Citizens drops 90K policies in Tampa Bay as private insurers step in
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Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has shed nearly 90,000 policies in Tampa Bay since this time last year, thrusting homeowners into the private sector — where some may end up paying more.
Why it matters: Hurricanes and aggressive litigation caused the state-run insurer to balloon in recent years, leaving it overexposed.
- Experts had warned that if a hurricane were to slam into Tampa Bay or Miami, it could wipe out Citizens' claims-paying funds and trigger a "hurricane tax" on all insured homes, cars and boats.
By the numbers: Tampa Bay had 211,964 policies with Citizens as of May 31, the latest available data. That's down 30% from 299,882 a year ago.
- Hillsborough County led the drop with a 39% decline, falling from 61,427 policies to 37,252.
- Hernando County followed with a 35% drop, while Pinellas still held the most Citizens policies in the region, even after a 26% decrease.
Between the lines: Tim Cerio, CEO of Citizens, credited the success of its de-population program to "improving" market conditions and to the legislative reforms undertaken in 2022.
Reality check: Florida homeowners still face some of the highest insurance premiums in the nation. As a result, 1 in 5 homeowners in the state have opted to forgo coverage altogether.
Catch up quick: In 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation that bars homeowners from renewing their coverage with Citizens if they receive an offer from a private insurer no more than 20% more expensive.
- A private insurer can now offer you an insurance policy that is over 10% more than your current Citizens rate — and while you're not required to accept it, you can't renew your Citizens policy.
What they're saying: "As the private market has gotten healthier," Michael Peltier, a spokesperson for the state insurer, tells Axios, "a lot of the policies taken from Citizens are either paying the same rate or even a bit lower."
- "It's safe to say that most folks will pay a little bit more," Peltier adds. "But there is also a growing number of people who are seeing their premiums stay the same or decrease."
Yes, but: Peltier tells Axios this isn't a "boiling frog" scenario: "If the insurer comes back later with a renewal offer that's 20% higher than the Citizens premium, the customer is allowed to return to Citizens."
Editor's note: The story and chart have been corrected to reflect that Citizens policies have dropped by 39% (not 65%) in Hillsborough County, 35% (not 55%) in Hernando and 26% (not 34%) in Pinellas.