222,000 Ian insurance claims filed in Florida as Citizens Insurance adds 7,700 policies

Thousands still missing in Florida after Hurricane Ian

Hundreds of thousands of Florida residents stayed behind as Hurricane Ian approached Florida. As the death count continues to rise, many are still missing.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Five days after Hurricane Ian devastated Southwest Florida and started making its way across the state, more than 222,000 insurance claims had been filed from the storm, according to data posted Monday on the state Office of Insurance Regulation website.

The data showed 222,261 claims filed in Florida, with estimated insured losses of $1.61 billion. Those numbers are expected to dramatically increase, with two financial-rating agencies last week estimating insured losses at $25 billion to $40 billion.

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Of the claims filed as of Monday, the vast majority, 165,008, involved residential property. Other types of claims included for auto damage. The data showed that 1,701 claims had been closed with payments, while 4,303 had been closed without payments.

Citizens Insurance Adds 7,700 Policies

Continuing to absorb customers from the troubled private market, the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. added more than 7,700 policies last week, according to information posted Monday on the Citizens website.

As of Friday, Citizens had 1,071,850 policies, up from 1,064,145 a week earlier. The new total also was an increase of 45,021 policies from the end of August. Citizens, which was created as an insurer of last resort, has seen massive growth during the past two years as private insurers have dropped policies, and in some cases gone insolvent, amid financial losses.

As of Sept. 30, 2020, for example, Citizens had 511,055 policies. On Sept. 30, 2021, it had 708,919 policies, according to its website.