Florida's insurer of last resort is seeking a double-digit rate increase across the board as it looks to stem the flow of policies pouring into the company.

The Board of Governors for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is seeking the maximum allowable increase under SB 76 by boosting its rates by 11% for policies renewing between Aug. 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2022, and 12% starting at the beginning of 2023. The proposed increase still must be approved by Florida's insurance regulator.

The recommendation came amid concerns over Citizens' continued in-force policy growth. With private insurers struggling to produce profits over the past couple of years and Citizens maintaining a competitive position in the marketplace, the insurer expects to have almost 775,000 policies in force at the end of 2021, an increase of 42.9% compared with the end of the prior year.

Citizens' rates are "incredibly low and competing directly with the private marketplace," President and CEO Barry Gilway said during a recent board of governors meeting.

According to an analysis the insurer completed in November, the vast majority of private insurers operating in the state were charging at least 15% more for coverage than Citizens. The analysis showed that 99% of Citizens homeowners policies, or policy form HO-3, charge lower premiums than policies in the private sector. That figure is eight points higher than for the previous year.

Chairman Carlos Beruff said the widening premium gap is one reason it has been difficult for Citizens to return to its role as Florida's residual insurer.

Policy growth is expected to continue into 2022, as Citizens believes it will surpass 1 million in-force policies. The last time it ended the year with at least 1 million policies was in 2013, when it had 1.02 million policies on its books.