Florida insurance regulators have given the green light to three insurance companies to assume up to 135,540 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. in June. The move is part of the state’s “depopulation” program aimed at reducing the number of Citizens customers. Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky signed three orders allowing Mangrove Property Insurance Co., Patriot Select Property and Casualty Insurance Co., and Slide Insurance Co. to take over policies. Mangrove will be able to assume up to 81,040 policies, Patriot Select up to 39,500, and Slide up to 15,000. Citizens, created as an insurer of last resort, grew to become the state’s largest insurer amid financial problems in the private industry. The depopulation program is a key part of state efforts to shift policies back to the private market and reduce risks to Citizens if hurricanes hit. While the program aims to reduce Citizens’ risk, it may lead to higher costs for customers shifted to private insurers due to a law requiring Citizens customers to accept offers within 20% of their current premium. Citizens had 851,210 policies as of last week, down from 1.4 million in 2023. The depopulation process has contributed to growth for some insurers, with Slide and American Integrity Insurance Co. seeing significant increases in their policy counts.
