Florida - Tuesday March 19, 2024: Citizens Property Insurance has ‘failed to cooperate’ with a US Senate investigation into whether it’s in financial trouble. That’s according to a letter sent by Democratic US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on Tuesday.
The US Senate launched an investigation into Citizens in November, saying that if the state-backed company goes under due to a major storm, that it could require a federal bailout.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has been among those voicing worries that the insurer may not be able to pay policyholders if a big storm hits the state without requiring taxpayers to foot some of the bill.
But Citizens CEO Tim Cerio has said that the Florida insurance option of last resort has more than $4 billion dollars in cash and can always raise extra money from special assessments from policyholders.
In the letter, Senator Whitehouse pressed the company to cooperate with the federal investigation and to provide all records being requested by the US Senate.