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Citizens Insurance customer says depopulation notice contained 430% rate increase

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/price-of-paradise/citizens-insurance-customer-says-depopulation-notice-contained-430-rate-increase

As Citizens Insurance tries to shed 100,000 policies, a local resident says he received a quote for a 430 percent rate increase, which would have gone into effect if he failed to opt out.

5 comments

dynamojoe

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It doesn't surprise me. Citizens is getting bolder and more sketchy when it comes to this. They're only supposed to depopulate a property if they can find comparable insurance within Citizens' rate +20% (which is already a lot). Now they'll send you a 30-day opt-out letter but they will wait a few weeks to send it. I've personally received more than one that were dated three weeks ago but postmarked within the prior three days.

It's pretty shitty of the DeSantis administration to order a state agency to resort to dirty tricks like this. It is just one more reason to not vote for Republicans.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE

I said all that from personal experience, then I R'd TFA and thought, wow, "Slide Insurance" is picking up hundreds of thousands of policies basically by default. How the hell did they get this preferential treatment? Is this a... kickback for political donations? Who runs "Slide Insurance"? Why was the notary who filed the incorporation paperwork (in 2022, the company is not yet two years old) in Miami, 200 miles away?

Bruce Lucas, Shannon Lucas, Bob (Robert) Gries, Sheel Walvekar, Stephen Rhode(s) are the officers of Slide. Here's a search of their recent political donations.

I'm not saying this is pay-to-play but damn that's a lot of policies going to one really new company all of a sudden. It's a tremendous shift of money that would be paid to the state government instead going to the business of a friendly political donor.

Treczoks

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While a 430% increase is definitely highway robbery, the problem with home insurance in Florida is that it is basically uninsurable with all the problems coming with global warming.

It won't be long until home insurance will be the biggest issue on a home owners bill, far surpassing any mortgage payments.

PlantJam

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I honestly don't understand what people expect the Florida government to do about rising insurance rates. Loss ratios are already regulated, so if underwriting says they need a 400% rate increase to maintain an acceptable loss ratio, that's what it is.

A loss ratio is the ratio of claims paid versus premiums collected. Typically this is in the 95%+ range. This is why some auto insurers sent refunds at the beginning of covid. Less driving meant less claims, and a too-low loss ratio could get them into trouble with regulators.

It's unfortunate that insurance expense is what's displacing people, but the root cause is climate change.

RBWells

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Agree but the particular rates Slide is trying to change individuals are not reasonable. In the attached article they want the homeowner to pay 13,000 a year for probably $300k of coverage. It may be that the average rate is somehow ok but there is no way the $13k makes sense.

RBWells

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Our "offer" from Slide insurance was high enough that when I calculated the future value of the stream of payments for 18 years, assuming 10% increase each year (not the 250% increase of the "offer") and a 7% interest rate, the value of those payments is higher than the coverage amount. They seem to be underwriting like every single house they insure will be a total loss every 20 years.

But the house is built in 1940, so has stood for 83 years, and the one I moved from is over 100 years old now and still in good shape with no insurance claims. Every house in Tampa isn't knocked down every 20 years.

I do think Citizens is undercharging, mainly because the state lets the for profit insurance agencies cherry pick properties so they get the ones left out. But Slide is a scam, those rates are not at all reasonable, anyone who had enough money to cover the same coverage amount would be way better off self insuring with a restricted cash account.