Another Florida-based insurer has won approval to write policies here, helping expand the amount of homeowner's and hurricane insurance available in Hawai'i.

Hawai'i Insurance Commissioner J.P. Schmidt yesterday said Universal North America Insurance Co. will begin offering insurance to Hawai'i residents on Sept. 22, and will also offer coverage for dwelling, fire and floods.

Next year it plans to start selling automobile insurance here, Schmidt said.

"We have seen a number of companies come into the market in the last couple of years," Schmidt said, referring to the half-dozen or so insurers that entered Hawai'i in the past two years after some people had problems finding hurricane insurance.

"That's a very good thing for the people of Hawai'i."

Universal North America has its headquarters in Sarasota, Fla., and also offers coverage in Arizona, Nevada, South Carolina and Texas.

The company's entry into the Hawai'i market is part of its ongoing expansion plan, said Rick Espino, president of Universal North America. The company said it plans to expand into California next year.

The company is a unit of Puerto Rico-based Universal Group Inc., an insurer with more than $300 million in policyholder surplus. Universal North America is rated A- by A.M. Best.

The company said Hawai'i residents have limited options to buy homeowner's and hurricane coverage in one policy, something it will offer. It said this reduces the cost of coverage. It plans to sell its policies through independent agencies here.

"We welcome Universal North America to Hawai'i," Schmidt said. "There is a need in the Hawai'i market for a highly rated, stable insurance carrier providing wind coverage at a competitive price."

The announcement follows one by another company, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Universal Insurance Holdings Inc., which last month said it had won approval to write insurance here.

Though their names are similar, the companies have no relationship. Universal Insurance said it will file for rate approval by the end of the year and hopes to start selling property and casualty insurance in Hawai'i in early 2009.

Universal Insurance will operate here through its Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co., which concentrates on the homeowner's insurance market. The unit was formed in 1998 to receive some of the policies written by the Florida Residential Property & Casualty Joint Indemnity Association, which was created for homeowners who couldn't get coverage following Hurricane Andrew in 1992.