FLORIDA, (WINK)—Adam Constantino, a Florida homeowner, expressed frustration over being forced to leave Citizens Insurance due to state law changes, right before a rate cut was announced.
Constantino, like many others, had relied on Citizens Insurance when private companies either raised prices or exited the market following storms like Hurricane Ian.
“It was the cheapest rate at the time. And, obviously, when you’re looking for insurance, you want the cheapest rate that you can find,” said Constantino.
State law required homeowners to leave Citizens Insurance if a private insurer offered a policy at a rate within 10% of their Citizens rate. This week, the state ordered Citizens to cut rates by an average of 8.7%, starting June 1.
“I want the money in my pocket,” Constantino said, watching the situation unfold with envy.
Nicholas Neubacher is also affected by these changes, as he is scheduled to move to a private company with a higher insurance bill this spring.
“I think it was going to go up to 38, 98, something like that. And you want it down. Yeah. So another direction would be great,” Neubacher said.
Neubacher is now questioning whether the reduced Citizens rate will affect the 10% rule and if he still needs to switch insurers.
“Rising insurance costs pretty much every year. We’ve owned our house for the past five years. It’s gone up,” Neubacher said.
WINK News contacted Citizens Insurance to find out if homeowners already set to transfer will be re-evaluated under the new, lower rates or if their moves will proceed as planned.