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Florida Gov. Crist Signs Citizens Insurance Rate Hike Bill Into Law
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has signed legislation that will increase property insurance rates by 10 percent annually on more than one million customers of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and gradually reduce the exposure of the state’s hurricane insurance fund.
Crist signed the bill (HB 1495) yesterday along with 30 other bills without any public comment.
Supporters of the legislation had warned that Citizens’ customers could have faced rate increases of more that 40 percent on Jan. 1 if lawmakers didn’t allow the smaller hikes in Citizens’ rates, which have been frozen for several years. The legislation implements a so-called rate “glide path” capped at 10 percent until Citizens’ rates are actuarially sound.
