Hurricane Helene spurs major changes in Florida’s property insurance industry
After the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Helene, Florida’s largest property insurance provider, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, is preparing to offload more than 600,000 policies to private insurance companies. The transfer, approved by state regulators earlier in the year, is intended to stabilize the insurance sector by reducing the number of policies under Citizens’ coverage.
Citizens, established by the Florida Legislature in 2002, act as the insurer of last resort for homeowners who are unable to secure insurance in the private market. The number of policies held by Citizens has increased drastically over the past five years, jumping from around 420,000 in 2019 to more than 1.25 million in 2024. This increase has resulted from private insurers reducing their coverage and hiking premiums, which has forced many homeowners to rely on Citizens for their insurance needs.
Earlier this year, Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky signed off on a plan that will allow 10 private insurers to assume 413,808 policies from Citizens beginning in late October. Recently, an additional 235,035 policies were authorized for transfer in November, bringing the total number of policies set for removal to over 600,000.
Rise in Insurance Claims
Hurricane Helene’s devastating effects have resulted in more than 200 fatalities, with hundreds of people still missing. The financial damage caused by hurricane Helene has led to a flood of insurance claims, with 84,400 claims already filed in Florida alone. These claims include 42,219 related to residential properties, with more than 38,000 claims still pending.
Florida residents already face some of the highest home insurance premiums in the country. Recent data from Bankrate highlights that the average cost to insure a $300,000 home in Florida is now $5,527 annually—far higher than the premiums in nearby states like Georgia ($2,071) and Alabama ($2,745). This sharp increase in premiums, combined with the hurricane’s damage, is putting an enormous financial strain on homeowners across the state.
The Depopulation Program's impact on Florida's insurance market
Citizens’ policy reduction initiative, known as the Depopulation Program, is aimed at transferring the risk of insuring Florida properties back to private companies. Under this program, Citizens matches its policyholders with private insurers that are interested in offering coverage in the private market. By doing this, the state hopes to reduce the financial burden on Citizens and distribute it more evenly among private insurers.
Although this effort is designed to provide a long-term solution, many homeowners are worried about how it will affect their ability to find affordable insurance. With private insurers often hesitant to offer coverage in areas prone to hurricanes, policyholders may face rising premiums or a limited choice of insurance providers. Florida’s insurance crisis, exacerbated by storms like Helene, has left homeowners in a precarious situation, with no easy solutions on the horizon.
As Florida continues to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, the reshuffling of Citizens’ policies signals a significant shift in the state’s insurance landscape. Homeowners will need to stay alert to how these changes impact their insurance options, costs, and overall coverage.
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