HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation will consider approving a double-digit rate increase for Citizens Property Insurance on Thursday afternoon.
It would be the second increase this year, as the state-backed insurer of last resort continues to insure a record number of policies now at 1.3 million. This rate increase would average about 14.2%, more than their last increase, but anywhere from 30 to 100% less than policies in the private insurance market.
"Citizens was my only option. No one else would touch me.” said St Petersburg Homeowner Inda Stagg. “I moved here in 2018, the insurance had doubled by 2020.”
Her insurance went from about $3,000 to $6,000, and then last year, it doubled again.
“They told me my insurance was going to go up to almost $13,000, which was crazy!” she exclaimed.
Stagg said the next insurance company she got dropped her within one month and the only option left was Citizens at about $4,500 a year for her 1100 square foot home, originally built in 1926.
It’s a third of what her insurance would have been with her first insurer, but still 3 times the amount she paying in Virginia in 2018.
“I have nightmares, nightmares about the insurance here,” Stagg stressed.
And the nightmares are getting worse with the potential rate increase coming and new guidelines for the company’s policies.
“I'm very concerned about what's going to happen this year because I know it's going to go up maybe 15%, and I got a notice that said if another company offers you within 20% of what they're going to ask, then you have to take… So insurance may go up 35% this year,” Stagg said.
She is also trying to replace all of the windows in her home to be hurricane proof so flood insurance may be less expensive.
New legislation passed in the second special session on property insurance in December 2022 makes a homeowner ineligible for citizens if another company offers to take their policy at a rate within 20% of Citizens.
It also requires all citizens homeowners to get supplemental flood insurance-- no matter their flood zone.
“Citizens is incredibly inexpensive. They don't want to write any business but they're taking on a huge amount of risk. So it puts the policyholders at risk, it puts the citizens in the state of Florida at risk,” explained Agent and Owner of Florida Strategic Insurance Mike Puffer.
His agency has been writing almost all of his new business with Citizens. He said most of the other new business have homes valued above Citizen’s max of $700,000.
“Even what we're seeing when we have to endorse a lot of the policies or write flood policies for these clients, it's still cheaper than if they were to just buy a standalone policy through the private market, which is just crazy.” Puffer said.
According to Citizens, an analysis of homeowners rates in 2022 found their average premium was 44% below premiums charged by nine private companies in the state.
Looking at their latest data from the end of March-- Citizens had nearly $3.9 million dollars from premiums and surcharges compared to $502 million dollars in total exposure--meaning the amount of everything they are insuring.
“If I'm considering leaving because of the insurance, I honestly don't know what people who have less than I do-- what they're doing,” Stagg said. “This is Florida. This is not the United States. It's Florida.”
Nothing is set in stone yet. If the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approves that number, it will kick in on November 1.
Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute tells ABC Action News that even if it's approved to begin this fall, policyholders won’t actually pay more until their renewal date.
“The way it works, starting November 1, based on your renewal date, your rate could change. So, for example, say your renewal date is not until next May, you wouldn't see any type of change until May,” Friedlander said.
RELATED: Citizens Property Insurance makes case to state for double-digit rate hike
That's only if the rate hike is approved Thursday. Friedlander said last year, Citizens requested a double-digit rate increase, but they were only approved for 6.4%.
While 14.2% may seem high, Friedlander explained Citizens customers are still paying about 40% less on average for home insurance compared to the private market.
This all comes as homeowners across the country are seeing an increase in insurance. Friedlander said that's because it's more expensive to replace homes now than ever.
The rate hearing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. You can access it via telephone dial: 1(877) 309-2071 with access code 315-402-185. Click hereto watch online.
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