Poe Financial Group stops writing homeowners in Florida.

Poe Financial Group's property/casualty subsidiaries will stop writing homeowners policies in Florida, at least temporarily.

The move comes after the state Office of Insurance Regulation told Poe subsidiary Southern Family Insurance Co. to stop writing new and renewal business when its surplus was found to not meet Florida statutory requirements. According to statute, a property/ casualty insurer must have a surplus of at least $4 million.

"We thought we were in compliance," said Tracey Upton, a senior vice president with Poe. But a second look at the figures revealed Southern Family wasn't meeting the state's surplus requirements.

Upton said Southern Family had two choices: cease writing new and renewal business, or cure the deficit. He said the company chose to do both.

"Once we become recapitalized, we are going to go back and reconsider whether to go back to those markets," Upton said. "I don't see this as a finality at this point. In a few weeks, we may be coming back."