Citizens customers unlikely to see dramatic rate hike

Barry Gilway, the president of state-backed Citizens Property Insurance, said that the insurer was unlikely to dramatically increase premiums for new customers, despite months of plans to lift the 10 percent annual cap and increase premiums for new customers by as much as 50 percent, the Sun Sentinel reported.  Gilway called a large rate hike “untenable,” although rates will increase by a smaller percentage. “We have to [increase rates] in a measured way,” he said. “Is it 10 percent or is it 20 percent?” Gilway told the Sun Sentinel that the alternative to a dramatic rate hike would be to “increase deductibles, [and] the amount policyholders pay out-of-pocket for a claim before the insurer covers it.” Citizens is Florida’s largest home insurer, holding approximately 1.4 million policies. [Sun Sentinel]