Citizens Insurance Hearing Is Today

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. customers who wish to sound off on skyrocketing premiums or offer suggestions on improving customer service can speak to top company executives at a public hearing in Largo this afternoon.

The hearing is the last of three ordered by the state Cabinet in September when it rejected the 2007 operating plan for the state-run insurer of last resort.

Citizens insures 110,591 properties in Pinellas County and 50,354 in Hillsborough. Its customer base has swelled to 1.2 million policies statewide and, by law, charges higher premiums than private insurers.

It has charged customers $2 billion to cover operating losses during the past two years and received a $715 million state appropriation this year.

When it rejected Citizens' operating plan in September, the Cabinet charged Citizens to emphasize its statutory mandate "to achieve efficiencies and economies, while providing services to policyholders."

In addition to the hearings, www.citizensforabettercitizens .com has a link for more input. The feedback is supposed to help formulate a revised operating plan due Jan. 31.

Speakers at the other hearings have asked that Citizens let customers pay with credit cards or allow installment payments throughout the year. Customers must pay 80 percent of their premiums upfront and pay the balance within a month, spokesman Rocky Scott said.

Less attention focused on how quickly the company settles claims. Hurricane Wilma, which cut across Florida in October 2005, generated more than 180,000 claims. Nearly all have been closed, Scott said.

"While we always can improve, we think we're doing a pretty good job" on claims, he said.