Florida's Citizens Vows to Validate Its $700 Million in Mitigation Credits

October 26, 2009

State-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. plans to begin validating wind mitigation credits that have cut premiums by $700 million for 400,000 Florida policyholders.

Citizens' Board of Governors approved an emergency plan to do physical inspections of 500 homes chosen at random to confirm whether the owners have strengthened their homes against hurricanes and other wind events as claimed.

Based on those results the board will decide whether to continue the inspections that cost $150 each, according to Citizens spokesman John Kuczwanski.

Customers can reduce their premiums by 40 percent through wind mitigation.

Citizens is Florida's largest property insurer with more than 1 million policyholders.

Insurers and agents have called for an investigation of the mitigation credits amid concerns that there is widespread fraud in the implementation of the program.

In August, the Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA) issued a report to the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology outlining its strong concerns with the mitigation initiatives. The white paper claims the program is falling well short of its goals.