Recently, Citizens insurance policies held by South Florida residents are being assumed by a small group of untested insurers. These companies include Heritage Property and Casualty and Weston Insurance., both of which have only been licensed by Florida for less than a year. The concerns are that these upstart insurers may not be able to withstand the financial burden of an active or destructive storm season in Florida. As a result, it is imperative that consumers understand the consequences of their policies being taken out by new upstarts.
Unfortunately, the way the take out system works provides customers with very little consumers protection. When a consumer is targeted for take out, they are sent notification that their Citizens insurance policy will be assumed by another insurer. If the consumer does not respond to the initial letter within 30 days, they receives a Notice of Assumption allowing the consumer another 30 days to respond. So unless the consumer takes action to opt out of the assumption, the consumer’s insurance policy will be taken out by the prospective insurer. Any consumer’s currently insured by Citizens should be on the look out for correspondence regarding a take out of their policy so they can act quickly within the required time period.
A link to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s guidelines on take outs can be found here.