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The board of state-run Citizens Property Insurance approved raising rates for most policyholders by 10 percent next year. After a heated debate Wednesday, Citizens also agreed to cap any rate cuts at 10 percent as well, rejecting a committee recommendation that rates remain frozen for those customers. This is not good news by any means but is important for home buyers in Florida to know.

This affects policy holders in the following counties:

• Pinellas 101,502
• Pasco 61,156
• Hillsborough 36,392
• Hernando 26,471
• Citrus 4,602

So far policies in force as of May 31, 2009 are as follows:

• PLA – Personal Residential Multi-Peril (PR-M) 618,166
  HRA – Personal Residential Wind-Only (eWIND PR-W) 201,934
  HRA – Personal Residential Wind-Only (ePAS PR-W) 82,444
  HRA – Personal Residential Multi-Peril (PR-M) 85,898
  HRA – Commercial Residential Wind-Only (CR-W) 14,619
  HRA – Commercial Residential Multi-Peril (CR-M) 617
  HRA – Commercial Non-Residential Wind-Only (CNR-W) 30,424
  HRA – Commercial Non-Residential Multi-Peril (CNR-M) 37
  CLA – Commercial Residential Multi-Peril (CR-M) 8,688
  CLA – Commercial Non-Residential Wind-Only (CIW CNR-W) 437
  CLA – Commercial Non-Residential Multi-Peril (CNR-M) 189

Total: 1,043,453 policies in force as of May 31, 2009

Citizens Property Insurance covers homeowners who cannot find coverage in the open market. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is the State’s homeowners’ insurance safety net. It was created by the Legislature in 2002 to offer property coverage to Floridians without private insurance options.

On May 4, 2002, Florida’s governor signed legislation creating Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) by merging the Florida Residential Property and Casualty Joint Underwriting Association (FRPCJUA), which provided homeowners property coverage statewide, and the Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association (FWUA), which provided wind-only coverage in designated coastal areas. Citizens is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt corporation, whose public purpose is to provide policyholders with affordable property insurance protection.

You can read their strategic plac for 2009 to 2012 here. It looks like one of their goals is to preserve this coverage to Floridians so they voted to increase rates 10% next year for most policy holders.

This recent news should not deter home buyers from buying in Tampa Bay, Florida or for that matter throughout Florida.

Looking for a Citizens agent? Look for one here.