Jesse Scheckner
Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida’s insurer of last resort, is urging policyholders and residents across the state to prepare now for the expected devastating impact of Hurricane Milton.
Tim Cerio, the insurer’s President, CEO and Executive Director, said he knows millions of Floridians are still trying to recover from Hurricane Helene, which slammed into the Sunshine State’s Big Bend region late last month at Category 4 strength.
But Milton is coming, now as a near-Category 5 storm with a predicted landfall Wednesday evening, and there’s no time to waste, he said.
“We’re asking storm-weary Citizens policyholders and all Floridians to again prepare themselves for a major hurricane,” Cerio said in a statement just before noon Monday.
“Now is the time to prepare. Pay attention and heed the advice of local emergency officials, Citizens will be there to assist soon after the storm passes.”
Milton is expected to bring high winds, rain and massive storm surges to an already waterlogged and damaged region along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
To keep Citizens policyholders informed, the insurer has set up a storm tracker feed using real-time National Hurricane Center updates on its website featuring live feeds from its social media accounts.
Citizens says policyholders should now:
— Verify that Citizens has up-to-date contact and mortgage company information. Policyholders can review their information on record with Citizens through myPolicy or by contacting their Citizens agent.
— Ensure all key property and family information (insurance policies, health records, financial records, pet records, identification details and home inventory, among other things) are stored in a safe, waterproof and easy-to-access location.
— Pack a disaster supply kit, learn their evacuation route and develop a family communication plan that includes emergency contact information. Citizens recommends creating a plan for pets as well, since not all emergency shelters allow pets.
In May, the Board of Citizens approved purchasing $5.5 billion in reinsurance coverage for the 2024 hurricane season. Late this month, the insurer was to begin offloading nearly 649,000 policies to private insurance companies as part of its “Depopulation Program.”
Citizens said policyholders who suffer property damage from Milton should contact Citizens first online through myPolicy or by calling (866) 411-2742 to report a claim with representatives who are available around the clock.
One comment
PeterH
October 7, 2024 at 3:09 pm
There is only one viable path for the State’s home insurance program of last resort. Florida must begin a mandatory State income tax and the proceeds of this tax should be held in reserve to prop up CITIZENS if it should fail to meet its responsibilities. Citizens will fail and neither the federal government nor any banking system should be liable to bail out and rebuild in known hurricane prone areas that regularly flood. Enough of this nonsense of Florida’s temporary residents voting here to maintain an unfair status quo while living in a blue state ten months a year.