JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Hundreds of thousands of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation policyholders will soon get letters in the mail informing them private insurance companies are looking to take over their policies.
Industry experts are warning customers of the state-backed insurer to be on the lookout because failure to respond could mean big rate hikes.
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Soon, 304,000 Citizens customers will get a letter in the mail informing them a private insurer is willing to absorb their policy.
Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute said for many, that offer will come with big rate hikes.
Read: Regulators order Florida Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to revamp rate increases
“We’re hearing anecdotally from some Citizens policyholders across the state, they’re seeing takeout offers that are running roughly 40 to 100 percent higher than what they’re paying today,” Friedlander said.
Friedlander explained if the takeout offer is more than 20 percent higher than what you’re paying for Citizens, you can reject the offer and keep your current policy.
But you’ll need to act fast, as you only have until October 10 to respond.
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“You can’t just ignore the letter. You can’t throw out the letter because you didn’t like what it said. If you do not respond via the channels that are the web or your agent, you will automatically be switched to the new insurer at the new price,” Friedlander said.
And Friedlander advised even if you haven’t gotten a letter, it doesn’t hurt to reach out to your insurance agent to double-check and ensure your policy isn’t on the depopulation list.
“Say, ‘Just check for me. Am I on that list?’ If not, you have nothing to be concerned about right now,” Friedlander said.
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If you do get a takeout letter and the policy being offered is within 20 percent of your current rate, you will have to leave Citizens.
Friedlander said you can call your agent to shop around and see if you can find a private insurer offering a better deal, but he noted given the current state of Florida’s property insurance market, odds are the offer included in your letter will be your best option moving forward.
“It’s always worth considering other options. Talk to your insurance agent about it. They can be your adviser in this situation, but you do need to make a decision, you do need to respond by the October 10th deadline,” Friedlander said.
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