Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company Inc. will soon offer flood insurance in the state of Florida, having already submitted related forms and rate filings with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to jumpstart their efforts.
Homeowners Choice, a wholly-owned insurance subsidiary of HCI group Inc., based in Tampa, will provide rate relief to existing customers by applying to regulators to add an endorsement to its policies to include flood coverage. The additional coverage is expected to be priced similarly to what property owners paid before the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2012.
As a result of the Biggert-Waters Act, Florida residents saw substantial increases in their flood insurance premiums. The legislation phased out subsidies for certain older properties and imposed large additional costs to property owners, most of whom had never filed a claim under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Paresh Patel, HCI Group's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a press release that while HCI Group cannot provide a solution to all of Florida they will try and help policyholders hit the hardest by hefty rate increases under the NFIP, citing them as the company's top priority.
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