Private property insurers get OK to take up to 202K Citizens policies
TALLAHASSEE — As efforts continued to sort out damage from Hurricane Idalia, regulators on Friday approved proposals by seven private insurers to pull as many as 202,000 policies from the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworksy signed orders approving the proposals by Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Co., Slide Insurance Co., Florida Peninsula Insurance Co., Monarch National Insurance Co., Safepoint Insurance Co., Loggerhead Reciprocal Interinsurance Exchange and Edison Insurance Co.
The proposals were filed in late July, and the companies will be able to start assuming policies from Citizens about Nov. 21.
The approvals came as state leaders have long sought to move policies out of Citizens into the private market, at least in part because of financial risks if Florida gets hit by a major hurricane or multiple hurricanes.
Policies have poured into Citizens during the past three years as private insurers have dropped customers and raised rates because of financial troubles. As of Friday, Citizens had nearly 1.38 million policies — making it Florida’s largest property insurer. Citizens was created as an insurer of last resort but has become the go-to insurer for many homeowners.