Citizens Property Insurance Corp. — the insurer of last resort and largest property insurance provider in Florida with nearly 1.2 million customers — now mandates policyholders must carry flood insurance.

After experiencing unsustainable growth last year due to several insolvencies, Florida’s insurer of last resort now requires customers to buy flood insurance.

The Neptune Consumer Survey of Flood Risk Awareness shows that consumers urgently need education about flood risk and flood insurance. Many homeowners who need flood insurance do not have that protection in place.

Heavy rains hammered California over the Christmas and New Year, causing billions of dollars in damage. But the bad weather also revealed how vulnerable homeowners are becoming to the unpredictable effects of climate change.

In California, only about 230,000 homes and other buildings have flood insurance policies, which are separate from homeowners insurance. That means only about 2% of properties are covered against flooding.

The wave of storms battering California are far from over, and it’s too early to calculate the cost of damage to homes and businesses overwhelmed by floodwaters.

Many Florida homeowners may wonder, “Do I need flood insurance?” While homeowners are usually fully aware that they need homeowners insurance to protect their homes in the event they are damaged or destroyed, they may not know that traditional homeowners insurance alone does not cover damage caused by flooding.

Neptune Flood, the largest private flood insurance company, today announced the results of its third annual Neptune Consumer Survey of Flood Awareness, conducted in partnership with the University of South Florida Customer Experience Lab – St. Petersburg.

Arbol Inc. delivered a $10 million reinsurance payout to Tampa-based Centauri Insurance within three weeks after Hurricane Ian, which is fast for the insurance industry.

Florida's homeowners shell out thousands, even tens of thousands, for property insurance to protect themselves from fierce storms like Hurricane Ian.

Neptune Flood announced that Matthew Duffy joined as chief risk officer. He served multiple roles at Bank OZK and its predecessor C1 Bank as enterprise risk officer and ultimately as executive vice president, director of enterprise technology solutions.

Neptune Flood’s new chief risk officer, Matt Duffy, says the insurance industry is ready for a major update in the way it calculates risk.