Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) has a program in place to encourage Citizens policyholders to move their windstorm coverage to the private market or "depopulate" their policy from Citizens. Weston is participating in this program and has put together the information below to assist policyholders in understanding the process and learn about Weston. We also encourage you to click on the Home, About Us, Products, Questions and Resources tabs above where you'll find more information about Weston. You can also visit Citizens' depopulation information page here. And please do not hesitate to contact us using the contact information on the Home tab above if you have further questions about Weston or the depopulation process.
As the state affiliated windstorm "insurer of last resort," Citizens is designed to only offer windstorm coverage when a policyholder cannot find coverage with an admitted, private market insurance company. Citizens' depopulation efforts are centered on assisting policyholders with finding private market options for their windstorm insurance needs.
The initial goal of the process is for a private market insurance company to "step into the shoes" of Citizens on a fixed date and become the responsible insurer on a group of Citizens policies selected by the private company. That process of the private company becoming responsible for the selected group of Citizens policies is commonly referred to as an "assumption" of those policies. Then as each of the Citizens policies assumed by the private market company reach their regular renewal date, the private market company (instead of Citizens) directly generates the renewal policy, which completes the move of the policyholder to the private market carrier and is the ultimate goal of the process.
Yes. Each selected Citizens policyholder will be notified prior to the assumption of their policy and they will have thirty (30) days to elect to opt out of the assumption. If a selected Citizens policyholder opts out of the assumption, they will remain with Citizens. If a selected Citizens policyholder does not opt out of the assumption during that period, then their policy will be assumed by the private company.
For personal lines policies, the answer is yes. Each Citizens policyholder selected by more than one private company for assumption will receive a letter from Citizens asking them to choose which company they would like to assume their policy (or to opt-out of the assumption as noted above). For commercial lines policies selected by more than one private company for assumption, Citizens uses an algorithm to distribute the policies among the various private companies so the commercial policyholder only receives an offer from one private company.
Your agent will remain your agent throughout the process regardless of whether you elect to opt out of the assumption or not. Private insurance companies cannot make an offer of assumption to a Citizens policyholder unless the private company first has an agency appointment agreement in place with the policyholder's agent. Once the private insurance companies participating in the assumption process select the list of Citizens policies they want to assume, each agent will be given access to a list of the selected policies the agent represents.
During the period after your Citizens policy is assumed but before the private company issues you one of their policies, the private carrier will be responsible for handling all claims on your policy while Citizens will continue to handle your policy administration (e.g. processing any updates or changes you need to make to your coverage and accepting premium payments). Once the private company issues you one of their policies, the private company will then be responsible for servicing all aspects of your policy including both policy administration and claim handling.
Please review the information below and also download our "Why Choose Weston Insurance" flyer to see the reasons why we think Weston is the best insurance company for your windstorm insurance needs:
