Monday, August 5th, 2002 — Florida Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher announced that Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) has take over as the state's insurer of last resort for consumers unable to obtain property insurance coverage from the private market.
Citizens, which was created through legislation approved during the 2002 session, is the new entity resulting from the merger of the Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association (FWUA), which provided wind-only coverage to nearly 410,000 coastal residents, with the Florida Residential Property and Casualty Joint Underwriting Association (FRPCJUA), which covered approximately 110,000 consumers in need of residential or commercial property coverage. The FRPCJUA was created after Hurricane Andrew for homeowners who could not secure coverage from private insurance companies.