Navigation Citizens Insurance CEO Cerio: ‘Reforms brought the insurance market back from the brink’
Tim Cerio, CEO of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, informed the board on December 4, 2024, that legislative reforms have stabilized Florida’s property insurance market. Speaking in Tallahassee, he credited the changes with bringing the market back from the brink of collapse.
“The reforms passed by the legislature … really brought the insurance market back from the brink of collapse. They are continuing to work, which is great news for all Floridians,” said Timothy Cerio, President, CEO and Executive Director. “I was not overstating things when I said the reforms championed by the governor and the CFO brought us back from the brink, We think we are going to end the year at only 369,000 new policies, which is 30 percent below what we forecast. So, because the market is getting healthier, we are seeing less new business come in, It’s critical to just point out that we are the state-created, not-for-profit, insurer of last resort. We have no financial incentive to not pay claims. Zero,”
According to a report by Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation (FLOIR), legislative reforms have reduced abusive litigation practices that previously dominated the property insurance market. In 2022, Florida accounted for 14.9% of the nation’s homeowners’ claims but 70.8% of lawsuits, a disparity now being addressed.
