Florida regulators have approved another round of policy transfers from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., continuing the state’s effort to shrink the insurer of last resort as private carriers step back into the market.

Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky last week signed orders allowing five private insurers to take on as many as 87,925 Citizens policies in November and December. The move follows approval last month for nine other insurers to assume up to 428,947 policies over the fall.

The totals represent maximums, and the actual number of transfers remains uncertain. Still, the latest orders mark another step in Florida’s “depopulation” program, designed to reduce Citizens’ size after it ballooned into the state’s largest property insurer during recent turmoil in the private market.

As of Friday, Citizens held 770,729 policies, down slightly from 774,814 on June 30. By comparison, the state’s next largest carrier, State Farm Florida, had 643,671, according to the Office of Insurance Regulation. Citizens reached a peak of more than 1.4 million policies in 2023.

Under state law, homeowners cannot stay with Citizens if a private insurer offers coverage priced within 20% of the Citizens premium. That means some customers could see higher rates when their policies are shifted to private companies.

The newly approved transfers would allow Manatee Insurance Exchange to take up to 51,500 policies in November; Monarch National Insurance Co. to take up to 25,000 in November; Universal North America to take up to 10,000 in November and December; Slide Insurance to take up to 1,000 in November; and Trident Reciprocal Exchange to take up to 425 in November. Most policies are designed for residential coverage, although some also apply to commercial properties, such as apartments and condominiums.

State leaders have long warned about the financial risk of Citizens’ size, noting that if a major hurricane overwhelms the company’s reserves, it could levy assessments on policyholders statewide — even those insured outside Citizens.

While Citizens’ policy count has dropped over the past two years, depopulation efforts slowed this summer as insurers waited out hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30.

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