Lightning fast

A toxic mix of politics, regulation and the economic downturn turned the Florida insurance sector into something of a graveyard for new options: Not many national companies have ventured in to find more clients in the Sunshine State.

But Robert Rizzo, Florida director and head of national acquisitions for Farmington, Conn.-based Bolt Insurance, takes the contrarian view. A subsidiary of Actua Corp., a $59 million publicly traded software and cloud-computing firm based in suburban Philadelphia, Bolt has sizable growth goals for Florida. The firm targets both personal lines and business lines and will look to grow through new customers and acquisitions.

“We view this as a state rich in opportunities,” says Rizzo, who runs the Florida Bolt division out of an office in a Lakewood Ranch corporate park. “We believe there is no market in Florida that doesn't make sense.”