State-run property insurance provider Citizen defends high rate of claims closed without payment; "We don't want your business”

Officials overseeing the state-backed homeowners' insurer of last resort said reports it has the worst rate of paying claims were frustrating clickbait.

Jay Adams, chief insurance officer of Citizens Property Insurance Corp., said the high number of claims closed without payment happened because the corporation doesn't cover floods, its deductibles can be as high as 10%, and people opened claims after other companies assumed the policies.

Citizens' leaders spent most of a half-hour claims committee meeting Thursday criticizing an analysis from Weiss Ratings that Floridians got nothing from half of the claims the insurer closed last year, as first reported by the Tampa Bay Times.

"I've been extremely disappointed in what I've read in these articles, as well. You know, it seems to be the day and age where we clickbait to try to get people into these articles that are just not correct factually," said Jason Butts, a board member from Pinellas County.

Despite the board members' claims the reports weren't factual, none of them disputed that Citizens closed 50.4% of claims without payment last year.

"Is there truth behind Citizens probably has the highest closed without payment rate, and I think that's probably very factual," Adams said. "Yes, why would that be? Well, Citizens is the insurer of the last resort. We are writing the most risky policies in the state."

Weiss Ratings' analysis was based on Citizens annual report.

"We believe it's important to analyze the claims data and it appears that Citizens does not currently understand precisely why each claim was denied for this season's storms," a Weiss Ratings spokesperson wrote to Florida Phoenix. "We would hope that Citizens would do the necessary analysis rather than focus on headlines they don't like."

This hurricane season, Citizens received nearly 72,000 claims, Adams said. The rate of claims closed without payment ranged between 44% for Hurricane Milton to 74% for Hurricane Debby. Although Adams pointed to other factors aside from flooding as the reason claimants didn't receive payments, he only presented data related to flooded denials.

The insurer aims to have fewer than 1 million policies by the end of the year, Chief Administrative Officer Jeremy Pope said during a Wednesday meeting.

"We don't want your business. That's the whole idea of being an insurer of last resort, but if we do have your business, we do a heck of a good job to commit to make sure that you're treated properly and well," board member Scott Thomas said.

This story appeared on the website of the Florida Phoenix, a nonprofit news organization dedicated to coverage of state government and politics from Tallahassee