Florida’s so-called "insurer of last resort," Citizens Property Insurance, is delaying the opening of its clearinghouse website for three weeks. The move comes shortly after Gov. Rick Scott appointed the company’s first inspector general.
In order to facilitate the much anticipated “takeout,” or purge, of less risky insurance plans, the insurer pushed its clearinghouse launch date from Jan. 2 to Jan. 27.
Citizens Director of Consumer Services Steve Bitar didn’t reference the federal healthcare exchange website and its troubles directly, but said, after recent website fiascoes, Citizens is being cautious.
“We really stabilize the environment and make sure that from our perspective, we do so in a way that’s tested fully. I think the last thing we want is a website that could have some issues. I think we’ve heard enough of that in the media,” Bitar explained.
Less risky Citizens policies will be shopped to the private sector via the insurer’s website. Any policy that’s less than 15 percent more expensive than a similar private policy will be dropped from the public insurer’s rolls.