Florida Legislators Aim To Decrease Citizens’ Policyholders

The state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. continued to add thousands of policies a week in December, while new legislative proposals would try to steer more homeowners into the private insurance market.

Citizens had a total of 759,305 policies as of Dec. 31, an increase of nearly 217,000 policies from a year earlier as private insurers shed customers and sought hefty rate increases amid financial troubles in the industry, according to newly posted data.

In December, Citizens added almost 18,000 policies.

Pointing in part to financial risks if a major hurricane hits, many state leaders have long sought to minimize the number of policies in Citizens, which was created as an insurer of last resort.

But Citizens President and CEO Barry Gilway said last month that private property insurers have been losing money in Florida since 2017, causing a shift in policies to Citizens.