© 2024 WFSU Public Media
WFSU News · Tallahassee · Panama City · Thomasville
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Private Companies To Take Nearly 400-thousand Citizens Property Insurance Policies

Citizens Property Insurance officials are touting their efforts to decrease the company’s size, in an effort to return it to its original purpose of being Florida’s insurer of last resort.  The Office of Insurance Regulation has given the okay to move about 400-thousand Citizens Insurance policies to private insurance companies.

Unless they object, about 400-thousand Citizens Property Insurance Policy holders could soon have a new private insurance company. Barry Gilway is the President of Citizens Property Insurance.

“Companies identify the insureds they’re interested in assuming. Then we notify those insureds and it is a negative response required in order to get themselves excluded from the opt out,” Gilway said.

That means Citizens only gets people off its rolls if they don’t pay attention to the warning they’re about to get in the mail or they think the new insurers are superior.  Gilway said Citizens policy holders will be happy with the move. He said private insurers could offer more coverage, and would reduce the risk of an assessment a person would face in the case of a major storm.

Follow Regan McCarthy on twitter @Regan_McCarthy

Follow @Regan_McCarthy

Regan McCarthy covers healthcare and government in Tallahassee, Florida. She is the Assistant News Director for WFSU Public Media.

Phone: (850) 645-6090 | rmccarthy@fsu.edu

Find complete bio, contact info, and more stories here.