Lazaro Fields tapped to Citizens Property Insurance Board of Governors

Citizens to the rescue — but for how long?

House Speaker Jose Oliva on Friday appointed Lazaro Fields to the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Board of Governors.

Lazaro’s appointment will take effect immediately and continue through July 31, 2023. The Board’s next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 16.

In Aug. 2019, U.S. Attorney Lawrence Keefe appointed Fields as a federal prosecutor in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.

Fields is a Florida State University law school alumnus who also worked as a Colson Hicks Edison litigation associate.

“Thank you for your willingness to serve on behalf of the Florida House of Representatives,” Oliva wrote in the appointment letter.

Fields will serve alongside Chairman Bo Rivard, Carlos Beruff, Bette Brown, Marc Dunbar, Reynolds Henderson, James Holton, William Kastroll and Carlos Lopez-Cantera.

The Florida Legislature created Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) in 2002 as a not-for-profit alternative insurer. The corporation exists to provide insurance to property owners who cannot find coverage in the private insurance market.

Citizens President and CEO Barry Gilway in September said the corporation has seen an increase in policies lately because of an “unhealthy” private market.

After peaking near 1.5 million policies in 2012, Citizens has spent years trying to shed policies and move them into the private market. A healthy number for Citizens is considered around 420,000 policies — roughly the amount it had in 2019.

But Gilway said Citizens likely will be above 540,000 policies by the end of this year, moving from 4% of the market to 5%. In Southeast Florida, Citizens will account for about 17% of the market.

Citizens’ rate proposals for 2021 are expected before a December Board of Governors meeting.

Citizens is also expected by the December meeting to receive a study from Florida State University’s Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center that is looking at steps to further reduce exposure and actions the Legislature can take to slow the movement of policies from private insurers to Citizens.

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Material from the News Service of Florida was used in this post.