Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt government entity, created by the Florida legislature with the purpose to provide insurance protection to Florida property owners who are entitled to but are unable to find property insurance coverage in the private market. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is the largest insurer of residential properties in the Sunshine State, and many home owners are insured with Citizens not because no private insurance company will insure them, but because Citizens was much less expensive than the private insurers willing to cover their property. If your agent insured your home with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, it was either because a private insurance company would not cover your property or coverage was offered but at a premium over 15% higher than Citizens.
If your Florida property is insured with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, you are probably aware of Citizens Depopulation Program, which is designed to transition Citizen’s policyholders to private insurance companies.
In 2015, these companies are assuming Citizens property insurance policies: American Colonial Insurance Company, Anchor Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Cypress Property & Casualty Insurance Company, First Community Insurance Company, Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Mount Beacon Insurance Company, Prepared Insurance Company, Security First Insurance Company, Southern Oak Insurance Company, and United Property & Casualty Insurance Company.
Should you stay with Citizens or allow your homeowners insurance to be transferred to the take-out company willing to assume your coverage? If you are facing this decision, or if you have allowed your Citizens policy to be assumed by a take-out company in the past, this review will help you evaluate the take-out company compared to Citizens, other take-out companies, and the insurance companies in the Florida home insurance market. This review will look at the choices you may have to find the best home insurance company for you at the best price, and avoid the worst insurance companies. This review will consider the options for insurance policyholders of personal lines accounts only, such as personally owned single family houses, condo unit owners, and mobile homes, and not commercial residential or non-residential properties owned by business entities or homeowners associations.
Regardless of what choices you may have, homeowners insurance in Florida is expensive. But you can make it more affordable by getting a better price for other types of insurance you have, like auto, life, or medicare supplement insurance. If you shop around, you’ll see some companies charge twice as much for the same coverage.
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Depopulation Program
Florida state law requires Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to create programs to help return Citizens policies to the private market and reduce the risk of additional assessments for all Floridians. The Depopulation program benefits all Floridians by preventing or reducing assessments charged to all Florida property insurance consumers, following an event such as a hurricane, to cover any excess liability not covered by the premiums Citizens Property Insurance Corporation collects.
The Depopulation program accomplishes the goal of reducing the number of properties insured by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, by working with private-market insurance companies that would like to offer coverage to Citizens policyholders. These private-market insurance companies are called takeout companies.
Policyholders whose policies are selected by one of these takeout companies are sent a letter notifying them of the pending assumption and providing instructions on how they can elect to opt out and remain with Citizens, if eligible and should they wish to do so. To opt out of an assumption by a takeout company and remain with Citizens, the policyholder needs to sign the Opt Out Form and email, fax or mail it to the takeout company using the contact information on the form. Policyholders who do not opt out within the opt out time frame will receive a Notice of Assumption and Non Renewal and a Certificate of Assumption.
Policyholders have two opportunities to opt out of the assumption and remain with Citizens:
1. Before their policy is assumed: complete the Opt Out Form and return to the takeout company by the specified date on the form.
2. After their policy is assumed: the Notice of Assumption and Nonrenewal and Certificate of Assumption the policyholder receives indicates an additional time frame to opt out of the assumption. Refer to the notice for the specific date.
Outside of these two opt-out opportunities, former Citizens policyholders can re-apply to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, but they will not be able to get back their old policy & policy number.
Do you have to go with the takeout company assuming your policy?
If you do nothing, the takeout company offering to assume your policy will become your new insurance company. However, you can either complete the Opt Out Form in the proper time frame and remain with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, or shop to find another Florida home insurance company willing to insure your home.
Source: Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Website
Should you stay with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation?
Here are three major reasons policyholders should leave Citizens Property Insurance Corporation:
1. If needed to pay the company’s financial & claims obligations, Citizens policyholders could receive up to a 45% premium surcharge for 12 months.
2. Citizens policies may not be as comprehensive as a private takeout company or another company may be able to offer.
3. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation has a terrible complaint record, with most Florida home insurance companies having a better complaint record.
Here is one major reason policyholders should stay with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation:
1. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation has strong financial solvency & ability to pay claims, as supported by all Florida tax payers. Many Florida property insurers, particularly takeout companies, have questionable financial solvency.
How to decide if a take-out company is a better or worse option?
1. Price
If a takeout company is 45% or more expensive than what Citizens Property Insurance Corporation will charge you, the benefit of not being subject to a possible 45% surcharge by Citizens does not matter.
2. Coverage
You can talk to a few insurance agents active in the Florida homeowners insurance market and see if they can compare the coverage & policy language to see if the takeout company is offering significantly broader coverage than Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.
3. Complaint history & Financial Stability
The information in this review will compare the Florida homeowners insurance complaint histories among the takeout companies & Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, and how to assess their financial stability.
If you receive a takeout offer from a company with a much higher premium, similar coverage, an equally poor complaint record, but questionable financial stability, staying with Citizens may be best for you. Unfortunately, this scenario I describe can be common with takeout companies.
Takeout Companies’ Financial Solvency
A really good reason to stay with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is it does not have the greater risk of insolvency and going out of business, that many of the takeout companies have as small & new companies, taking on the high claims costs of insuring homes in Florida. Settling a major property insurance claim is difficult enough, so you want to avoid the hassle of dealing with an insolvent company wiped out by catastrophic claims costs during hurricane season. It’s been nine years since there has been a major hurricane causing large-scale damage in Florida, but a good portion of takeout companies have become insolvent in recent years, in spite of Florida state’s approval of their financial soundness, to allow them to participate as a takeout company in the depopulation plan.
According to the 6/3/2013 Miami Herald article at this hyperlink, “one-third of the insurance companies that have taken over policies previously held by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. have gone belly up — and cost taxpayers $400 million.”
Here is what happened to several takeout companies participating in the depopulation program during the period of 2007 to 2009:
Argus Fire & Casualty Insurance Company:
Argus Fire & Casualty Insurance Company assumed personal lines account (homeowners, etc.) 10,105 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2008, and 15,382 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2009.
In May 2011, Argus Fire & Casualty Insurance Company made an agreement with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to stop selling policies, non-renew its existing policies, transfer some policies back to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, and cease to do business, due to state regulatory concerns about its lack of adequate reinsurance for hurricane risk.
Edison Insurance Company:
Edison Insurance Company assumed 1,644 personal lines account (homeowners, etc.) policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2008.
Edison Insurance Company was acquired by Florida Peninsula Insurance Company in 2010, and all of Edison’s policies were transferred to Florida Peninsula Insurance Company at renewal. Florida Peninsula recently relaunched Edison Insurance Company to offer homeowners & condominium unit-owners coverage in the state of Florida on 11/3/2014. Edison Insurance Company ended 2014 with 79 homeowners insurance policies in force in Florida, after being inactive and insuring no homes in 2011, 2012, & 2013.
As of May 2016, you can get a home insurance quote from the Edison Insurance website, as reported in this Insurance Journal article, Edison Insurance Launches Online Quoting System for Florida Homeowners Coverage.
First Home Insurance Company:
First Home Insurance Company assumed 10,788 personal lines account (homeowners, etc.) policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2007.
First Home Insurance Company merged into Homewise Insurance Company in June 2011. Homewise Insurance Company was declared insolvent in November 2011.
Homewise Preferred Insurance Company:
Homewise Preferred Insurance Company assumed personal lines account (homeowners, etc.) 30,474 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2007, and 19,507 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2008.
Homewise Preferred Insurance Company was declared insolvent in 2011.
Landmark One Insurance Company:
Landmark One Insurance Company assumed 8,822 personal lines account (homeowners, etc.) policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2007, 8,082 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2008, and 5,890 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2009.
An affiliate of Northern Capital, Landmark One Insurance Company changed its name to Northern Capital Select Insurance Company effective April 27, 2009. On December 31, 2009, Northern Capital Select Insurance Company merged with Northern Capital Insurance Company. Northern Capital Insurance Company was declared insolvent on 5/1/2010.
Magnolia Insurance Company:
Magnolia Insurance Company assumed 103,785 personal lines account (homeowners, etc.) policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2008.
Magnolia Insurance Company was ordered into receivership by the state of Florida in 2010 & liquidated over solvency issues.
Northern Capital Insurance Company:
Northern Capital Insurance Company assumed 14,039 personal lines account (homeowners, etc.) policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2008, and 7,348 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2009.
Northern Capital Insurance Company was declared insolvent in 2010.
Sunshine State Insurance Company:
Sunshine State Insurance Company assumed 27,100 personal lines account (homeowners, etc.) policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2008.
Sunshine State Insurance Company was declared insolvent in 2014.
Primary source: Florida Insurance Guaranty Association
Before choosing an insurance company to insure your Florida residential property, I strongly recommend you read my blog post about how to evaluate Florida home insurance companies for financial strength, stability, & solvency.
Florida Homeowners Insurance Complaint Records for Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Takeout Companies Assuming Policies Since 2010
The following companies involved in the Citizen’s depopulation & takeout program over the last several years are currently among the sellers of the most residential property insurance in Florida, and are not reviewed here:
American Integrity Insurance Company of Florida, Capitol Preferred Insurance Company, Inc., Florida Peninsula Insurance Company, Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Olympus Insurance Company, Safe Harbor Insurance Company, Security First Insurance Company, Southern Fidelity Insurance Company, Tower Hill Prime Insurance Company, Tower Hill Select Insurance Company, Tower Hill Signature Insurance Company, United Property & Casualty Insurance Company, and Universal Insurance Company of North America.
I reviewed these companies in this blog post: Companies Selling the Most New Home Insurance Policies in Florida, where you can check their complaint records & AM Best ratings.
Although the takeout companies listed below are not among the 25 companies selling the most Florida property insurance, it does not mean these companies are not selling property insurance and they may have best homeowners insurance rates for you.
I’ll review each company’s Florida homeowners insurance complaint record, increase or decrease in policies from 2009 to 2014 as an indication of price competitiveness, and note whether it’s rated by AM Best for financial strength. I don’t consider Demotech financial stability ratings reliable to gauge the difference in financial solvency risk among these companies, so any Demotech ratings for these companies will not be included in this review.
AMERICAN COLONIAL INSURANCE COMPANY
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No complaints
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
American Colonial Insurance Company assumed 1,416 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation so far in 2015, and assumed 4,744 policies for 2014 in December of that year. American Colonial Insurance Company finished 2014 with a total of 4,694 homeowners/condo insurance policies in Florida, slightly less than the number of policies it assumed from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation for 2014. Few, if any people, outside of policies assumed from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, seem to be buying homeowners or condo insurance from American Colonial Insurance Company.
American Colonial Insurance Company has been primarily a Florida auto insurance company with a very small & decreasing share of the Florida auto insurance market. In December 2014, it started participating as a takeout company in the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation depopulation program, and this seems to be the company’s only experience with insuring residential homes & condos.
American Colonial Insurance Company had no complaints in 2014, but did not insure any properties until December 2014, so it’s been insuring homes for too short of time to have a complaint record to evaluate, making the quality of its service unknown.
The American Colonial Insurance Company website compares American Colonial homeowners & condo insurance coverage to the coverage provided by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation here.
American Colonial Insurance Company is not rated for financial strength by AM Best.
ANCHOR PROPERTY & CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = Not listed
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = Not listed
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = Not listed
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = Not listed
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = Not listed
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = Not listed
Anchor Property & Casualty Insurance Company assumed 29,605 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation so far in 2015, the first year it has been insuring properties in Florida, so it has no complaint record to review yet. Anchor Property and Casualty Insurance Company became licensed by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation on Oct. 28, 2014 to write homeowners insurance business in the state, and was approved to assume approximately 50,000 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation starting in January 2015.
Anchor offers homeowners, condo unit owners, renters, & dwelling fire (for rental homes) insurance policies, but we’ll have to wait until next year (or at least much later in 2015) to see how many policies it is selling, beyond the policies being assumed from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.
Anchor Property & Casualty Insurance Company is not rated for financial strength by AM Best.
AVATAR PROPERTY & CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:5,207
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:369
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:682
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:125
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:281
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:367
Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Company assumed 2,374 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation so far in 2015, assumed 9,428 policies in 2014, and assumed 1,993 policies in 2013.
Avatar’s Florida homeowners insurance complaint history went from terrible each year (as bad as & sometimes worse than Citizens), starting in 2009 through 2013, to excellent in 2014, but the improvement in 2014 may be because it’s number of policies assumed from Citizens during the course of 2014 slightly more than doubled its number of policies in force. I’d wait until we have statistics for 2015 & 2016 before stating Avatar has a good complaint record.
Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Company started 2013 with 5,458 homeowners insurance policies in force and ended 2013 with 7,019 homeowners insurance policies in force in Florida. Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Company finished 2014 with 15,621 homeowners insurance policies in force in Florida, showing its recent annual policy growth is less than the number of policies it is assuming from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, which may indicate the homeowners insurance rates for Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Company are not competitive.
Before Avatar participated again as a takeout company in Citizens depopulation program starting in 2013, its number of homeowners insurance policies in Florida decreased significantly each year from 2009 to 2011, with a slight increase in 2012. Avatar has been insuring homes in Florida since April 2008.
Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Company is not rated for financial strength by AM Best.
Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Company sells homeowners & condo unit owners insurance. If you are not insured with Avatar, but want a price quote from the company, you can go to this webpage on the Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Company website to request a quote, and see if you and your FL property meet its eligibility requirements.
CYPRESS PROPERTY & CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:3,306
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,800
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:3,327
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:2,408
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,075
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,506
Cypress Property & Casualty Insurance Company assumed only 380 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation so far in 2015, and assumed 867 policies in 2014, although it was approved to remove up to 23,000 personal residential policies in 2014. Either Cypress Property & Casualty Insurance Company chose to assume many fewer policies than approved in 2014, or many of the policies it tried to assume opted to stay with Citizens.
Cypress Property & Casualty Insurance Company sells homeowners, residential rental property, & condo unit owners insurance.
If the 2009-2014 complaint record for Cypress Property & Casualty Insurance Company was ranked among the 28 companies in my review of the companies selling the most Florida homeowners insurance, it would rank between the companies with the 7th & 8th best complaint records, and be in tier 4 (tiers 1 through 8 are from best to worst).
Cypress Property & Casualty Insurance Company has a much better complaint record than Citizens each year from 2009 to 2014, but its number of homeowners insurance policies in force in Florida has decreased each year from 73,204 policies at the end of 2012 to 69,429 policies by the end of 2014, which may mean the homeowners insurance rates for Cypress Property & Casualty Insurance Company have not been competitive for the last few years. From 2009 to 2011, its number of FL homeowner insurance policies grew each year.
Cypress Property & Casualty Insurance Company is not rated for financial strength by AM Best.
ELEMENTS PROPERTY INSURANCE COMPANY
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,699
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation licensed Elements Property Insurance Company (EPIC) to write homeowners insurance in Florida in 2013, and starting in December of that year, was approved to make take out offers to 45,000 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.
Elements Property Insurance Company (EPIC) is not assuming any policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation so far in 2015, but assumed 39,699 policies in 2014 and 9,442 policies in 2013. Elements Property Insurance Company ended 2014 with 35,678 Florida homeowners insurance policies in force, so it closed the year with less policies than it assumed in 2014, which may be a sign it does not have competitive homeowners insurance rates compare to other private insurance companies. However, its seems the majority of Citizens customers receiving takeout offers from Elements allowed their policies to be assumed in late 2013 & 2014, which may mean Elements has competitive rates compared to Citizens for at least some customers.
The Elements Property Insurance Company website compares Elements homeowners insurance coverage to the coverage provided by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation here
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Elements Property Insurance Company, in business since 2013, sells only homeowners insurance at this time, and only in Florida, through independent insurance agents appointed to represent the company. Its Florida homeowners complaint record for 2014 is much better than Citizens, and if its 2014 complaint record was ranked among the 28 companies in my review of the companies selling the most Florida homeowners insurance, it would rank between the companies with the 11th & 12th best complaint records, and be in tier 5 (tiers 1 through 8 are from best to worst). However, a single year’s complaint record is not enough to recommend an insurance company.
Elements Property Insurance Company is not rated for financial strength by AM Best.
FIRST COMMUNITY INSURANCE COMPANY
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,821
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,468
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,339
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,451
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:2,902
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:4,726
First Community Insurance Company has participated as a takeout company in the Citizens depopulation program each year since October 2012. First Community has assumed 1,277 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation so far in 2015, assumed 13,528 policies in 2014, assumed 10,966 policies in 2013, and assumed 2,998 in 2012.
In spite of the large number of assumptions in 2013 & 2014, First Community Insurance Company homeowners insurance policy count in Florida dropped from 35,234 policies at the end of 2013 to 30,960 by the end of 2014. From 2012 to 2013, First Community Insurance Company gained only 3,089 Florida homeowners insurance policies, which is a lot less than the 10,966 policies it assumed from Citizens in 2013.
First Community Insurance Company has been losing homeowners insurance customers over the years, and by the end of 2014, had a little more than half the number of policies it had at the end of 2010. This may be a sign First Community Insurance Company no longer has competitive homeowners insurance rates.
If the 2009-2014 complaint record for First Community Insurance Company was ranked among the 28 companies in my review of the companies selling the most Florida homeowners insurance, it would rank approximately between the companies with the 10th & 11th best complaint records, and be in tier 4 (tiers 1 through 8 are from best to worst).
First Community Insurance Company is owned by Bankers Insurance Group, and is rated B+ (Good) for financial strength by AM Best, last affirmed with a stable outlook (no ratings upgrade of downgrade is expected in the near future) on 8/29/2014. There are five AM best ratings higher than B+ (A++, A+, A, A-, B++), but I’d prefer a company rated B+ by AM Best, over a company with no AM Best rating, even if it has a high rating from Demotech, Inc.
HOMEOWNERS CHOICE PROPERTY & CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, INC.
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,542
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:838
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,906
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:2,789
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,293
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = Not available
Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company has participated as a takeout company in the Citizens depopulation program each year from 2007 to 2015, except for 2011. Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company has increased its number of homeowners insurance policies in Florida each year since 2011, which may be a sign Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company has competitive homeowners insurance rates.
In 2011, Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company acquired Homewise Insurance Company’s Florida homeowners insurance customers, and almost doubled its number of Florida homeowners insurance policies from 2010.
Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company sells homeowners, flood, tenants personal property, dwelling property (non-owner occupied), & condo unit owners insurance.
The Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company website compares the Homeowners Choice property insurance policies (HO3 = homeowners, HO6 = Condos, DP3 = Dwelling) to the coverage provided by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation here.
If the 2010-2014 complaint record for Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company was ranked among the 28 companies in my review of the companies selling the most Florida homeowners insurance, it would rank approximately between the companies with the 12th & 13th best complaint records, and be in tier 5 (tiers 1 through 8 are from best to worst).
Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company is not rated for financial strength by AM Best.
MOUNT BEACON INSURANCE COMPANY
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No complaints
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
Mount Beacon Insurance Company was organized & admitted as insurance company by Florida in 2014, and was approved for the first time by the state for takeout offers of up to 47,900 policies in November 2014 and 29,515 policies in December 2014. As a new company formed at the end of 2014, Mount Beacon has no complaint record to evaluate yet.
Mount Beacon Insurance Company has assumed 44,541 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation so far in 2015, and assumed a total of 32,145 policies in 2014. The policy count for Mount Beacon Insurance Company at the end of 2014 was 31,871 Florida home insurance policies in force, with plans to enter the voluntary market in 2015, selling coverage through independent insurance agencies licensed in Florida.
Mount Beacon Insurance Company sells homeowners, condo unit owners, and unlike many takeout companies, offers mobile home insurance.
The Mount Beacon Insurance Company website compares the Mount Beacon homeowners, condo, & mobile home insurance policies to the coverage provided by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation here.
Mount Beacon Insurance Company is not rated for financial strength by AM Best.
NATIONAL SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY
National Specialty Insurance Company is participating for the first time as a takeout company in the Citizens depopulation program beginning February 26, 2016, and has been approved to remove up to 17,534 personal residential policies from the Coastal Account.
National Specialty Insurance Company has no recent history insuring homes in Florida, and therefore has no Florida homeowners insurance complaint record. National Specialty Insurance Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of State National, an insurance group focused on collateral protection insurance, which is a type of insurance lenders buy to protect their car & home loans when their customers do not have the proper insurance, or when their customers let their coverage lapse. As a takeout company, this may be the first time National Specialty Insurance Company is offering homeowners insurance to homeowners, and not a lender.
National Specialty Insurance Company is rated A (Excellent) for financial strength by AM Best, a rating it has maintained since 2011 and last affirmed with a stable outlook (no ratings upgrade of downgrade is expected in the near future) on 6/09/2015. However, its absence of a Florida homeowners insurance complaint record and lack of experience with providing home insurance to consumers should be a concern to anyone considering insuring their home with this company.
PREPARED INSURANCE COMPANY
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,039
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:581
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:426
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:564
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,728
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No complaints
Prepared started as a company in 2009, with a focus to insure the under-served market of older homes (prior to 2002) in Florida, and cover homes of any age.
Prepared Insurance Company was approved to remove up to 20,000 personal residential policies for 2015, and has assumed 5,394 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation so far this year. Until 2015, Prepared has not participated as a takeout company since 2010, when it assumed 3,366 policies.
Prepared has grown from insuring 11 Florida home insurance policies at the end of 2009, to insuring 23,908 Florida home insurance policies by the end of 2014, showing sales & policy growth without assuming policies from Citizens in all but one of the last six years, and a strong percentage increase in its number of policies each year since 2012, which may be a sign Prepared Insurance Company has competitive homeowners insurance rates.
Like many companies, Prepared Insurance Company had a big improvement in its FL homeowners insurance complaint record in 2014, but has a poor complaint record from 2011 to 2013. If the 2010-2014 complaint record for Prepared Insurance Company was included among the 28 companies ranked from best to worst for complaints, in my review of the companies selling the most Florida homeowners insurance, it would rank approximately between the companies placing 24th & 25th out of the 28 companies, and be in tier 8 (tiers 1 through 8 are from best to worst).
Prepared Insurance Company sells homeowners, flood, renters, rental property, & condo unit owners insurance.
The Prepared Insurance Company website compares the Prepared property insurance policies (HO3 = Homeowners, HO6 = Condos, HO4 = Renters DP3 = Dwelling) to the coverage provided by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation here.
Prepared Insurance Company is not rated for financial strength by AM Best.
SAFEPOINT INSURANCE COMPANY
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:7,777
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
Safepoint Insurance Company is not participating as a takeout company so far in 2015, but assumed 73,743 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2014. Safepoint finished 2014 with 54,436 Florida homeowners insurance policies in force, about a third less than it assumed from Citizens that year, which may be a sign Safepoint Insurance Company does not have competitive home insurance rates.
Safepoint Insurance Company formed in 2013 and began insuring Florida homes in 2014, so it has only one year of complaint history to evaluate.
The 2014 Florida homeowners complaint record for Safepoint Insurance Company is much better than Citizens, and if its 2014 complaint record was ranked among the 28 companies in my review of the companies selling the most Florida homeowners insurance, it would rank between the companies with the 3rd & 4th best complaint records, and be in tier 2 (tiers 1 through 8 are from best to worst). However, a single year’s complaint record is not enough to recommend an insurance company.
Safepoint Insurance Company sells homeowners & dwelling fire (for non-owner occupied residential properties) insurance policies, through independent insurance agents appointed to represent the company. The Safepoint Insurance Company website compares the Safepoint homeowners & dwelling insurance policies to the coverage provided by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation here.
Safepoint Insurance Company is owned by Safepoint Holdings LLC, and is rated B (Fair) for financial strength by AM Best, last affirmed with a stable outlook (no ratings upgrade of downgrade is expected in the near future) on 6/11/2015. There are six AM best ratings higher than B (A++, A+, A, A-, B++, B), but I’d prefer a company rated B+ by AM Best, over a company with no AM Best rating, even if it has a high rating from Demotech, Inc.
SOUTHERN FIDELITY PROPERTY & CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,214
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,380
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:7,153
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = Data not available
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = Data not available
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = Data not available
Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty Insurance Company, not to be confused with its similarly-named sister takeout company, Southern Fidelity Insurance Company (which is included in my review of the companies selling the most homeowners insurance in Florida), has been insuring Florida homes since 2012.
If the 2012-2014 complaint record for Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty Insurance Company was ranked among the 28 companies in my review of the companies selling the most Florida homeowners insurance, it would rank approximately between the companies with the 9th & 10th best complaint records, and be in tier 4 (tiers 1 through 8 are from best to worst).
Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty Insurance Company has not participated as a takeout company so far in 2015, but assumed a total of 10,116 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2014, 23,916 policies in 2013, and 80,769 policies in 2012. Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty Insurance Company was last approved in September 2014 to remove up to 30,000 personal residential policies, but has only assumed 5,285 policies in November 2014, since the date of the approval.
Of the 80,769 policies assumed by Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty Insurance Company in 2012, the company finished the year with only 64,381 Florida homeowners insurance policies in force. In spite of its assumption of policies from Citizens in 2013 & 2014, the policy count for Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty Insurance Company dropped from 74,543 Florida homeowners insurance policies at the end of 2013, to 67,964 Florida homeowners insurance policies by the end of 2013. This may be an indication Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty Insurance Company does not have competitive homeowners insurance rates.
Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty Insurance Company sells homeowners, renters, rental property (dwelling), & condo unit owners insurance.
The Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty Insurance Company website compares the Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty property insurance policies (HO3 = Homeowners, HO6 = Condos, HO4 = Renters, DP3 or DP1 = Dwelling), for assumed policies & its policies in the voluntary market, to the coverage provided by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation here
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Southern Fidelity Property & Casualty Insurance Company is not rated for financial strength by AM Best.
SOUTHERN OAK INSURANCE COMPANY
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,139
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:564
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:759
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:780
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:547
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:594
Southern Oak Insurance Company has participated as a takeout company in the Citizens depopulation program each year from 2007 to 2015, but in spite of assuming between 16,000 to 27,000 policies from Citizens each year from 2009 through 2014, the number of Florida homeowners insurance policies in force for Southern Oak at the end of each year for the same time period, has fluctuated up & down, from a low of 53,064 policies in 2010 to a high of 63,172 policies in 2013. The policy count for Southern Oak Insurance Company was down to 60,368 policies by the end of 2014. This may be an indication Southern Oak Insurance Company does not have competitive homeowners insurance rates.
Like some of the other companies in this review, Southern Oak Insurance Company had a big improvement in its FL homeowners insurance complaint record in 2014, but has a poor complaint record from 2009 to 2013. If the 2009-2014 complaint record for Southern Oak Insurance Company was included among the 28 companies ranked from best to worst for complaints, in my review of the companies selling the most Florida homeowners insurance, it would rank approximately between the companies placing 22nd & 23rd out of the 28 companies, and be in tier 6 (tiers 1 through 8 are from best to worst).
Southern Oak Insurance Company sells homeowners, renters, flood, rental property (dwelling), & condo unit owners insurance, through independent insurance agencies appointed to represent the company.
Southern Oak Insurance Company is not rated for financial strength by AM Best.
TOWER HILL PREFERRED INSURANCE COMPANY
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,807
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:502
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:968
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:611
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:1,066
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = Not available
Tower Hill Preferred Insurance Company has not participated as a takeout company so far in 2015, but assumed a total of 14,713 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2014, and assumed 9,322 policies in 2013.
Tower Hill Preferred Insurance Company has increased its Florida homeowners insurance policy count each year since 2012. Tower Hill Preferred Insurance Company finished 2012 with 61,007 Florida homeowners insurance policies in force, and ended 2014 with 79,509 Florida homeowners insurance policies in force, which may indicate Tower Hill Preferred Insurance Company has competitive homeowners insurance rates.
If the 2010-2014 complaint record for Tower Hill Preferred Insurance Company was ranked among the 28 companies in my review of the companies selling the most Florida homeowners insurance, it would rank approximately between the companies with the 12th & 13th best complaint records, and be in tier 5 (tiers 1 through 8 are from best to worst).
Tower Hill Preferred Insurance Company sells homeowners, renters, flood, rental property (dwelling), mobile home, & condo unit owners insurance, through independent insurance agencies appointed to represent the company.
Tower Hill Preferred Insurance Company is not currently rated for financial strength by AM Best.
Tower Hill Preferred Insurance Company is a subsidiary company of Tower Hill Insurance Group, which also owns the Florida property insurance companies, Tower Hill Prime Insurance Company, Tower Hill Select Insurance Company, Tower Hill Signature Insurance Company, and Omega Insurance Company. These other Tower Hill companies have participated as takeout companies in the Citizen depopulation program in the recent past, and they are all reviewed in my review of the companies selling the most homeowners insurance in Florida.
AM Best downgraded the financial strength ratings (FSR) to D (Poor) from B (Fair) for the Tower Hill companies back in 2009, before Tower Hill requested to be removed from AM Best’s interactive rating process. However, Tower Hill Prime Insurance Company has been recently rated again by AM Best, so the other Tower Hill companies may soon be rated by AM Best again.
If you are not insured with a Tower Hill company, but want a quick price quote for homeowners, condo, renters. or rental property insurance from Tower Hill, you can go to this webpage on the Tower Hill Insurance Group website to request a quote.
WESTON INSURANCE COMPANY
2014 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:6,542
2013 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = 1:5,274
2012 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2011 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2010 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
2009 Florida Home Insurance Complaint Ratio = No data
Weston Insurance Company is a wind-only insurer, providing property coverage against windstorm losses, and was formed in 2011. Weston Insurance Company has not participated as a takeout company so far in 2015, but assumed a total of 15,934 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in 2014, and assumed 27,016 policies in 2013.
Weston Insurance Company finished 2013 with 15,822 Florida homeowners insurance policies in force, and ended 2014 with 26,167 Florida homeowners insurance policies in force, so Weston is not insuring as many homes for wind damage in 2014 as policies it assumed from Citizens in 2013 & 2014, which may indicate Weston Insurance Company does not have competitive wind-only homeowners insurance rates, or customers have left the company for companies offering a single homeowners insurance policy with broader coverage, including coverage against wind damage.
If the 2013-2014 complaint record for Weston Insurance Company was ranked among the 28 companies in my review of the companies selling the most Florida homeowners insurance, it would rank approximately between the companies with the 3rd & 4th best complaint records, and be in tier 2 (tiers 1 through 8 are from best to worst).
Weston Insurance Company, the only subsidiary of Weston Insurance Holdings Corporation, is rated B (Fair) for financial strength by AM Best, last affirmed with a stable outlook (no ratings upgrade of downgrade is expected in the near future) on 5/06/2014. There are six AM best ratings higher than B (A++, A+, A, A-, B++, B), but I’d prefer a company rated B+ by AM Best, over a company with no AM Best rating, even if it has a high rating from Demotech, Inc.
How to Get the Best Homeowners Insurance You Can & Save Money!
I hope this Florida home insurance review helps you choose a better Florida home insurance company and make more informed decisions when deciding to allow a takeout company to assume your policy from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. You may be able to save money by checking the rates of as many companies willing to insure your property, then choosing the best policy at the best price — but even with the lowest rates you can find, Florida home insurance is expensive.
Shopping your auto insurance, or other types of insurance you need, like medicare supplement policies, to find & choose a company with lower rates, can take the sting out of the cost of home insurance. Many people pay too much for their insurance because they never shop for better rates, or if they do shop, they don’t check the rates of enough companies. For a lot of people, the best insurance companies are the ones with the coverage they need at a lower price.
What do you think about my review of the takeout insurance companies participating in the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation depopulation program? Did this review help you, or is there a way you think I can improve my reviews of Florida home insurance companies? Please comment or ask me questions on my facebook page. Follow me on Twitter for important insurance consumer news and new reviews & blog posts at CarInsWatch.