Flood insurer Neptune raises $368 million in IPO
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Neptune Insurance didn't just price its IPO last night ahead of the government shutdown, it thinks the shutdown could help its business.
What they're saying: "We compete with the federal government, which provides flood insurance through FEMA" explains Neptune CEO Trevor Burgess, who adds that he received lots of shutdown questions from prospective investors. "They'll be closed, but we'll be open and able to serve thousands of homeowners."
Driving the news: Neptune raised $368 million in the IPO, selling at the high end of its $18 to $20 per share range.
- That gives the St. Petersburg, Florida-based company an initial market cap of $2.76 billion, with backers Bregal Sagemount and FTV Capital selling a small portion of their stakes into the offering.
- Shares will trade on the NYSE under ticker "NP."
How it works: Neptune is a managing general agent, which means it underwrites flood policies for dozens of insurers and reinsurers without taking on the underlying risk.
Why it matters: Climate change is putting more properties at risk for flooding. Plus, scientific advances have helped identify flood zones that were previously unknown.
- Burgess claims that the federal government often relies on outdated maps, even though it controls around 90% of the country's flood insurance market via FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
- "There are millions of houses at risk that don't have flood insurance, which is an opportunity for us, and we also can use our tech to provide lower prices than the government to consumers who actually are at lower risk."
Zoom in: Around 5% of homes are too high-risk to qualify for a Neptune policy.
- "I joke that you should move if Neptune says no, but it's not really that much of a joke," Burgess explains. "The NFIP in many ways enabled people to build houses there they probably shouldn't have by selling heavily subsidized flood insurance — kind of hiding their risk."
Look ahead: Neptune is seeking to eventually offer earthquake insurance policies, including in California.
The bottom line: Burgess says that Neptune always planned to price its IPO last night, rather than expediting to beat the shutdown.
- He adds that the SEC was "great to work with," and there was regular communications last week to ensure that the registration could be made effective in time.
