Citizens Property Insurance finds financial success
Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance has been struggling beneath a shroud of controversy for the past year. The state-run insurer has been cutting policies in an effort to depopulate itself and reduce financial strain while also raising rates on insurance policies that it has maintained. This has generate a great deal of criticism that has been issued against the state-run organization as well as lawmakers, but it has also placed Citizens Property Insurance in the “best financial shape” it has ever been in, according to the organization’s CEO, Barry Gilway.
Insurer boasts of $7 billion in reserve capital
Citizens now boasts of more than $7 billion in reserve capital. Hurricane season is coming to a close and Florida has managed, yet again, to avoid falling victim to any significant storm. This has provided some financial breathing room for Citizens Property Insurance, but is not the primary reason behind the organization’s bursting coffers. The fact that Citizens has been working aggressively to depopulate itself of policies has had a much more profound impact on its reserves.
Private market shows healthy growth
The insurer has been pushing some homeowners into the private market, which had been quite devoid of private insurers. Companies were cautious to provide coverage in Florida due to the state’s exposure to natural disasters. Since 2012, however, private companies have taken up more than 300,000 policies shed by Citizens Property Insurance. Most of the policies being taken up by private insurers have not experienced any significant increase in rates.
Fight to stabilize insurance market continues
While Citizens Property Insurance has made some impressive progress, Barry Gilway notes that the fight to stabilize the homeowners insurance market is not yet over. There are still many challenges that must be overcome, including the increasing prevalence of fraud throughout the state. Private insurers have helped take some pressure off of Citizens Property Insurance, however, which will provide the state-run insurer with more flexibility in its operations in the coming year.