UPDATED 3:27 p.m. 3/21/25:
The owners and employees of a Lake Wales business experienced something yesterday that no one should.
In the early morning hours of Thursday, March 20, 2025, UniVista Insurance, located at 674 SR 60 in Lake Wales, was severely vandalized.
According to their website, UniVista Insurance works with multiple companies to provide auto insurance options to its customers.
Business owner German Portillo received a call from the property manager while heading to the office yesterday morning, who asked about damage to his door.
“I was still on my way to work and didn’t know what he was talking about,” says Portillo.
When he arrived at the office, which is located in the same plaza as the Polk County Tax Collector’s Office, he found his glass entrance door smashed, his windows vandalized with paint, and two Molotov cocktails thrown into the building. Both bottles burned the floor, caused smoke damage, and caught an artificial plant on fire, but eventually burned out.
Decals on the storefront, which covered the majority of the glass on the building, were spray painted; the word “WAR” was clearly marked over one of the decals.
On Thursday, despite the damage, customers were observed entering the business, and employees were working to remove decals from the storefront glass and board up the shattered door.
Portillo says that while his company has been established for about 8 years, UniVista Insurance only opened at this location about three weeks ago.
Lake Wales Police Department Public Information Officer Dale Hampton has confirmed the matter is being investigated.
“At this time the Lake Wales Police Department is actively working the investigation,” says Hampton. “Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to please call the Lake Wales Police Department.”
