Private homeowners insurance companies have received approval to transfer up to 202,000 policies from the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp

While efforts to assess damage from Hurricane Idalia continue. Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworksy has signed off on the proposals submitted by seven private insurers: Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Co., Slide Insurance Co., Florida Peninsula Insurance Co., Monarch National Insurance Co., Safepoint Insurance Co., Loggerhead Reciprocal Interinsurance Exchange, and Edison Insurance Co. These proposals were originally filed in late July, and the transition of policies from Citizens to these private insurers is set to commence around November 21.

In many instances, homeowners may find more affordable coverage with Citizens compared to private insurers. However, a change in legislation approved in December by lawmakers and Governor Ron DeSantis mandates that Citizens customers must accept coverage offers from private insurers if they are within 20% of the cost of Citizens premiums. This change was part of a comprehensive package aimed at strengthening the insurance market. The willingness of insurers to assume policies from Citizens suggests that these legislative changes, along with efforts to limit lawsuits against carriers, have made the insurance market more appealing to the industry.

In late July, Yaworsky also approved proposals that could result in private insurers taking up to 184,000 policies from Citizens, starting in October. The insurers involved in this phase were Slide, Safepoint, Southern Oak Insurance Co., Florida Peninsula, and Monarch. Additionally, Monarch assumed 17,239 policies in June, while Slide and Loggerhead received approval to take on as many as 26,000 policies in August.

Compared to last year’s Hurricane Ian, which caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, Hurricane Idalia is expected to have a far lesser impact on the insurance industry. Idalia made landfall in Taylor County and continued through other sparsely populated rural areas.

According to the AM Best financial-rating agency, “The Big Bend area where it made landfall is more sparsely populated and has some of the lowest insured values in the state, which makes losses unlikely to match those of Hurricane Ian last year. Idalia’s fierce winds, torrential rains, and the resulting storm surge battered Florida’s Gulf Coast before continuing onto Georgia and South Carolina, causing significant property damage that will result in sizable losses for the insurance industry.”

The BMS reinsurance firm has estimated that Idalia caused $3 billion to $5 billion in insured losses. An analysis posted on the BMS website stated, “In reality, the insurance industry dodged a bullet as Idalia tracked over relatively rural areas with low population density.” However, the analysis did not provide a breakdown of potential insured losses in Florida and other states.

As of Sunday, insurers had reported $85 million in estimated insured losses, according to data posted on the Office of Insurance Regulation website. This total includes data from 10,561 claims, with 7,515 of them being residential property claims, while other types of claims included auto damage.