A year after it was acquired by its CEO’s new holding company, Universal North America has added offices in Florida and changed its name.
Universal Insurance Co. of North America, admitted in Florida with offices in Sarasota and in Orlando, as well as in Fort Worth, Texas, is now known as One Alliance North America Insurance Co., the carrier announced.
Miguel Barrales remains president, and Rafael Cedeño Camacho is chairman of the board and CEO.
“This name not only reflects the company’s strong footprint in numerous states and financial stability, but also its shared identity and unified vision as part of the One Alliance family of companies,” Cedeño said in a news release.
Universal North America, born in 2003, has been an FAIA Member Services-endorsed partner since 2015, the Florida Association of Insurance Agents noted in a recent blog.
As of the end of 2025, the company held about 20,000 policies in Florida—all of them personal residential policies, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.
That was a slight drop from the first quarter of 2025, even though the carrier in August 2025 was authorized to take out 10,000 personal residential policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida’s state-created insurer. Until 2021, Universal North America held about 57,000 policies in Florida, but shed exposure after it reported significant net losses in 2019 and 2020—in the thick of the Florida insurance litigation crisis.
AM Best last summer gave Universal North America a financial strength rating of “B-Fair.” The negative implications pointed to financial-strength uncertainty at the new holding company, 5B Alliance.
5B is an investment holding company formed by Cedeño, a company spokesperson said. The One Alliance family also includes One
Alliance Insurance Corp., based in Puerto Rico, and One Alliance Seguros, based in the Dominican Republic. The company, now operating in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Georgia, plans to expand its product line this year to include auto, flood and commercial coverage.
The name change should also help end longstanding confusion with Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co., one of Florida’s largest property insurers, which is not affiliated with One Alliance.
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