$50 Million Compensation Package for Top Executives at Tampa Insurance Company Sparks Controversy

Bruce Lucas and Slide Insurance Under Fire Again

Slide Insurance’s CEO and founder, Bruce Lucas, faces renewed scrutiny amid troubling financial disclosures. Lucas, along with his wife Shannon, the company’s COO and Chief Risk Officer, reportedly raked in a staggering $50.3 million during the second and third years of the company’s operations, largely deriving from policies transferred from struggling insurers and takeouts from the state-run Citizens Property and Casualty Insurance.

These disclosures come a decade after Lucas faced criticism for awarding himself a significant bonus shortly after founding Heritage Property and Casualty, which also used takeouts from Citizens. The details were included in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as Slide prepares to enter the public market and sell stocks.

Critics Question Industry Claims

Lucas’s financial disclosures have sparked sharp criticism from industry observers skeptical of insurance companies’ claims of financial distress earlier in the decade. These claims led to legislative reforms that have, according to critics, effectively shielded insurers from paying most legal costs in litigation against them, while simultaneously increasing the financial burden on policyholders seeking to contest claim decisions.

The hefty salary and bonuses reported for Lucas and Shannon appeared on page 132 of the SEC prospectus. Slide Insurance, headquartered in Tampa, reported a net income of $288 million over two years, accounting for 13% of the gross premiums collected, which amounted to $2.2 billion.

The filing also revealed that Slide raised premiums by 23.2% for policies taken out of Citizens during their 2024 renewal, reinforcing the impression that policyholders are bearing the brunt of increasing costs.

Slide Insurance’s Silence on Controversy

When approached by media outlets like the South Florida Sun Sentinel regarding the controversial disclosures, Slide Insurance declined to comment, citing a “quiet period.” This is a standard practice for companies that have filed initial public offerings, during which executives are restricted from discussing the company’s financial status or future prospects to prevent market manipulation.

In its prospectus, Slide describes itself as a “technology-enabled, fast-growing coastal specialty insurer” with a promise of faster growth compared to competitors. The company claims to control all aspects of its value chain—including technology, underwriting, and claims management—allowing it to maximize profits while adhering to disciplined underwriting standards.

Legislative Reforms and Profit Motives

However, some critics believe that Slide’s rapid profitability and recent public offering intentions reinforce their skepticism regarding legislative reforms in the insurance sector. Waylon Thompson, who will soon head the Florida Justice Association, criticized Slide’s profit margins as the result of “unabashed overcharging of policyholders for a devalued insurance product” in Florida.

Thompson highlighted concerns that these legislative changes enable property insurers to profit while Florida residents endure the country’s highest insurance premiums, often without guarantees of coverage for their claims. Birny Birnbaum, director of the Center for Economic Justice, labeled Slide’s profits as “outrageous,” asserting that these gains are rooted in legislation that negatively affected Citizens policyholders through forced takeouts and steep rate increases.

Rep. Hillary Cassel, a plaintiffs’ attorney and vice chair of the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee, condemned Slide executives for enriching themselves at the expense of Florida policyholders, criticizing their exorbitant compensation plans.

Regulatory and Industry Responses

In response to inquiries about Slide’s compensation structure, a spokesperson for the Office of Insurance Regulation noted that it is “inaccurate to suggest that executive salaries at any insurer are solely funded by Citizens depopulation efforts.” The salaries reported emerged from Slide’s holding company, Slide Insurance Holdings Inc., which oversees various entities including a managing general agent and reinsurance holdings.

The representative added that the Office of Insurance Regulation lacks authority over employee compensation practices at privately held companies like Slide. Importantly, the document indicated that the salaries stem from the holding company, not directly from the regulated insurance entity.

The prospectus highlighted that 99.5% of Slide’s policies are concentrated on Florida properties, with the minor remainder in South Carolina. Policyholders do have the option to leave Citizens Insurance, and consumers were urged to evaluate their insurance solutions regularly to secure the best pricing and coverage options available.

Cost Comparisons with Citizens Insurance

Slide asserts that its premium costs exceed those of Citizens because it maintains higher reinsurance coverage in coastal regions, which forms a significant part of their premiums. Furthermore, Slide claims to offer coverage that surpasses the limits set by Citizens, including:

– Coverage of up to $10 million per insured property compared to Citizens’ maximum of $700,000.
– Personal liability coverage reaching as high as $500,000, whereas Citizens offers a cap of only $100,000.
– Personal property coverage covering up to 75% of the property’s value as opposed to Citizens’ 50%.
– Medical payments up to $5,000, compared to Citizens’ maximum of $2,000.

Additionally, Slide does not mandate that its policyholders maintain flood insurance, and offers coverage for various liabilities such as screen enclosures and breakdowns—none of which are covered by Citizens.

Building the Business Model

Lucas has a history of leveraging Citizens policies to expand his business footprint in the insurance sector. Previously, while at Heritage Property and Casualty, he paid himself substantial stock awards and bonuses shortly after forming the company using similar strategies.

Slide was launched in 2021 and has quickly ascended to become Florida’s sixth-largest insurer, according to the latest market share reports. The company significantly expanded its business by assuming over 158,000 policies from failing insurance companies and capitalizing on favorable legislative changes that incentivized takeouts from Citizens.

Remarkably, Slide took over 135,975 Citizens policies last year—the highest number among competition—and followed that with an additional 82,781 in 2023. An Office of Insurance Regulation report showed that as of March, Slide managed 342,209 policies, with a significant majority derived from Citizens.

Policyholder Concerns and Future Directions

Until recently, Citizens policyholders were allowed to decline takeout offers for any reason. However, new legislation restricts their ability to renew policies with Citizens if they receive an offer that would increase their premiums by 20% or less than their existing Citizens coverage.

In a recent report, it was noted that Slide had taken over a significant number of Citizens policies, with many renewal premiums exceeding Citizens’ costs by substantial margins. Capping offer exceedances at 40% and limiting the number of offers are steps taken by the state to address consumer complaints.

Despite the significant profits and rising compensation packages for executives, the insurance landscape in Florida is undergoing transformative changes, with ongoing debates about fairness, consumer protection, and the balance of profit within a heavily regulated industry.