The state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. on Friday projected that it will receive 100,000 claims from Hurricane Ian, a significant decrease from a projection last week.
Citizens said it had received 47,248 claims as of Friday morning. On Oct. 5, it released a projection that it would have more than 225,000 claims from the storm, which made landfall Sept. 28 in Southwest Florida before crossing the state.
The projection has been scaled back to 100,000 claims because Citizens has not seen as many claims as initially expected in areas outside of hard-hit Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties, spokesman Michael Peltier said in an email.
Citizens on Friday did not change its earlier projection of $2.3 billion to $2.6 billion in losses.
Peltier said Citizens is holding off on a new estimate “until we can base it on actual losses.”
Citizens, which was created as an insurer of last resort, has seen its number of policies more than double during the past two years amid financial troubles in the private insurance market. As of last week, it had about 1.08 million policies across the state.
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Tampa Bay Times Hurricane Ian coverage
HOW TO HELP: Where to donate or volunteer to help Hurricane Ian victims.
FEMA: Floridians hurt by Ian can now apply for FEMA assistance. Here’s how.
THE STORM HAS PASSED: Now what? Safety tips for returning home.
POST-STORM QUESTIONS: After Hurricane Ian, how to get help with fallen trees, food, damaged shelter.
WEATHER EFFECTS: Hurricane Ian was supposed to slam Tampa Bay head on. What happened?
MORE STORM COVERAGE: Get ready and stay informed at tampabay.com/hurricane.
Alice J. Roden started working for Trending Insurance News at the end of 2021. Alice grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. A writer with a vast insurance industry background Alice has help with several of the biggest insurance companies. Before joining Trending Insurance News, Alice briefly worked as a freelance journalist for several radio stations. She covers home, renters and other property insurance stories.