Citizens Insurance continues to add policies

The state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. continues to add policies and announced recently it had topped a total of 1.215 million.

Citizens had 1,215,064 policies on Friday, July 5, up from 1,211,914 policies a week earlier and 1,207,292 policies two weeks earlier, according to data posted on its website.

Citizens, which was created as an insurer of last resort, has become the state’s largest carrier in recent years as private companies dropped policies and raised rates because of financial problems.

Citizens reached as many as 1.412 million policies in fall 2023 before seeing reductions because of what is known as a “depopulation” program designed to shift policies into the private market. With hurricane season having started June 1, Citizens officials have said they do not expect private carriers to take out policies over the next few months.

But Citizens President and CEO Tim Cerio said recently that estimates showed Citizens could have fewer than 1 million policies by the end of the year.

In May, Citizens approved spending as much as $750 million on backup coverage to help pay claims if a big storm hits.

The board approved buying private reinsurance that could provide about $5.5 billion in coverage. Reinsurance plays a critical role in Florida’s hurricane-prone market, with insurers buying it in advance to help cover claims if major storms deplete their cash.

The approval did not finalize this year’s Citizens reinsurance coverage, with officials saying negotiations need to play out. Citizens spent about $650 million last year.