Florida's 'last resort' property insurance provider added 9,000 new policies last week

The state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. added nearly 9,000 policies last week as it steadily moves toward 1.1 million customers.

Citizens had 1,064,145 customers on Friday, up from 1,055,366 a week earlier, according to data posted on its website.

Citizens, which was created as an insurer of last resort, has seen massive growth during the past two years as private insurers have dropped policies, and in some cases gone insolvent, amid financial losses.

As of Sept. 30, 2020, for example, Citizens had 511,055 policies. On Sept. 30, 2021, it had 708,919 policies, according to its website.
Citizens President and CEO Barry Gilway last week told the Citizens Board of Governors that private property insurers are projected to have $1 billion in losses this year.

“If the numbers remain in the red, and companies aren’t put in a position where they are making a reasonable rate of return, you’re not going to have a stable market,” Gilway said.

State leaders have long sought to hold down the number of policies in Citizens, in part because policyholders throughout the state could face additional costs — known as “assessments” — if Citizens runs deficits after a major hurricane or multiple hurricanes.