Rates on Florida coastal property have fallen 50 to 60 percent from their peak, but that does not mean the risks got easier to place. Carriers are only chasing the best of the best, wind limits are capped on large projects, and Florida's 558 statute has turned construction defect into a cottage industry that reshapes what casualty looks like for anyone touching residential.

Matt Sasso sits down with Howard Newman, President of Bateman, Gordon and Sands in Lighthouse Point, Florida. The agency has been managing risk since 1947 and runs a 41 person operation built around construction, surety, and coastal property, with a personal lines division that handles high net worth, boats, and yachts. Howard walks through the 2026 property market, windstorm deductibles and buybacks, flood limits on large construction projects, the statute of repose window, and why the marine market punishes anyone who does not know the policy forms cold.

He also shares how deep involvement with ABC moved him from green committee member to incoming Chairman of the Board for 2027, the first associate ever elected to the role. If you have a client building, buying, or boating in Florida, this one gives you the local market intelligence and the phone number to go with it.

Timecodes:
00:00 – 00:33 | Show Intro
00:33 – 02:55 | Meet Howard Newman of Bateman, Gordon and Sands
02:55 – 04:16 | Agency History and a Successful Ownership Perpetuation
04:16 – 06:39 | How a 41 Person Agency Is Structured
06:39 – 09:36 | The 2026 Coastal Property Market: Soft Rates, Selective Carriers
09:36 – 12:17 | Windstorm Deductibles, Wind Limits, and Out of State Developers
12:17 – 14:19 | Flood, Buybacks, and Lender Requirements That Bust Budgets
14:19 – 16:24 | Florida's 558 Statute and the Construction Defect Cottage Industry
16:24 – 18:07 | Statute of Repose and Deciding Who You Write
18:07 – 19:39 | Where Independent Agencies Beat the Alphabet Houses
19:39 – 23:33 | Inside the Yacht and Marine Market
23:33 – 25:24 | Construction Expertise: Contracts, Sub Agreements, and Balance Sheets
25:24 – 27:21 | Surety, SDI, and Florida's Commercial Auto Litigation
27:21 – 31:33 | The Payoff from Deep ABC Involvement
31:33 – 34:04 | First Associate Chairman and Perpetuating the Agency System
34:04 – 34:52 | Closing and Outro

Resources:
Become a member at RiskProNet.com
Connect with Matt Sasso on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-sasso-8161b752/
Connect with Howard Newman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howard-newman-38a37320/
Connect with Bateman, Gordon and Sands on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bateman-gordon-&-sands-inc./
Bateman, Gordon and Sands website: https://bgsagency.com/