Fla.’s Citizens to Get $2 Billion Additional Financing

The board of Citizens Property Insurance approved a nearly $2 billion financing plan last week that will give the state-backed company nearly $9 billion to pay hurricane damage claims this summer.

Citizens, which has grown to be the largest residential property insurer in the state, will obtain a $1 billion letter of credit and about $950 million in bonds as part of the $1.95 billion financing plan approved by the board of governors. Citizens also can tap into the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.

A statement from the company said Citizens will have about $8.8 billion available to pay claims this hurricane season. By comparison, Citizens paid $5.2 billion for all claims resulting from the storms in the busy 2004 and 2005 seasons.

The company, which was created by the state to provide coverage to people who can’t get private hurricane insurance, has about 1.3 million policyholders.