Citizens Insurance Approves Statewide Rate Hikes
MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) - Citizens, Florida's largest property insurance provider, has approved yet another round of rate hikes that could affect over a million policy holders.
On Wednesday, The Citizens Property Insurance board voted in Miami to hike rates statewide an average of 7 percent for next year.
Many customers use Citizens to cover for only storm-related damages.
The rate hike is still subject to approval by state regulators. It would translate into $178 million in new insurance costs for policyholders.
Citizens is the insurer of last resort in the state and it covers many homes and property that traditional insurers do not cover. But because of rate caps, Citizens says it does not charge as much as it actually needs to cover potential claims.
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