Glossary

Insurer of last resort

A state-created or state-sponsored insurer that sells coverage to property owners who cannot get a policy from a private company.

Also called: last-resort insurer, insurer of last resort plan, state insurer of last resort

An insurer of last resort exists so that a homeowner who has been declined or nonrenewed everywhere else still has somewhere to buy coverage. Florida's Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and Louisiana Citizens are state-created insurers that fill this role. State FAIR plan pools and coastal wind pools, such as the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, do the same job with different structures.

These insurers are meant to be temporary and unattractive on purpose. Eligibility usually requires that you cannot find a comparable private offer, and the rates are set to avoid undercutting the market. Coverage is often narrower than an HO-3: some plans insure only certain perils, such as wind and hail, and others leave out theft or liability. If the pool's reserves run short after a storm, an assessment can reach policyholders, in some states including customers of private insurers.

Lenders generally accept the coverage as a last option. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, for example, takes a state plan policy only when no other coverage can be obtained.

Treat a last-resort policy as a bridge. Reshop every year and watch for a takeout policy offer from a private carrier. What to do when your home seems uninsurable lays out the steps, and Citizens in Florida shows one plan up close.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026

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Related terms

FAIR plan A state pool, funded by the insurers doing business there, that sells basic property coverage to owners who cannot find it in the regular market. Residual market The state-created plans and pools that cover property owners the private market declines, as opposed to coverage insurers sell by choice. Depopulation A state program that moves policies out of a state-backed insurer and into private companies, shrinking the plan's exposure to the next catastrophe. Takeout policy The private-market policy offered to a state-backed insurer's customer when a company takes over a block of that plan's policies. Assessment An extra charge raised after a state-backed insurer or guaranty fund runs short of money, collected from insurers and sometimes passed on to policyholders. Surplus lines insurer An insurer not licensed in a state that may write risks the standard market declines, with freer rates and forms and usually no guaranty fund backing.

Related guides

Depopulation and takeout offers from state insurers of last resort How Citizens-style plans move policies to private insurers, what a takeout letter means, the Florida 20% rule, and how to decide whether to accept or opt out. Citizens Property Insurance in Florida: who qualifies and what to know How Florida's Citizens works: the 20% eligibility rule, what it covers, take-out offers, flood and assessment rules, and how to move to a private insurer. Disaster aid and insurance fraud schemes Fake FEMA inspectors, grant-fee callers, phony claim helpers and look-alike charities after a disaster, the rules that expose them, and where to report. Gulf Coast home insurance: Alabama and Mississippi How Alabama and Mississippi differ on wind pools, hurricane deductibles, FORTIFIED discounts and claim rules, using 2025 NAIC data and state sources. The largest home insurers in every state, 2025 The three largest homeowners insurance groups in each state and D.C. by 2025 premiums, with their market shares from NAIC data and what the patterns mean. The 100 largest homeowners insurance companies in the U.S., 2025 The NAIC's 2025 ranking of the 100 largest home insurance groups by premiums written, with market shares, what the top 10 hold and how to read size.

Related insurers

California FAIR Plan California's insurer of last resort, a pool of all licensed property insurers selling basic fire policies; 696,562 policies in force in June 2026. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Florida) Florida's not-for-profit, government-created insurer of last resort; takeouts cut it from 1.41 million policies in 2023 to about 255,000 in October 2026. Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Louisiana's nonprofit insurer of last resort, created in 2003 to run the state's FAIR and Coastal plans, with rates set by law above the private market's. NC Insurance Underwriting Association (Coastal Property Insurance Pool) North Carolina's market of last resort for the Outer Banks and 18 coastal counties, writing homeowners, dwelling and wind-only policies up to $1 million. Texas FAIR Plan and Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Texas' insurers of last resort: the FAIR Plan sells basic homeowners coverage statewide, and TWIA sells wind and hail coverage on the coast.

Related tools

Nonrenewal action plan Turn a nonrenewal notice into a dated plan: what to do now, where to look for coverage, and what your state offers when no private insurer will write you.