Florida OIR Increases Citizens’ Rate Decrease Threefold

As the Florida property insurance market continues to evolve, state regulators have made a significant move by approving an 8.7% average decrease in rates for personal lines across most of the state. This decision comes in response to the ongoing trend of takeouts and the increasing number of carriers entering the market. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) recently approved this rate decrease, which is more than triple the initial request from Citizens’ Property Insurance Corp., the state-created insurer of last resort.

Just a month prior, Citizens had requested a modest 2.7% average decrease, which surprised many given the previous four years of pressure from Citizens and primary market insurers urging OIR to raise rates to the maximum allowed. While it is uncommon for OIR to exceed a filing’s proposed numbers, it is not entirely unprecedented. Citizens’ CEO, Tim Cerio, appeared to encourage regulators to consider deeper cuts during the Citizens Board of Governors’ meeting on December 10.

“As the market continues to get better, OIR may grant even greater relief,” Cerio stated, hinting at the potential for further reductions in the future.

Any decrease in rates for Citizens is seen as a notable shift from the trend observed in recent years. In early 2022, Citizens indicated a staggering 91% rate increase for homeowner policies. Furthermore, in mid-2025, the Citizens board voted to request a 15% average personal lines rate increase—the maximum allowed—aimed at encouraging consumers to transition to private insurance carriers, thereby strengthening the overall market.

However, following legislative reforms in 2022 and 2023 that effectively limited claims litigation costs for insurers, the approval of an 8.7% rate decrease by Citizens is a politically advantageous move. It helps alleviate the financial burden that many Florida property owners experienced from 2016 to 2024 due to significant premium spikes. Florida officials have welcomed this cut, although some express concerns about its potential impact on the trend toward primary-market carriers.

“We are seeing nothing but good news across all data points for Florida’s auto and home insurance markets. These positive results are entirely related to our historic tort reforms, driven largely by Governor DeSantis’ leadership,” stated Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky in a recent statement.

Approximately 330,000 Citizens policyholders are expected to benefit from the new rate levels. Once the largest insurer in the state with over 1.3 million policies in force in 2023, Citizens now holds about 395,000 policies, positioning it as the third-largest insurer in Florida, following Universal Property & Casualty and State Farm Florida.

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Florida
Pricing Trends

As the Florida property insurance market continues to evolve, state regulators have made a significant move by approving an 8.7% average decrease in rates for personal lines across most of the state. This decision comes in response to the ongoing trend of takeouts and the increasing number of carriers entering the market. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) recently approved this rate decrease, which is more than triple the initial request from Citizens’ Property Insurance Corp., the state-created insurer of last resort.

Just a month prior, Citizens had requested a modest 2.7% average decrease, which surprised many given the previous four years of pressure from Citizens and primary market insurers urging OIR to raise rates to the maximum allowed. While it is uncommon for OIR to exceed a filing’s proposed numbers, it is not entirely unprecedented. Citizens’ CEO, Tim Cerio, appeared to encourage regulators to consider deeper cuts during the Citizens Board of Governors’ meeting on December 10.

“As the market continues to get better, OIR may grant even greater relief,” Cerio stated, hinting at the potential for further reductions in the future.

Any decrease in rates for Citizens is seen as a notable shift from the trend observed in recent years. In early 2022, Citizens indicated a staggering 91% rate increase for homeowner policies. Furthermore, in mid-2025, the Citizens board voted to request a 15% average personal lines rate increase—the maximum allowed—aimed at encouraging consumers to transition to private insurance carriers, thereby strengthening the overall market.

However, following legislative reforms in 2022 and 2023 that effectively limited claims litigation costs for insurers, the approval of an 8.7% rate decrease by Citizens is a politically advantageous move. It helps alleviate the financial burden that many Florida property owners experienced from 2016 to 2024 due to significant premium spikes. Florida officials have welcomed this cut, although some express concerns about its potential impact on the trend toward primary-market carriers.

“We are seeing nothing but good news across all data points for Florida’s auto and home insurance markets. These positive results are entirely related to our historic tort reforms, driven largely by Governor DeSantis’ leadership,” stated Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky in a recent statement.

Approximately 330,000 Citizens policyholders are expected to benefit from the new rate levels. Once the largest insurer in the state with over 1.3 million policies in force in 2023, Citizens now holds about 395,000 policies, positioning it as the third-largest insurer in Florida, following Universal Property & Casualty and State Farm Florida.

Topics
Trends
Florida
Pricing Trends