In his resignation letter to the Citizens' board, Ricker spelled out the reasons for why he chose to step down. The letter is as follows:

Three years ago, I was recruited by the board to come in and drive the operational turnaround of Citizens. I made a commitment to the board that I would stay in that position for three years. At that time, before there were any hurricanes, Citizens had significant operational and structural problems. I am pleased to report that we have made significant improvements in all areas of operations during the last three years, while acknowledging we can always do better.

Approaching my third-year anniversary, I have made the decision I want to step down from the presidency of Citizens and move on. My reason is purely personal, after eight hurricanes, unrelenting growth, and all the other challenges we've been hit with, I am mentally and physically exhausted.

Very few people outside Citizens can truly understand the pressure of this type of growth and the impact of responding to eight hurricanes puts on a management team, especially in a company that has been, and remains, understaffed in all areas. And yet, we have always worked just a little harder and a little longer each time new challenges came up to get the job done.

I recently missed my son's birthday for the second year in a row and completely missed, or had to cut short, the last two Christmas vacations with my family because of the 2004-2005 hurricanes and have worked through or cut short every other vacation since taking the helm at Citizens. It is time to move on.

I want to assure the board that I have not had any discussions with anyone about my post-Citizens employment. This is strictly a personal decision.

Bruce Douglas, chair of the Citizens board, praised Ricker, describing him as “the right man in the right place at the right time.”

A National Search

With the absence of Ricker, the Citizens board named Wallace as his interim replacement. Wallace had been serving as senior vice president of operations, responsible for underwriting and actuarial, product development, claims, catastrophe claims, policy administration, and process management functions. He also has more than 25 years' property and casualty insurance and reinsurance experience. Prior to joining Citizens, Wallace served as executive vice president of Berkley Underwriting Partners, a member company of W. R. Berkley Corp., and in senior management positions at Great American Insurance Company, Carville America, and MGIC Indemnity Corp. Taking the interim position early last month, Wallace said, “I am humbled by the confidence placed in me by the board and Bob Ricker.”

While Wallace runs Citizens on a day-to-day basis, the Citizens board will be conducting a nationwide search. Under this year's property bill, the head of Citizens has become an appointed position that must be confirmed by the State Senate. Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty proposed the idea of a national search in a statement to the board. “Citizens is now the largest insurer in the State of Florida with more than 1.2 million policyholders and is growing everyday. It is imperative; therefore, that the process used to appoint a replacement be done in a manner that instills confidence in Citizens' policyholders, state leadership, and the public that the best qualified person leads the day-to-day operations of the corporation. I am therefore requesting that the board immediately begin a nationwide search for an appropriate candidate to fill the position of president,” he said.