Hefty rate increases approved for Citizens Insurance customers in South Florida

Dec. 07--Hurricane Irma delayed approval of Citizens Property Insurance Corp.'s newest round of rate increases for three months, but the day of reckoning has arrived for the state-run company's South Florida customers.

Rates for most of the company's 92,891 multiperil policyholders in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties will increase by 10 percent or more beginning May 1.

The hefty increases, blamed on excessive claims and lawsuits by South Florida repair vendors and attorneys, follow similar increases in 2017 and smaller hikes the previous year.

Citizens, the so-called insurer of last resort, has warned of perpetual 10 percent increases if state lawmakers don't enact reforms to quell what it says are abuses.

Statewide, coverage for Citizens' multiperil insurance will increase 6.6 percent.

As of Sept. 30, Citizens had 452,394 policies in all of Florida and 228,795 in the tricounty region.

Statewide average rates for condominium owners will increase by an average of 7.6 percent for multiperil coverage and 5.7 percent for wind-only coverage.

Mobile home owners will pay an average 3.9 percent increase for multiperil coverage and 9.8 percent for wind-only coverage.

Rates for renters will decrease by an average 13 percent for multiperil coverage and by an average 4.4 percent for wind-only policies.

Dwelling fire coverage, generally purchased by property owners who rent out to others, will increase an average 5.2 percent for multiperil coverage and 4.6 percent for wind-only coverage.

Approval by the state Office of Insurance Regulation of Citizens' new rates, which has generally taken place in September, was delayed by a directive from Gov. Rick Scott freezing all rate increases for three months after Hurricane Irma.

Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier's order carrying out Scott's directive expired Dec. 4.

Originally, the rate increases were proposed to take effect on Feb. 1. Revising that implementation date to May 1 means any policyholder due to renew between Feb. 1 and April 30 will be able to do so with no change to the rates they paid in 2017.

In addition, the revision resets the clock for future Citizens rate changes. They will now take effect on May 1, spokesman Michael Peltier said.

Meanwhile, proposed average wind coverage increases averaging 3.9 percent for about 17,000 Citizens policyholders in Monroe County were withdrawn.

That helped the overall state average rate increase for Citizens' wind-only coverage to drop from 1.7 percent originally requested to 0.9 percent. The order by the Office of Insurance Regulation approving the statewide rate increases "calls on Citizens to review rating territories throughout Monroe County and analyze wind mitigation credits while working with local officials to review building codes for possible revision," a Citizens news release said Wednesday.

rhurtibise@sun-sentinel.com, 954-356-4071, twitter: twitter.com/ronhurtibise

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