Citizens Property Insurance requested a 13.5 percent rate hike that will likely affect property owners in the most expensive home insurance market in the country.
The Florida-backed insurer needs a nearly 93-percent increase to match the private market, but state regulations cap the amount that rates can rise annually, Newsweek reported. The smaller jump would offset Citizens’ financial risk.
Tim Cerio, president and CEO of Citizens, said the insurer’s rates are “actuarially unsound.”
“The market’s rates are up here, and we are down here. It’s basically a form of subsidized insurance,” he added.
The hike, which would be decided by Aug. 26, would affect the cost of homeowners’ multi-peril policies the most. On average, the annual premium would increase to $4,041 from $3,560.
Homeowners in Florida pay the most of any other state, with an average rate of nearly $11,000 last year, according to Insurify. Last year, the state experienced some of the biggest premium increases in the U.S.
Property insurance is affecting all sectors of the real estate market in South Florida, compounding inflation, high interest rates and other cost increases across commercial and residential real estate.
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