Insurance services holding company K2 Insurance Services and New York based private equity firm Lee Equity Partners have formed American Mobile Insurance Exchange (AMIE), a reciprocal exchange that will seek to insure mobile homeowners in Florida.

AMIE, which is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, has received additional financial support from Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd., doing its re/insurance business as HSCM Bermuda), an asset manager focused on the re/insurance industry.

AMIE will focus on writing mobile homeowners and mobile homeowner dwelling fire insurance coverages for manufactured homeowners, largely in Adult Parks, across Florida.

A reciprocal insurance exchange is an unincorporated association owned by its policyholder-members who exchange insurance policies to spread risk by pooling their money together. There are no shareholders. The day-to-day operations of the exchange are managed by an attorney-in-fact, which, for AMIE, will be Florida-based American Mobile Risk Management.

Jeff LeGare, president of American Mobile Risk Management, and former consultant assisting K2 with the formation of the new exchange, said AMIE “will offer affordable insurance solutions to a market that historically has been underserved.”

LeGare has years of experience in the Florida property insurance market and other catastrophe-prone areas. As president of AMRM, LeGare will lead the day-to-day operations of the exchange. He also serves on its board of managers along with executives of K2.

Prior to joining AMIE, LeGare ran L5 Consulting, an insurance consultancy in Dallas; advised MaxGapPlus, a gap insurance provider; served as Dallas area general manager for Guy Carpenter for almost nine years; and spent 10 years with Tampa insurance broker Collins. He also had stints at EW Blanch and Sedgwick Re.

AMIE has earned a Financial Stability Rating A Exceptional from the rating agency Demotech.

AMRM will have a close association with K2, which has experience in the manufactured home niche in producing, underwriting and adjudicating claims.

Robert Kimmel, chairman of AMRM’s board of managers and CEO of K2 said AMIE will be able to provide a “truly differentiated approach to the market” given K2’s experience through its Aegis General subsidiary.

K2 and Lee equity served as sponsors for the formation of AMIE, leading an initial tranche of surplus notes that included investment from AMRM management as well as strategic partners. HSCM is partnering with AMIE to fund additional surplus notes that round out the capitalization of the exchange.

TigerRisk Capital Markets & Advisory acted as sole transaction advisor to K2 and placement agent to AMIE.

*This story appeared previously in our sister publication Insurance Journal.