In a positive sign for Florida’s troubled property insurance market, the number of policies held by the state-backed insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., has dipped below 1 million.
As of Friday, Citizens had 987,744 policies in force, down significantly from its peak of 1.412 million last year. This decrease is largely attributed to the “depopulation” program, which allows private insurers to take over policies from Citizens.
In October alone, over 238,000 policies were transferred from Citizens to private carriers, with 12 insurers participating in the depopulation efforts. This trend is expected to continue, with another 343,000 policies potentially shifting out of Citizens by February.
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The shrinking of Citizens is a key goal for state leaders who are working to stabilize Florida’s property insurance market. Citizens was created as an insurer of last resort, but in recent years, it became the largest property insurer in the state due to financial struggles in the private market.
A smaller Citizens reduces the financial risk to the state in the event of a major hurricane. If Citizens were to become insolvent, policyholders across Florida, including those not insured by Citizens, could be subject to assessments to cover the shortfall.
This positive development suggests that the efforts to revitalize Florida’s private insurance market are gaining traction, offering hope for more stable and affordable property insurance options for homeowners in the future.
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