Citizens Insurance to Shed up to 500,000 Policies by Jan 2024 (Lakeland: real estate, 2015)

[Sunshine Rules]

One of the local news stations ran a story this morning regarding Citizens, the state run home insurer. Because of overexposure created by having too many customers, Citizens will be sending out "take out" letters to approximately half a million customers between now and January 2024.

Those letters will be from alternative insurance companies. If the rates offered are no more than 20% more than what the customers are currently paying, a new state law now requires those Citizens customers to transfer to the other insurance company.

The story also stated that Citizens customers who receive these letters should NOT ignore them. Failure to respond by the designed timeline will result in the customer automatically being transferred to the "take out" insurance company, regardless of the cost of the insurance policy being offered.

[Marguerite2015]

Isn't it just a matter of time before all but the very wealthy flee Florida or face "going bare" and not carrying any property insurance - if their place has no mortgage?

What does the future look like when it comes to insurance there? Will rates be lower in 5 years or much higher? I would wager the latter. Same with Florida auto insurance, whose rates are already so much higher than in most other states.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by Marguerite2015

Isn't it just a matter of time before all but the very wealthy flee Florida or face "going bare" and not carrying any property insurance - if their place has no mortgage?

What does the future look like when it comes to insurance there? Will rates be lower in 5 years or much higher? I would wager the latter. Same with Florida auto insurance, whose rates are already so much higher than in most other states.

It really depends on a lot of things. Real estate costs including property and insurance is going up exponentially in the coastal areas that are more prone to hurricanes. Also the type, age and build of the property matters.

Here in Lakeland (central Florida) we have a nice updated 1975 home that is 2000 sq ft plus detached garage, one story brick over block with hip roof, insurance is $1,800 per year, no flood required.

Our insurance costs in Manatee county were astronomical and would not have even covered cost to rebuild, only the small mortgage we had at the time. NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS ONLY MY OPINION! But my opinion is that most insurance is nothing but a scam. Companies are in business to make money; they don't want to pay out. Every time there is a major storm in Florida you read how poor homeowners are left holding the bag for months, if not years trying to get a payout from their company. Twenty years ago, things were a lot better, but 2004 was a game changer for insurance and insurance requirements. That was when four hurricanes criss-crossed the state creating and enormous amount of damage.

[Sunshine Rules]

The FL legislature is holding a special session this week to make another attempt at legislation to lower insurance costs.

One of their goals this session is to provide additional funding for the My Safe Florida Home Program, which allows homeowners to apply for grants to strengthen their properties. More than 17,000 Floridians remain on a waiting list for support after the program used up most of its money.

Unless I missed something, I don't see anything on the agenda regarding legislative changes to address the high rate of litigation against insurers in FL, both home and auto, that are helping to drive up rates.