Citizens Property Requests Rate Increase of 7.2 Percent

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. may be increasing residential homeowner rates by an average of 7.2 percent this year. Citizens Property is the state-backed insurer of last resort, they have been dealing with a flood of new policyholders due to trouble in the private insurance market in Florida.

According to a recent Miami Herald article, the Citizens Board of Governors will meet soon to discuss a plan that includes an average 7.2 percent hike. This is an increase from a 3.7 percent increase that it considered last month. 

The rate change would hit homeowners differently, depending on what type of property they are insuring. While homeowners would see an average 6.1 percent increase, condo and mobile homeowners would see a bigger increase according to the plan.

Last year saw private insurers request double digit increases which were eventually approved. High rates in the private market and the unavailability of coverage in some areas has forced more homeowners to turn to Citizens for coverage. Insurers continue to blame litigation related to assignment of benefit forms as the reason for their rate increase requests. 

“We want to make certain that Floridians have access to property insurance that is both reliable and affordable,” said Senate Banking and Insurance Chairman Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton in the Miami Herald article. “Right now, we have a situation in our state where homeowners are paying more for their property insurance, and yet insurance companies are suffering massive losses.”

Despite the fact that Citizens is the state’s insurer of last resort it is often cheaper than policies in the private market. Citizens has seen it policy count go from 427,000 policies in 2018 to 532,000 in 2020. They are projecting they will have over 630,000 policies by the end of the year. 

The requested rate and plan changes may also eliminate a practice that allows some customers of Citizens to receive a premium decrease. These customers would no longer see a decrease, instead, their premium would not change. The Citizens board will also consider a proposal that could lead to new customers of Citizens paying actuarially sound premiums which in most cases would be a higher rate than what most current customers pay. 

Lawmakers Trying to Find a Solution

Homeowner insurance rates and rates at Citizens have been a problem for lawmakers and insurance regulators for years. Consumers have complained because they cannot find affordable coverage in the private market. 

Private market insurers claim that excessive litigation in the state is a major issue when it comes to high premiums. Lawmakers such as Boyd are hoping to pass legislation that can help eliminate some of those issues.

As an example, a bill (SB 76) would seek to limit “contingency fee multipliers,” which has been a goal of insurers for a long time. Currently, Florida allows plaintiffs to collect attorney fees when they prevail in cases against insurance companies. This has led to less than honest lawyers partnering with shifty contractors to overcharge insurers for roofing and other work and then sue the insurer when the claim is denied. 

Under the bill being considered, contingency risk multipliers could only be awarded “in a rare and exceptional circumstance with evidence that competent counsel could not be retained in a reasonable manner.”

The bill would also allow insurers to use a “roof surface reimbursement schedule,” which insurers hope will reduce the number of fraud in roofing claims. Insurers would be required to provide full replacement coverage for roofs less than 10 years old but for older roofs, the overage levels would drop or move to actual cash value which lowers the amount an insurer would have to pay out.