Florida Keys residents, businesses and condominium associations are seeking property insurance solutions. An upcoming town hall with Citizens Property Insurance officials could be the first step.
Fair Insurance Rates of Monroe (FIRM) will host a town-hall-style meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at the Marathon Government Center. Senior leadership from Citizens will attend to highlight insurance challenges homeowners and condominium associations are facing — especially roof-related matters.
Members of the public and community stakeholders who RSVP’d before the Aug. 15 deadline will hear a presentation from Citizens, while having the ability to ask questions from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Featured presenters include Jay Adams, Citizens chief insurance officer, and Stephen Mostello, Citizens vice president of underwriting.
Those who can’t attend the presentation and question-and-answer period can watch online via Monroe County Television. The forum will also be recorded for future viewing on FIRM’s website and YouTube.
FIRM president Mel Montagne said the town hall grew directly out of the concerns raised at the Citizens board of governors meeting last March in Key West, particularly the challenges of strict roof inspections and nonrenewals in an area with limited contractors and virtually no private-market alternatives.
“After that meeting, FIRM followed up in writing, restated the key issues and formally invited Citizens leadership to a public town hall so they could hear from both government officials and residents. Citizens have been receptive to continued dialogue, and we see this event as part of their ongoing effort to better understand and address the unique roof-related challenges facing Monroe County policyholders,” Montagne said.
While FIRM understands the need to depopulate Citizens and return policies to the private market, this cannot be done by leaving insured Florida residents without catastrophic windstorm coverage. And Citizens policies carry windstorm/hurricane deductibles of 5% to 10% of the insured value. Thus the cost to replace or repair the coating would never exceed this high deductible threshold.
“Non-renewing coverage on this basis therefore leaves the entire property exposed to catastrophic loss for a risk that is effectively immaterial to both the insurer and the policyholder,” read a letter FIRM sent to Citizens a few months ago.
Since October 2023, policies issued by Citizens have plummeted some 76% from its peak of 1.41 million policies. As of last July, Citizens policies totaled 278,196.
“The Florida property insurance market is again healthy and vibrant,” said Tim Cerio, Citizens’ president/CEO and executive director, earlier in the year. “Most Floridians now have many options as financially sound private insurers compete for their business. Citizens, as it always has, will be there for those policyholders unable to secure coverage in the private market.”
FIRM said it’s important to remember why Citizens, formerly the Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association, was created in 1970. At the time, the Legislature established FWUA due to the lack of available windstorm insurance in Monroe County.
More than 50 years later, not much has changed in Monroe County, with private insurers offering limited options. Almost all wind policies in the county historically rely on Citizens.
Before the afternoon community forum, Citizens will have a morning roundtable with representatives from local government. Montagne said he hopes the sessions yield progress on the roof issues, which affect many Monroe County policyholders.
“From the morning government roundtable, we hope to see constructive discussion among local officials and Citizens representation that can lead to clearer processes — such as more flexible timelines for repairs, case-by-case reviews that recognize Monroe’s strong building codes and better coordination given the limited number of local contractors, as well as having clearer guidelines on roof replacements,” Montagne said.
Event details
- Tuesday, Aug. 25
- Marathon Government Center
- Community forum: 1:30 to 4 p.m.
- Watch online via Monroe County TV
