If not for higher water damage claims in South Florida, Citizens Property Insurance Co. would have been able to reduce property insurance rates for most homeowners here.
But because most water damage claims originate from this region, rates for multi-peril single-family residential coverage are going up for 2016 in Broward, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties and going down everywhere else in the state, pending final approval by the state.
Citizens' Board of Governors voted unanimously Wednesday to approve recommended rate hikes averaging 3.2 percent statewide for all personal property insurance lines. The increase includes 1.1 percent for multi-peril single-family coverage and 8.