Insurance division taps new CEO

Tampa-based insurance firm HCI Group invested more than $25 million earlier this year to launch its online flood insurance platform, TypTap Insurance Co.

The digital platform, designed to fit the mold for how people will buy insurance in 20 years, recently named Ted Blanch president. Blanch brings more than 45 years' executive experience to the company, according to a statement. His insurance leadership history includes executive tenures with Advocate Reinsurance Partners, Ted Blanch & Associates and E.W. Blanch Co.

Part of TypTap's hook is its promise to get a customer a quote and a bound policy in minutes. The company says it's a quick three-step process: type in the Florida address, answer how many months of the year the home is occupied and note how many flood claims have been reported at the property. The simplicity of the 100% online business appealed to Blanch.

“TypTap's robust platform provides a quick and simple way to buy insurance from any internet connected device,” he says. “It is unlike any other in the industry.”

The goal for TypTap in 2016 is to write 5,000 flood policies, HCI CEO Paresh Patel told the Business Observer in May. A long-term goal is to compete with the National Flood Insurance Program in Florida, the NFIP's most policy- and payout-heavy state. The Florida flood insurance market, valued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency at just less than $1 billion, is the largest of any state.