A press release on the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website states:
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty ordered Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) to begin offering residential property insurance coverage to Floridians whose policies had been taken out of Citizens by private insurers but who are being charged unapproved rates. The order comes in response to thousands of policyholders having their policies taken out of Citizens only to see their premiums increase dramatically beyond what they were previously paying.
Under Florida law Citizens is required to charge rates that are higher than rates charged by private insurers. To achieve this, Citizens looks at the rates charged by the 20 largest insurers doing business in the state and sets its rates above the average rate charged by those companies in any territory. However, the companies which have raised rates above Citizens fall below the 20 largest companies and are not part of the calculation to make Citizens rates the highest. In some cases these companies have taken advantage of a provision in Florida law and have begun charging the increased rates prior to having them approved by the insurance commissioner.
Sounds like some shifty and greedy actions being taken by some insurers. I have a hard time believing insurers actually thought their rate increases would not be sniffed out by the insurance department and reported by homeowners.
