Local

Major home insurance provider in Florida pushes for rate hike

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida property owners are paying roughly four times the national average for insurance.

WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS

And more than a million policyholders could soon pay even more.

Earlier this week, Citizens Property Insurance announced it is pushing for a rate hike for its most common policy type.

If approved, owners of single-family homes would see an average 13.5% rate hike.

Watch: Affordable housing available to those with behavioral health diagnoses in Osceola County

Condo owners could face even higher rates.

“So, what the legislature has done is they’ve glide path the rates,” said insurance expert Tom Cotton. “Are trying to step them up over a period of time, rather than forcing the major increases on the citizens, policyholders. They’re doing spreading it out over time.”

Read: New details unveiled as Disney’s affordable housing complex overcomes rocky start

Citizens’ CEO says the insurer plans to depopulate even more policies, cutting more than 400,000 from fall of last year to the end of this year.

This would lessen the state’s financial risk.

Watch: ‘Palm Gardens’: Orlando celebrates opening of new affordable housing complex

However, it would also push people who rely on Citizens out, likely forcing them to move to a more expensive private insurer.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

0