Information from the Office of Insurance Regulation re Monroe County Personal Lines Insurance Market 2/28/2006
Jan 4, 2007
Below please find the Office of Insurance Regulation’s press release stating that the OIR pilot project conducted in Monroe County has found that Monroe County does not have a competitive residential personal lines insurance market. Please feel free to contact this office with any question or concerns.
Regards,
Katherine A. Scott
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2/28/06
OIR Releases Monroe County Pilot Project Report on Competition
Tallahassee – The Office of Insurance Regulation submitted a report to the Legislature finding that the personal lines residential market is not competitive in Monroe County, thus establishing the legislatively mandated condition necessary to require Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to implement actuarial rates in the county. The Office will continue to monitor market developments and the degree of competition that result from implementing actuarial rates.
During the 2005 session, the Legislature mandated that the Office provide a report on the implementation of a pilot project to evaluate the availability and affordability of insurance in Monroe County and called for the adoption of rules establishing the criteria for determining whether a reasonable degree of competition exists.
The Office drafted a proposed rule and held a workshop on the rule in December and a town hall gathering in Key West in February. Citizens made an actuarial rate filing that is under review by the Office.
Monroe County is located in the Southern tip of the state and includes the Southwest Gulf Coast, as well as the island chain known as the Florida Keys. The vast majority of the mainland in Monroe County is protected by the Everglades National Park and the Big Cypress National Preserve. Almost all 80,000 residents of Monroe County live in the Florida Keys. Monroe County is unique among Florida�s coastal counties because the entire county is in the Wind-Only eligible area of Citizens.
Attached is a copy of the Monroe County Pilot Project Report to the Legislature on the Reasonable Degree of Competition.