JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Property insurance experts say Florida homeowners have reason to be hopeful about future insurance costs.
New data from Citizens Property Insurance, the state-backed insurer, shows a decrease in policy counts, reducing the company’s risk during natural disasters.
“The healthier they are, the healthier we all are,” said Matt Carlucci Jr., owner of Brightway Insurance.
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Carlucci believes that Florida’s private insurance companies stand to benefit most from Citizens’ successful depopulation program.
As of Friday, Citizens had 1,035,534 policies. In 2024 alone, over 1.3 million policies were approved to shift from Citizens to private insurers, though not all have yet moved.
Carlucci, with nearly 20 years of industry experience, said he sees Citizens’ efforts to downsize as a positive step, creating less risk for the company and more stability statewide.
“We’re definitely turning the corner,” he said. “Private insurance companies are becoming more aggressive. Eventually, one of them will lower premiums significantly, which could lead others to follow.”
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Once the private insurance market stabilizes, Carlucci anticipates a decrease in insurance premiums.
Mark Friedlander from the Insurance Information Institute agreed, noting a significant shift in Florida’s insurance market.
“This is a huge step toward stability,” Friedlander said. “Across the country, we don’t see many states with average rate filings as low as Florida’s.”
He highlighted that while many states are seeing double-digit rate increases, Florida’s rates are now nearly flat on average—a remarkable improvement.
Last year, Citizens served 1.41 million policyholders. The goal is to reduce that number to roughly 891,000 by the end of 2024.