MIAMI SHORES, FLA. (WSVN) - In a unanimous vote, the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Board of Governors approved a 2025 rate package.
With the vote, Citizens’ customers could see an increase of 14% in their property insurance rate as early as next year.
During Wednesday’s meeting, several board members were heard saying aye as they cast their votes.
“All those in favor, say aye,” said a board member.
With over a million policies, the state-run insurer would be implementing its maximum allowable 14% rate statewide.
“Citizens right now is the number one insurer in Florida with over 18% market share. No insurer of last resort, or what we call ‘backstop insurer,’ should ever be the largest insurer in the state,” said Mark Friedlander, director of communications for the Insurance Information Institute.
The increase would apply to all personal lines policies to include private condos, single-family homes, mobile homes and rentals.
The rising cost of homeowners insurance is affecting South Floridians, and it’s leaving some local residents wondering what their next steps will be.
“It’s getting kind of unaffordable now for us, honestly,” said homeowner Bill Amirault. “It’s just kinda been creeping up each year and, at some point, it’s going to break. It’s going to break us.”
Citizens, a not-for-profit corporation, tax-exempt, providing both windstorm coverage and general property insurance for homeowners who can’t access it otherwise in the private market. This is especially critical after a hurricane or storm.
The board of governors’ vote comes as private insurance companies have pulled out of Florida over the past few years, leaving homeowners with fewer options and higher prices.
Friedlander said Citizens raising rates puts them closer to what private companies charge.
“The key ingredient is, Citizens’ rates need to be much closer to private market rates. Right now, there’s a gap of about 30% to 40%,” he said.
Closing that gap, experts say, will create competition, hopefully someday lowering prices.
But a bigger problem still looms. Citizens’ prices are still lower than private companies, but with fewer private options in the state, a major hurricane would mean Citizens would be forced to pay out more than it can afford, and taxpayers would foot the bill.
“We would all have to help Citizens pay their claims for a major storm loss,” said Friedlander. “Nobody wants to be in that situation. We never want to see that scenario.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said rising costs are offset by other tax breaks in the state, and he blames inflation for rising costs in general.
“If you want to build a house or repair a house, it just costs a lot more today than it did four or five years ago,” he said.
Homeowners don’t know who to blame. They just don’t want to be forced out.
“Yeah, we’re close to that, honestly, we are,” said Amirault. “With taxes and insurance together, it sort of puts this house in a different bracket for us.”
The packaging that features the insurance increase is still pending more votes before it can be fully approved.
If the 2025 rate package passes all approvals, here’s how it could impact residents:
- For both Miami-Dade and Broward counties, homeowners could see a possible increase of 13.5%
- Condominium unit rates would likely increase by 14.2% in Miami-Dade and 14.3% in Broward County.
While the board of governors voted for a rate increase, the Office of Insurance Regulation still needs to approve it, and they will hold a public hearing.
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