Some Florida Citizens Customers May See Lower Rates Next Year

Florida’s largest property insurer may be dropping its rates next year.

Citizens Property Insurance is considering rate proposals for 2015 that would lower rates by about 3.2 percent for most homeowners. The state-created insurer says the proposal would apply to nearly 70 percent of those with homeowner policies.

The Citizens board will vote Wednesday on the proposal. State regulators must approve the plan as well.

Citizens, which has more than 928,000 policyholders, has raised its rates for four straight years.

But company officials say several factors have diminished the need for rate hikes next year. Citizens has built up a surplus because the state has not been hit with a hurricane since 2005.

Some customers, including those who live near the coast, will still pay more in the coming year.

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