WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The rising cost of living in Florida has placed many residents in a difficult financial situation.
WPTV has closely followed the surge in property insurance costs over the last few years.
WATCH BELOW: More takeout offers coming for Citizens policyholders
Now, we've learned that more Citizens Insurance policyholders are facing more offers to switch to private companies. Those orders came from Florida's insurance commissioner.
Takeout offers are coming for over 130,000 policyholders from three insurers — Slide, Patriot and Mangrove.
"When private insurers are in a better financial position, which they are today, they take on more risk and that's why we continue to see so many companies participating in depopulation," Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute said.
It's part of an ongoing effort to move more Citizens Insurance customers to private companies, however, these companies may not be household names.
Earlier this year, WPTV had the chance to speak with Mangrove CEO Stephen Weinstein about his new company.
"Our vision over time is to be a permanent franchise, long-term contributor to the Florida market," Weinstein said. "We'll launch in a disciplined way this year. One thing I will stress, we have aligned capital with my vision of investing in a very robust level of insurance protection."
WATCH BELOW: Mangrove Insurance CEO speaks about launch
Citizens currently has 850,000 policies.
State leaders are increasingly worried about the risk of having all Floridians bail out the insurer of last resort.
"We are hearing the offers are better because the market is better," Friedlander said.
Insurance experts have told WPTV that residents should not ignore the letter if they receive one. They need to respond by the deadline or they will automatically be switched out of Citizen Insurance.
Residents should be aware that they can refuse the offer if it is over 20% of what the policyholder is currently paying with Citizens.
Matt Sczesny is determined every day to help you find solutions in Florida's coverage collapse. If you have a question or comment on homeowners insurance, you can reach out to him any time.
