Florida’s ‘Last Resort’ Property Insurer Is Now State’s Biggest
- Private insurers have folded, left or curbed Florida business
- ‘We’re all last resort here,’ Miami Beach mayor Gelber says
A property destroyed by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, in October 2022.
Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Florida is the fastest-growing US state and, with more than 8,000 miles (12,875 kilometers) of coastline, one of the most prone to natural disaster. Now, with peak hurricane season approaching, a nonprofit created as an insurer of last resort has emerged as the state’s primary bulwark against damage and destruction.
As private insurers have folded under the weight of claims for earlier storms or curbed business in the state, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has become Florida’s biggest property insurer. Since 2020, the number of properties it insures has tripled to almost 1.4 million. Citizens estimates it may add another 300,000 by the end of the year.