Smaller Insurance Companies Taking the Places of Some of the Bigger Players in Florida

I have heard reports and have also heard similar information from local insurance agents, that Citizens Property Insurance and other larger companies are losing some of their business to smaller underwriters that are beginning to do business in the state. Though for some properties, Citizens may still be the only option. It is good to hear that other companies may provide consumers with more choices when they are looking for coverage for their homes.

Citizens growth had been rapid up until last fall. However, in February of this year it was reported that they were covering 9% less properties than they were in the autumn of 2007. They had lost much of this business to smaller Florida-based companies.

Some of these newer companies only insure properties that are worth over $1,000,000. Others only will take properties that were formerly customers of Citizens. And others prefer to market their products in the mainstream marketplace.

So if you are looking for a new company to cover your property, you may want to do some searching and see what options are available to you.

A few of the newer companies are: Edison Insurance, American Integrity Insurance, Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange or PURE ($1,000,000+), and American Strategic Insurance.  As the length of time from last hurricane landfall in Florida lengthens, we may see more companies enter the market here. Let's hope so. We have received little loyalty or price breaks from the so-called "big boys" like State Farm and Allstate. Let's see if the local crowd can serve us better.

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