Florida’s largest property insurer closed 50% of claims without payment in 2023, according to a new report by an independent Florida-based ratings agency.

What You Need To Know

  • A new report says Citizens Insurance closed 50% of claims in 2023 without payment

  • A representative from Citizens disputed the report’s findings and called them "misleading"

  • Citizens is the state’s largest property insurer

Citizens Property Insurance denied payment in roughly 17,000 cases that year, landing it a 50.4% non-payment rate, according to the report.

The report’s author, Weiss Ratings, utilized Citizen’s annual statement to build the assessment. The report suggests Citizens’ non-payment rate is higher than other private insurers in Florida, including Allstate (47.1%)  and State Farm (46.4%).

“As a state-run company, they should be setting an example for the private sector companies to follow,” said Martin Weiss, founder of Weiss Ratings. “They should not be setting a negative example, whereby companies can say, 'We’re not as bad as they are, so leave us alone.'”

A Citizens spokesperson, however, characterized Citizens’ denial rate to Spectrum News as “misleading.” In an email, spokesman Michael Peltier highlighted differences between Citizens and private insurers. 

“The fact that Citizens’ ‘closed without payment’ rate is a few percentage points higher than the next private insurer is not surprising,” Peltier said in an email. “Citizens insures more policies in flood-prone regions of the state. Citizens, like other traditional insurers, does not cover flood damage."

Peltier also said that not all denials are true denials, as the circumstances surrounding claims may vary — some claimants may’ve not reached deductible thresholds, or, in some instances, claims are duplicated or invalid.

“Citizens also handles wind coverage on the coasts, while other insurance companies may not,” Peltier added.

Meanwhile, Florida’s new legislative leaders are planning to further address Florida’s property insurers at-large. New Senate President Ben Albritton highlighted the state’s market in a Tuesday address at the capitol

“Floridians have been faithfully paying insurance premiums for years, sometimes decades, and now they expect their insurance company to keep up its end of the bargain,” said Albritton. “I want to make sure that impacted Floridians and insurance companies hear me loudly and clearly: We are watching.”

New House Speaker Danny Perez said he is also focused on property insurance. Though details are few in either the House and Senate, legislative leaders are vowing action.

“Do we have a we have a perfect solution for it? No,” said Perez. “But are we going to discuss it and continue to try and find a solution that can better that problem? Absolutely.”

The new report comes as Citizens’ insurance seeks a 14% rate hike for 2025. The insurer is also trying to depopulate and push more policyholders into the private market.