(Bloomberg) -- U.S. property-casualty insurers fell for a third time in four days as Hurricane Matthew approached Florida, with Universal Insurance Holdings Inc. dropping the most since 2015 because of its concentration in the state.
Universal tumbled $2.72, or 12 percent, to $19.51 at 4:02 p.m. in New York. The company has plunged more than 20 percent this week, wiping out gains for the year.
|Largest Fla. home insurer
Matthew has maximum sustained winds of near 140 miles (220 kilometers) per hour, and hurricane conditions are expected to reach Florida as soon as Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory at 2 p.m. New York time. Universal is the largest home insurer in Florida and gained market share as bigger companies such as Allstate Corp. scaled back in the state to reduce risk.
“Because of our concentration in Florida, and in particular in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, we are exposed to hurricanes and windstorms,” the Fort Lauderdale-based company says in the “ Risk Factors” section of its annual report.
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