ORLANDO, Fla. — Over the past few months, some Central Florida homeowners have received notices from the state-backed insurance company, Citizens Insurance, telling them that they may have to find a new outlet for insurance coverage.
What You Need To Know
- Citizens Insurance continues to "depopulate customers," offering to release them from their policies
- Roughly 1.4 million polices have been depopulated from Citizens since early October
- Insurance companies Loggerhead and Slide were approved to take on as many as 26,000 policies
- Experts say homeowners moving from Citizens to another agency may find higher rates but more coverage
Citizens has been “depopulating” clients, meaning they will have to address an offer to find a new insurance company to insure their home, see higher rates or go without insurance.
Homeowners that received notices of depopuation fell into two categories: those who were eligible to op-out, and those that weren’t.
Homeowners who were deemed eligible to opt-out of the program could remain with Citizens Insurance, but were told that if another offer came in a following year, it’s likely they would not be eligible to opt-out again.
Insurance Broker Brooke Murrin, of Goosehead Insurance, monitors the “depopulating companies” that help homeowners find a new policy when Citizen’s depopulates clients.
She says there were fewer outlets to turn to earlier in the year, but the marketplace has changed.
“I believe this is a good thing for the insurance market that carriers are starting to open up to more risks and taking more policies on,” said Murrin.
She said getting a letter from Citizens stating that the state-run agency is providing an offer to take your policy to another company is not a reason to panic.
According to Citizens’ website, the insurer of last resort oversees roughly 1.33 million policies — a number that’s down from 1.412 million policies earlier in October.
The insurance market is showing signs of improvement, with five carriers now providing insurance when depopulated from Citizens.
Earlier in 2023, many saw their insurance rates increase with little on no insurance companies to turn to other than Citizens.
Murrin, who works with multiple insurance companies across Central Florida, has been moving clients to Loggerhead Insurance.
“So, Loggerhead launched in 2022," she said. "So, they are newer carrier to Florida, A-rated and offering many policy transitions from Citizens to assist with the market."
Jose Amaya, of Clermont, said he moved to Loggerhead after receiving a notice from Citizens saying his premium was going to increase by nearly 50%.
“Come to find out that (we) were being depopulated and the rates are increasing almost 50%,” said Amaya, a husband and father of five.
For Amaya, the rate increase did not make sense because his coverage was very limited with Citizens.
“You know we try to stay within budget," he said. "My wife had to look for a job just to maintain the household."
He and his family were able to lock in a rate for his large home in Lake County for a yearly premium of $3,248.00.
For Amaya, just being able to find a carrier in a state that has been riddled with insurance companies leaving the area was a relief.
“So, I decided to have peace of mind," he said. "You know, I live in Florida, hurricane alley. I decided to go with the other company for more cost just to have peace of mind that I’m protected."