 customers of the Poe insurance companies. That meant Poe officials collected commissions as well as insurance premiums on the policies issued by their insurance companies.
State officials argue that, because Citizens Property Insurance Corp. took over the policies in July, mid-term, Poe & Associates is not entitled to the full year’s commission.
But Poe & Associates says it was supposed to receive the full commission for a year as soon as a policy renewed or a new policy was sold.
Company officials filed their own lawsuit against Citizens last year. They contend that Citizens owes them $60 million in sales commissions.
Citizens terminated its agency contract with the Poe group after the insolvency, arguing it would be irresponsible for the insurer to do business with Poe, given the costs of the insolvency.