With conditions in the Florida property insurance market reportedly continuing to improve, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s policy count has dipped below 1 million for the first time in more than two years.
Florida’s property insurer of last resort has suggested that the reduced policy count is due in large part to the success of the Citizens Depopulation Program.
The firm’s policies in force as of November 29, 2024, are 987,650, down from 1,036,913 on October 31, and 1,263,055 on September 30.
Citizens noted that the current count reflects a 19.5% decrease from January 2024 and reduces its exposure by nearly $200 billion.
In fact, since January 2024, the Depopulation Program has transferred more than 428,000 Citizens policies to private insurance companies approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation.
At the same time, Citizens said it is seeing a reduction in the flow of new policies into Citizens, highlighting a “renewed interest” by new and existing private companies to enter or expand in the Florida market.
Following the upcoming December depopulation assumption, the Citizens policy count is expected to drop to close to 900,000 policies by the end of 2024.
Tim Cerio, Citizens’ President/CEO and Executive Director, commented, “These are encouraging signs as we continue our efforts to return to our role as Florida’s insurer of last resort.
“As Citizens shrinks, so does the risk of assessments on Floridians who are not Citizens policyholders. This should be welcome news to all.”
Citizens recently projected that it will need to purchase $4.453 billion of reinsurance from the traditional and capital markets for 2025, although the overall size of the firm’s financing tower is expected to come down year-on-year with lower exposure, with lower attachment points expected.
