Expanded Citizens' Clearinghouse plan approved

By Jim Turner

News Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE—A proposal to move more condominium policies out of Citizens Property Insurance, the state-run carrier, is headed to Gov.Ron DeSantis.

The House voted 88-19 on Monday on a measure (SB 1028)that directs Citizens to establish two clearinghouses for commercial residential and non-residential policies by January 1, 2027.

One of the new clearinghouses is for authorized insurers to make takeout offers on commercial residential and non-residential policies. The second opens the process for approved surplus lines insurers, which are companies not licensed in Florida but allowed to operate as an “eligible” insurer.

Miami Republican Rep. MikeRedondo, the sponsor of the House version of the bill, said keeping policies out of Citizens will strengthen Florida’s insurance system and create more options for business and commercial property owners.

“All this would do, if they receive an offer of coverage from the surplus lines clearinghouse, is just prevent them from staying within Citizens, ”Redondo said.“They would not be obligated to accept that offer. They could use an agent to go back and shop the market again, whether the admitted market or the surplus lines market.”

Rep.AllisonTant, D-Tallahassee, cautioned against pushing customers out of Citizens and the need for more oversight of surplus lines.

But Rep. JoseAlvarez, D-Kissimmee, said the changes brings Citizens back to being the “insurer of last resort and allows the private sector to actually step in, which, as we know it’ll be healthy competition for the market.

and healthy competition in the private sector means lower priced insurance.”

Prior to the House floor session, House Minority Leader FentriceDriskell, D-Tampa, alluded to a reported push for the clearinghouses byRyanTurner Specialty, a wholesale brokerage firm.

The bill“is being pushed by a billionaire mega donor which would force commercial properties off Citizens Property Insurance, which could raise premiums, ”Driskell said during a conference call with reporters on Monday.“So once again, the Republicans are passing bills that help the insurance companies, not Floridians.”

The Senate approved the package 34-1 last Wednesday.

When the bill was before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government on February 4, Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky expressed concerns about the oversight of surplus lines carriers.

“They do not have to disclose what the new premium might be, what new terms of coverage might be and what other provisions might be in place up until the day before the new policy is set to renew,” Yaworsky told the committee.That could be a significant challenge for a number of consumers that are in this residual marketplace right now.”

The clearinghouse process has been used by Citizens for a little more than a decade in its efforts to shed policies.The overall policy count has fallen from 1.41 million in October 2023 to 336,000 as of last Wednesday.

Under the residential clearinghouse, when an offer from a private firm is within 15 percent of Citizens’ premium for a new single-family policy, the policy goes to the private carrier.

Redondo said in the commercial lines clearinghouses, the offer from outside Citizens would have to be “equal or better.”

To participate in the clearinghouse, surplus lines insurers would have to have at least five years of publicly available audited financial statements, be rated “A minus” or higher in terms of financial strength and at least an “A-VII” rating from A.M. Best Company.

Last week, the Citizens Board of Governors proposed new rates for 2026 that in part cutrates an average of 8.8 percent for the most common type of Citizens policy, known as homeowners’ multi-peril coverage. For homeowners with wind-only policies, the rate reduction carries an average reduction of 5.5 percent. https://enewspaper.sun-sentinel.com/shortcode/SUN315/edition/4de07422-2d79-45cc-9f35-95f3960d667c?page=9dd44abb-4064-4bf2-8a14-03b8cc7e1283&