More policyholders from Florida's property insurer of last resort will be getting offers to switch companies, another step in helping to stabilize the state's insurance market, officials say.
Mangrove Property Insurance Co. said Thursday that it plans to assume up to 32,000 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. in the fourth quarter, putting Mangrove near the 81,040 limit for 2025 that regulators set earlier this year.
St. Petersburg, Florida-based Mangrove already assumed nearly 50,000 Citizens policies in April and June. In January, regulators approved the company to do business in the Sunshine State.
Under terms of the so-called depopulation program, policyholders who receive offers from Mangrove or any insurer aren't required to leave Citizens if they would be paying in excess of 20% more than their Citizens policies. Citizens policyholders who receive at least one offer below 20% of Citizens' rate must leave the company but can choose between multiple bids if they have more than one, according to Mangrove.
Citizens is seeking to reduce its policy count, saying that having more private insurers to write coverage helps keep rates across Florida from rising sharply. As of June 20, Citizens said it had 777,592 policies, down 36% from the same period a year earlier and 44.9% lower than its October 2023 peak of 1.41 million policies.
“We will underwrite potential opportunities to reduce risk in Citizens in the fourth quarter consistent with our approach earlier this year, focusing on policies which meet our robust selection criteria," Mangrove CEO Stephen Weinstein said in a statement.