Florida’s insurer of last resort received the approval for the increase after requesting 10.7 percent.
Citizens customers are bracing for a homeowner insurance rates increase as high as almost 11 percent, which will become effective as of September 1, 2022. This, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) after the insurer received approval to increase premiums by an average of 6.4 percent across the state.
The state-run corporation currently provides coverage for over 800,000 homes throughout Florida.
As private insurers flee from the state’s marketplace, which is frequently labeled as being in crisis at the moment, the number of property owners turning to Citizens for their coverage has ballooned.
According to a June 24 notice, the OIR granted Citizens the right to increase raise its homeowner insurance rates. The request was filed back in March and gave the insurer some – though not all – of what was requested. The OIR reduced the multi-peril home policy increase from the requested 10.7 percent to 6.4 percent.
That said, the new multi-peril homeowner insurance rates will increase by 10.6 percent.
The multi-peril premiums hike was reduced from the requested 10.7 percent to 10.6 percent. Other subcategories also experienced comparable increases in how much they will cost. They include coverage such as wind-only.
The office gave the thumbs up to the higher rates for commercial properties as well. In that area, Citizens received what was requested. For commercial residential properties, multi-peril coverage will be going up by 10.2 percent, and condo associations will see their premiums heading 8.7 percent higher.
Of the 14 different categories where increases were requested, the OIR gave the greenlight to hikes between 9.8 percent and 10.7 percent for nine of them. Wind-only coverage specific to commercial non-residential property in Citizens Coastal Account saw the largest rise, which was 11 percent. Unlike all the other commercial and homeowner insurance rates that are going up, one category was not granted an increase. It was multi-peril commercial non-residential property coverage.
Private insurers have also been requesting increases over the last two years and have either been granted the right to do so or are still awaiting their approvals.