Florida’s largest home insurance provider may soon be raising premiums, subject to a decision from the state’s insurance regulation authority.
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation could increase its premiums by as much as 18.1 percent in some counties if the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FLOIR) agrees to a proposal made earlier this year. Citizens, created by the Florida Legislature in 2002, provides insurance to eligible Florida property owners who cannot find insurance coverage in the private market.
Citizens said earlier this year that it is “required by law to charge actuarially sound rates that are not competitive with the private market” and that “premiums remain well below the filed and approved rates of most private insurance companies writing in the state.”
Newsweek reached out to Citizens via email for comment.
The dollar amount of the insurance increase depends on the current premium and type of policy. According to the Citizens’ proposal, rates for its homeowner multiperil (HO-3) policy, which covers fire, theft and hurricanes, would raise average premiums in the state’s three most populous counties—Miami Dade, Broward and Hillsborough—by 13.5 percent to 13.6 percent.
Elsewhere, premiums could rise by as much as 18.1 percent.
The average annual premium for homeowners with Citizens policies in Miami-Dade County would rise by 13.5 percent, from $5,113 to $5,804—an increase of $691.
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In neighboring Broward County, policyholders would also see a 13.5 percent rise, with rates boosting from an average of $5,385 to $6,112 per year, adding $727 to the annual cost. Of Citizens’ 1.26 million active policies recorded at the end of September, 319,000 are in Miami-Dade and Broward.
If Citizen’s recommendation is approved, the average premium in Hillsborough, where there are 68,428 active policies, would rise by $325 (13.6 percent) from $2,397 to $2,722.
In Glades County, Citizens has recommended the biggest rise of 18.1 percent. This would raise the average premium of $2,413 to $2,848, an increase of $435.
A spokesperson for FLOIR told Newsweek it “is looking at the filings carefully and taking the time to get it right so that consumers don’t have to pay more than is absolutely necessary.”
They said a decision on the most recent filings “will likely be made as hurricane season comes to a close, however there is no set timeline and no decision has been made at this time.”
Any changes, if approved, will go into effect on January 1, 2025.
Florida residents are already grappling with some of the highest home insurance rates in the country. According to Bankrate, the average insurance cost for a home valued at $300,000 in October 2024 was $5,527 per year—much higher than the rate for a home of the same value in neighboring Georgia ($2,071) and Alabama ($2,745).
Florida’s average home insurance premium is $3,242 more expensive than the national average of $2,285. In some areas, costs can climb to more than $8,000. The state average is second only to Nebraska, where the average premium on a $300,000 home is $5,652.
Citizens has also recently been working to depopulate policies to private market insurers as the number it holds has ballooned in recent years. It said it is a sign that Florida’s insurance market is improving against a wide-ranging insurance crisis spurred on by hurricanes, fraud, and the withdrawal of several insurers.
