Citizens Property Insurance

The chief executive of Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. on Wednesday pushed back against financial questions raised by the chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, saying the insurer “will always be able” to pay claims.Citizens President and CEO Tim Cerio released a statement after Senate Budget Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., sent a letter Monday that cited a recent comment by Gov. Ron DeSantis that Citizens is “not solvent.” That came after Whitehouse in November requested financial information from Citizens and raised the possibility that the insurer could seek a federal bailout if Florida gets hit by a major hurricane.

Regulators have ordered the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to revamp — and trim — proposed rate increases.Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky signed an order Friday that took issue with parts of a Citizens rate proposal that included increasing rates by 12 percent for homeowners with the most-common type of policies.

AAA won’t renew “a very small percentage” of homeowners and auto insurance policies in hurricane-wracked Florida, joining other insurers in limiting their exposure in the Sunshine State despite efforts by lawmakers to calm the volatile insurance market, the company said Tuesday.

The market for reinsurance — a critical piece of Florida’s property-insurance system — is improving. But it comes at a price.Those are takeaways from new reports as Florida insurers try to bounce back after two years of homeowners losing policies and facing major rate increases because of financial troubles in the industry.Reinsurance, which is essentially insurance for insurers, helps drive the catastrophe-prone Florida insurance system. When the market for reinsurance is tight and costly, the effects trickle down to homeowners’ policies.

The proposed increases would vary based on factors such as types of policies. But Brian Donovan, the chief actuary for Citizens, said during a hearing held by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation that Citizens is recommending 12 percent increases for all homes that are primary residences and have what are known as multi-peril policies — the most-common type of coverage.

Former customers of United Property and Casualty who switched to Citizens will get more time to begin hurricane-related repairs.

The Citizens Insurance proposal would need approval from the Office of Insurance Regulation before it could take effect and would lead to increases that would vary by types of policy.

The Insurance Journal story said that at least two insurers in recent months — one in Lee County and another in Charlotte County — are seeking to eliminate one-way attorney fees.

After Florida lawmakers made changes in the insurance system that he described as “historic,” Citizens Property Insurance Corp. President and CEO Barry Gilway said Thursday he will retire. That will lead to transitions at two of the most-important parts of the Florida insurance industry.

Hurricane Ian dealt a major blow to Florida’s already crippled property insurance market. The Category 4 storm is expected to go down as one of the costliest in U.S. history, and that’s expected to drive more of the state’s private insurers out of business.