Proposed rate increases that could have taken effect Jan. 1 for customers of the state's Citizens Property Insurance Corp. remain unresolved — with any hikes now unlikely to hit customers' bills for months.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has not ruled on the proposal, which the Citizens Board of Governors approved in June. The proposal, for example, could lead to an average 13.5 percent rate increase for the most-common type of Citizens policy, known as homeowners' multi-peril coverage.
When asked about the issue recently, Citizens President and CEO Tim Cerio said the insurer is waiting for word from regulators. If rate changes were approved now, they likely could not take effect until May 1, he said.
"We'll implement what they decide," Cerio said after a meeting of the Florida Senate Banking and Insurance Committee.
Cerio and Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky did not discuss the Citizens rate issue when they testified in front of the committee about property-insurance issues. Regulators held a hearing in August on the Citizens proposal and could deny it or revise the potential increases.
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