The governing board of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation – the state-run insurer of last resort – agreed Tuesday to review a $350 million loan program that has key lawmakers worried.
The plan, approved by the board last month, has come under fire from incoming House Speaker Will Weatherford and others, who have raised concerns about the program and the speed with which it has been pulled together.
To trim its rolls, Citizens would provide up to $50 million in 20-year, low-interest loans to companies willing to take Citizens policies.
On Tuesday, Governor Rick Scott said he supports the move.
"My goal there is to make sure that if a family company has Citizens insurance in our state, that they understand the process – the fact that if there's going to be a major disaster, there might be assessments”, said Scott. “So I want to make sure everyone understands that. And I want to make sure that if there's something Citizens has to pay out, they have the money to do it."
The board will postpone action until at least December while outside analysts crunch numbers to ensure that the program will deliver what it promises: to reduce Citizens' policy count by more than 300,000 homeowners.
Weatherford, however, said Citizens may be overstepping its bounds. He also made it clear the Legislature wants to weigh in on the matter