Two insurers approved to remove 26,000 Citizens policies. Hearing set for company’s next round of rate hikes. [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

South Florida Sun Sentinel (FL)

Two private-market insurers have been approved to remove up to 26,000 policies from state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

In a consent order dated May 31, insurers Slide Insurance Company and Loggerhead Reciprocal Interinsurance Exchange were approved by Office of Insurance Regulation Commissioner Michael Yaworsky to assume selected personal lines policies from Citizens under terms approved back in 2016.

The two companies requested permission to assume the policies back in April.

Slide submitted a proposal on April 28 to assume ownership of up to 25,000 policies, including 24,000 personal residential policies from Citizens’ personal lines account and 1,000 multi-peril policies from Citizens’ coastal account.

A day earlier on April 27, Loggerhead submitted a proposal to assume up to 1,000 personal residential policies from Citizens’ personal lines account.

While Citizens takeouts had become common prior to 2017, private market insurers have resisted any urge in recent years to grow quickly by taking on large numbers of Citizens policies.

But large-scale changes to Florida’s insurance market over the past year have changed that calculus and made it possible for new companies to form with none of the legal liabilities that older companies would bring.

Slide and Loggerhead, both formed last year, fit that bill. They will be able to absorb the 26,000 Citizens policies without concerns that they’ll create levels of litigation similar to those that helped drive many insurers out of business over the past few years.

That means no lawsuits by contractors empowered by policyholders’ signing over benefits of their policies, or by attorneys hoping to collect additional money under Florida’s “one-way attorney fee” statute. Both were revoked by the state Legislature in 2022.

Meanwhile, Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation announced plans to hold its annual public hearing over Citizens’ requested rate hikes on June 8 at 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Fourteen separate rate hikes will be evaluated, and members of the public are invited to participate by attending the meeting in person at 412K Knott Building in Tallahassee, or by logging on to participate online.

Online participants are asked to register at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1877214225634701399.

Attendees can also listen to the public hearing over the phone by calling 1-877-309-2071 and typing in access code 315-402-185.

Afterward, public comments will be accepted through June 22 at 5 p.m.

Among the 14 proposed rate increases, the most common requested by Citizens are a 12.5% average hike for multi-peril policies held by owners of houses, condos and rental properties, and a 12.3% average hike for dwelling/fire policies.

Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at [email protected].