Miami DealMakers Fred Zutel | Insuring Miami’s Skyline — The Waldorf, St. Regis, Bentley & More
In this episode of Miami DealMakers, Omar Morales sits down with Fred Zutel, Partner and President of Lockton’s Florida Division, the largest privately held and independently owned insurance brokerage in the world. Fred shares his remarkable journey from growing up in Hialeah and selling nails and screws to insuring some of the most iconic developments in Miami — including the Waldorf Astoria, St. Regis Brickell, and Bentley Residences. He opens up about his early struggles breaking into the insurance world during the 2008 recession, how a chance meeting at Zuma led to his first major developer client, and the mindset that helped him scale a 30-person team into 130+ employees statewide. The conversation dives deep into the inner workings of real estate insurance — from how mega-projects are structured across 40+ carriers, to why prices spiked after Hurricane Ian, and how falling interest rates are now reshaping the market. Fred also discusses leadership, grit, and staying hungry, even after reaching the top of his industry. Whether you’re a developer, broker, or investor, this episode is a masterclass in resilience, execution, and the business behind Miami’s biggest buildings.
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- 0:00 – Intro
- 0:36 – What Lockton does + Fred’s background
- 3:40 – Early jobs and how Fred got into insurance in 2009
- 14:40 – Pivoting into insuring real estate and getting clients
- 19:02 – First big client (Zuma bar story)
- 21:55 – Now insuring Waldorf Astoria Miami and how mega-projects are insured
- 23:45 – How does Lockton provide outsized value?
- 28:36 – Why insurance prices spiked in 2021 + interest-rate impact
- 34:12 – Breaking down layers of insurance (liability, builder’s risk, etc.)
- 40:16 – Building a team and joining Lockton
- 46:26 – How insurance brokers make money
- 50:25 – Grit and motivation to keep pushing
- 54:05 – Future of Florida’s insurance market
- 56:28 – Advice for young professionals in their 20s
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