FORT MYERS, Fla. — Nearly half a million Florida residents were forced to get a new property insurance carrier in 2024, but that’s a good thing according to state officials.
Citizens, the state-run insurer of last resort, will close 2024 with fewer than a million policies, the lowest number in two years.
Since January, Citizens’ depopulation program has resulted in more than 420,000 policies moving to the private market.
Citizens’ leaders say the legislative reforms passed in 2022 have encouraged more private companies to move into the state’s insurance marketplace.
“We should not be competing with the private market,” said CEO Tim Cerio. “A smaller Citizens means non-Citizens customers won’t be paying an assessment.
Citizens plans to keep shrinking.
Cerio says the goal is to drop below 771,000 customers by the end of 2025.
