** Shares of Florida-focused insurers slump in early trading as Milton intensifies into a category 4 hurricane
** Heritage Insurance , Universal Insurance , and HCI Group slide 23%, 19%, and 14%, respectively
** Florida on Sunday prepared for its largest evacuation since 2017's Hurricane Irma
** Insurers have been liable for billions of dollars in claims due to weather-related disasters in recent years; severe weather events have caused some of their biggest losses
** Some players have also retreated from geographies prone to extreme weather events in recent years
** Concerns over hurricane losses tend to pressure valuations for Florida-focused insurers, analysts have said
** S&P 1500 Insurance Index down 1.8%, on track for biggest percentage drop in more than two months
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)
((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))
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