Citizens Property Insurance – Rate Increases Across Florida

Toward the end of 2009, Florida Citizens Property Insurance received permission to increase their rates across all state property insurance coverage options.  The average increase will be about 5.4% and many coastal homes will experience a 7.3% rate increase.  In some areas of the state, an increase of up to 10% is expected to be seen.  This increase in insurance rates will affect about a million Florida residents who depend on Citizens Property Insurance for the coverage of their homes.  While in the past this kind of coverage was seen as lower-end, almost a last resort for home owners, today it has converted into the most significant provider of homeowner’s insurance in this southern state.

The increases seen in Citizens Property Insurance are coming simultaneously with the privatization of the insurance provider’s contracts with other insurance organizations.  The purpose of this is to minimize the possibility that the state government will have funding issues in the case of a huge natural disaster on the coastal part of the state.  The increases and privatization of contracts is a surprise to many residents of Florida since the peninsula has not seen any major natural disasters for several years.  The last documented tropical storm was Wilma in 2005.

However, the reason for Citizens Property Insurance increasing their rates is not to recuperate losses incurred by damage caused by recent storms but rather to spread out the financial burdens that disasters cause over many years.  This way, in the future, Citizens Property Insurance will be able to provide better coverage to their customers when the need arises.  After all, you pay insurance so when a disaster hits, you will be provided with claims payouts instead of being denied unless your situation is absolutely dire.

If you are a subscriber of Citizens Property Insurance and oppose the increase in rates, there are a few things you can do.  One of the best things is to compare other current rates of providers in Florida.  Searching online is the best way to compare and contrast local rates and the latest information available to you.  You may find that other companies are increasing their rates and that it might be within your best interest to simply stick with the provider you have now.  The bottom line in, it is your money going toward insurance, and you never want to be forced to settle for less than the best property insurance available to you.