WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — More than a million homeowners rely on Citizens Insurance for coverage, and people in South Florida are feeling the financial pressure.
Emily Redey and her husband have two young kids. She said when she first got Citizens in 2021, her premium was about $1,562.
Two years later, Redey said it's gone up nearly $1,000, to $2,449, taking a big blow on their budget.
"My husband is now working six days a week. I'm home with the kids. They barely see their dad cause he's working so much," Redey said. "I can't afford child care on top of the insurance and the mortgage and the property taxes and everything else that comes with taking care of two kids."
Now her family may see another increase on their premium, which may push her family to move away from Florida.
"It's home, I want my kids to be able to experience what I grew up with and it's just not in the cards right now," Redey said. "My friends couldn't take it anymore, they all left. Half of my friends that I grew up with are in Georgia, Carolina, Texas, there's not much left here."
Citizens, Florida’s insurer of last resort and the largest insurer in the state, is seeking a rate hike of 14% on personal homeowners policies. That information was revealed at a Citizens Board of Governors meeting on Wednesday morning.
The new rate request would take effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
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"Every day, once the kids are in bed and I'm alone because my husband is doing an overnight, I'm in my room crying, cause I don't know what else to do. And as a mom, you're supposed to have all the answers," Redey said.
Redey added that her family has done what they can to be more insurable, but she's had no luck.
"It's been a nightmare, no one wants to give any policies down here and I understand yeah we're in the beginning of hurricane season but at the same time, we have a new roof we have the impact windows, there's got to be something, but no one wants to give us anything," said Redey. "Honestly I'd take the hurricane over the financial stresses with what's going on with insurance because I don't know if we'll be able to have insurance at the rate this is going."
Other residents like Ken Taylor said he's been with State Farm for over 30 years.
He's not too concerned that his insurance will also surge but said he's kept an eye on the coverage collapse.
"My wife and I are both teachers, so we budget our money well," said Taylor. "It's always been a little scary the whole game of insurance. You don't want to see, for no reason at all, your insurance go sky high."
The new rate request would take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, as families like the Redeys hang on to hope, that help is on the way.
"There's gotta be something that the either the government can do to subsidize, this or there's gotta be something DeSantis can do. There's gotta be something somebody can do otherwise the middle and lower class are going to move out of Florida and who's going to be here?" Redey said.