Citizens board recommends insurance rate reduction

The Board of Governors of state-run Citizens Property Insurance recommended reduced rates for about 70 percent of its customers during Wednesday’s quarterly meeting.

Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation must give final approval before the lower rates take effect. Citizens officials cited a drop in re-insurance costs and the absence of a hurricane in eight years as main reasons for the reduction.

Miami-Dade County homeowners with policies covering theft, wind and fire should see an average rate decline of 4.3 percent. Comparable policies in Broward County are expected to have an average drop of 7.3 percent.

Not all South Florida property owners are celebrating the news, however. South Florida condo owners are still going to see higher insurance bills, with average increases of 6.4 percent in Miami-Dade and 3.2 percent in Broward, according to the Miami Herald. Coastal homeowners with wind-only policies in Broward are projected to receive a 5.3 percent average increase, but Miami-Dade policyholders should not see a change. [Miami Herald] — Eric Kalis