Florida is truly the reinsurance market's risk hothouse.
Its coastline produces the bulk of the ILS market's exposure, and despite considerable pressure on margins in the past five years, Florida risks still squeeze out more profit for reinsurers than many other lines of business.
But the dazzling glare in the hothouse can be confusing for newcomers to the market.
Florida insurers operate in a litigious market and as a result, their claims infrastructure sometimes struggles with the heat.
The market has been dominated by local carriers rather than nationwide names, but the larger players among these Floridians are now looking to grow into "super-regional" carriers, changing the mix of risk that will flow to the reinsurers they are heavily reliant on.
Meanwhile, some ILS managers are looking to build up their coastal exposures by taking on Florida risk at its source.
An unusual stretch of good fortune since the state's last major hurricane loss has enabled carriers to build up their resources to face the next big one, and benefited reinsurers and ILS managers in turn.
But it also means that it has been some time since the market has had the chance to prove itself against a testing challenge.
We hope that this second edition of the Trading Risk Investor Guide helps to lay out some of the context needed to understand this market and its risks and opportunities, to set the scene for discussions between investors and managers about their approach to Florida.
In the absence of hurricane winds, the only way for the industry to ensure it is ready to face a disaster is through informed and educated debate.
To view the second edition of the Trading Risk Investor Guide, please click here.
Enjoy the read,
Fiona Robertson, Trading Risk editor