Citizens Chair Stepping Down

The day after Citizens Property Insurance Corp. priced a $1.75 billion tax-exempt deal last week, board chairman Bruce Douglas announced that he would not seek reappointment. 

“This was a very emotional and difficult decision for me since I have been part of the tremendous progress and evolution of Citizens over the past six years,” Douglas said in a statement. “The people of Florida can be proud of the kind of organization Citizens has become.”

Douglas said he would leave public service to assist his sons in a family-owned business. All board member appointments expire on July 31. New or renewed appointments will be made by the governor, chief financial officer, Senate president, and House speaker.

Last week, Citizens sold $1.75 billion of one- and three-year securities at yields ranging from 2.5% to 4.37% to provide liquidity for its high-risk account, if needed to pay claims. The nonprofit agency also obtained a $1.6 billion bank credit line for its personal and commercial line accounts. The financings were part of a plan to replace Citizens’ auction-rate securities, which the agency had used as a form of liquidity to quickly pay claims in a major disaster. Citizens bought back its ARS after that market collapsed.

The high-profile, state-run agency is the largest property insurer in Florida, insuring all kinds of property across the hurricane-prone state because private insurers won’t take the risk.

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