Citizens insurance is touting its efforts to move policies into the private market—a process known as depopulation. Florida’s insurer of last resort is introducing new plans to make the move more transparent.
The state-backed insurer concluded its final meeting of the year Wednesday, highlighting its ability to shift 300,000 policies to the private sector since January. Citizens official Steve Bitar says the company is making changes to improve the depopulation process for consumers.
“The first of which is the addition of premium estimates to the communications that are sent by the take out companies to the consumers,” Bitar says. “The OIR is requiring that either a premium estimate or a phone number where a consumer can call to get that estimate is provided on that communication which helps immensely.”
The state Office of Insurance Regulation, or OIR, added the requirement so people can more easily see what they’ll pay with a private insurer. Citizens will also begin sending an initial letter to policyholders who are candidates for depopulation, and it has made it easier to find opt out forms on its website.
