street. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Cheryl Lucey is grateful that her homeowner’s insurance premium went up this year by just $200.
“Fortunately, the rate is still good enough that I can work with it,” she said.
But she’s mostly happy to have coverage for her home in St. Petersburg in the first place.
We first met her in September of 2022. At the time, her previous insurance company had dropped her after years of massive increases in her insurance premiums…
“Last week I received a letter saying I was dropped, and the only reason is because we are reducing our access to Florida,” she said.
Lucy is now one of 1.23 million people with a Citizens Property Insurance policy in the wake of Florida’s ongoing insurance crisis.
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But the sigh of relief may be short-lived as the “insurer of last resort” recently revealed it hopes to cut its bloated client list by half – in what they say is an effort to help reform the state’s insurance market.
“People say, ‘I need affordable insurance.’” “I agree,” said CEO Tim Serio. We want insurance to be affordable, but that’s why we need more competition; “We need more private companies to come back to the state.”
It’s a move former Sen. Jeff Brands said will help foster more competition within the private insurance market.
But beyond that, he also puts forward a three-step solution to Florida’s insurance crisis that centers around making Tampa Bay the epicenter of the state’s insurance market recovery.
Proposition 1: Citizens moves headquarters to Tampa or opens a satellite office in the area
“They are the citizen owned and supported property insurer. They are the insurer of last resort. But in many communities they are the insurer of only resort. But they have a responsibility to produce best research practices and help the community overall,” Brands said. “Nationals is a leader in the state, and they should be located in Tampa versus Jacksonville where they are separated from the rest of Florida’s insurance community. Why not make them the center of Florida’s insurance community and let them be organizers and drivers of best practices in the state.”
Proposal 2: The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) would move its headquarters to Tampa or open a satellite office in the area
“Why not be where your insurers are? Establishing a branch office here would really facilitate that relationship between the regulator and the insurers in the state. It would allow for more programs led by the Office of Insurance Regulation, and more leadership by the Office of Insurance Regulation,” he said. Brands: “Honestly, more knowledge and integration with knowing your customer, knowing your customers.”
Proposal Three: Partner with local academics and researchers to develop best practices statewide
Whether it’s Sarasota or Tampa Bay, the vast majority of Florida’s property insurance market is located there. By bringing them together and allowing Citizens and OIR to be the catalyst for both change and research and best practices, we think this will be something that will create almost a Silicon Valley-like environment in Florida for the property insurance industry.”
Brands also said that while he doesn’t believe lawmakers need to be involved to initiate these changes, he believes involving the Legislature could make the process move faster.
While we wait to see what the solution is, Lucy shared this message with those tasked with solving it.
“We work hard, and we want to enjoy where we live and be able to afford where we live. So, we need help,” she said.