With nearly a decade since Florida experienced any major hurricanes, it is easy to lose sight of how our insurance market evolved from the post-Hurricane Andrew flight of private insurers from the state to the 2002 birth of nonprofit Citizens Property Insurance Corp. as the state-run “insurer of last resort.”
Today, with nearly a quarter of Florida homeowner policies underwritten by Citizens, its explosive growth over the years has become a potential financial albatross for the state. Citizens could become responsible for the payment of billions of dollars in claims if a major hurricane strikes Florida, causing a depletion of the insurer’s cash and resources built up over the years without a major storm.
