Citizens Property Insurance in Florida: who qualifies and what to know

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is Florida's insurer of last resort, a not-for-profit government entity created in 2002 that insures homes the private market will not. For a primary residence, you are generally eligible only if no admitted insurer offers comparable coverage at a premium within 20% of Citizens'. If a private company offers you a policy at or below that line, Florida law expects you to take it.

Citizens has shrunk dramatically. It reached 1,407,805 policies on September 30, 2023 and had 254,736 on October 2, 2026, according to its policies-in-force page. That change is why many Floridians now hold a "take-out" offer from a private carrier rather than a Citizens renewal. This guide explains the rules that decide whether you stay, the coverage you get, and what to weigh before you switch. For the plan's full profile, see Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.

Eligibility: the 20% rule

The statute is Fla. Stat. 627.351(6) (2026 Florida Statutes). For a personal-lines primary residence:

• New applicants are not eligible if an authorized insurer offers comparable coverage at its approved rate, unless that premium is more than 20% greater than Citizens' premium for comparable coverage.
• Renewals follow the same test for policies renewing on or after April 1, 2023. Before that date, an offer equal to or below Citizens' premium made you ineligible.
• Take-out offers. If you receive a take-out offer from an authorized insurer in a depopulation round submitted to the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) on or after January 1, 2023, you are no longer eligible for Citizens unless the offer is more than 20% above your Citizens renewal premium. This applies to primary residences only.
• Other properties. For non-primary residences, an offer from an authorized insurer or an approved surplus lines insurer within the same 20% window can make you ineligible at renewal on or after July 1, 2024.
• Dwelling value. A structure with a replacement cost of $700,000 or more is ineligible. In Miami-Dade and Monroe counties the cutoff is $1 million, based on a 2024 Florida Senate analysis.

"Comparable coverage" is the key phrase, and a deductible, a roof schedule or a water limit that differs can make an offer less comparable than it looks. Your agent can see the consolidated list of take-out offers for your policy; Citizens must keep one available to the agent of record.

What Citizens covers

Citizens writes multiperil homeowners policies (HO-3 and HO-8), condo unit-owner (HO-6), renters (HO-4), dwelling fire (DP-3) and mobile home forms, plus wind-only versions in designated coastal areas for owners whose other coverage excludes wind. See wind-only policy.

• Dwelling. Depending on the policy and home, Coverage A is based on rebuilding cost or on actual cash value.
• Contents. Personal property is covered at depreciated value unless you add the optional replacement cost endorsement.
• Sinkhole and ordinance or law. Optional, with higher limits available.
• Deductibles. A fixed all-other-perils deductible plus a hurricane deductible stated as a percentage of the insured value, such as $4,000 on a $200,000 home with a 2% deductible. A hypothetical, but the arithmetic is how the declarations page works.

Citizens policies are sold only through Citizens-appointed agents, and claims are reported at 866-411-2742. Your declarations package, not a summary, controls what is covered.

The flood requirement

Citizens requires flood coverage on personal residential policies that include wind. The schedule under Fla. Stat. 627.351(6)(aa) is:

Condo unit-owner forms and policies that exclude wind are exempt. The required coverage must at least match NFIP dwelling coverage. If your renewal falls close to January 1, 2027, ask Citizens now what proof it needs; a lapse in flood coverage can put the whole policy at risk.

Rates, assessments and what they mean for you

By law Citizens' rates must be actuarially sound and not competitive with the private market. For primary residences, the annual increase on any one policy is capped at 15% for 2026 and later under the glide path. Non-primary homes are outside the cap and can be charged up to 50% more than the prior year's rate. In March 2026, OIR approved lower rates: multiperil homeowners premiums dropped an average of 8.8%, and wind-only premiums 5.5%, effective July 1, 2026 for new policies and at renewal for existing ones.

The risk is the back end. If Citizens runs a deficit after a major storm, Florida law lets it charge its own policyholders a surcharge of up to 15% of premium, and then emergency assessments on most other Florida property and casualty policies. The acknowledgment you sign warns that surcharges and assessments could reach 25% of premium and that Citizens is not backed by the full faith and credit of the state. Say your annual premium is $3,000 (hypothetical). A 15% surcharge adds $450. For the 2026 season Citizens reported at least $9.6 billion in claims-paying ability, which it describes as enough for a 1-in-360-year hurricane without assessments, but that figure is Citizens' own and it assumes the reinsurance and Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund layers pay as planned.

Should you accept a take-out offer?

A take-out lets a private insurer assume a block of Citizens policies. The details of how those rounds work are in depopulation and takeout offers from state insurers of last resort. When an offer arrives, compare it against your Citizens declarations page on the points that decide a claim.

1. Hurricane deductible. Percentage and what the deductible applies to.
2. Roof settlement. Replacement cost, a payment schedule or actual cash value. Roof age drives many Florida claims.
3. Water damage limit. Some private forms cap non-weather water losses; compare to Citizens.
4. Contents settlement. Replacement cost or actual cash value.
5. The insurer. Check its financial rating (in Florida, many carriers are rated by Demotech) and its complaint record. See florida's domestic home insurers: who they are and Demotech ratings and Florida's insurers.
6. Total price against what you now pay, including any flood policy the lender requires.

Under the 20% rule, letting an eligible offer pass does not keep you in Citizens at renewal. If you think the offer is not comparable, ask your agent in writing and document the differences. Citizens does not give you a way to stay in simply because you prefer it.

A reasonable case for staying: you want a government-backed policy for a home that private carriers have non-renewed or priced above the line. A reasonable case for moving: private pricing has fallen as reinsurance costs eased, and a Citizens surcharge would land on you immediately after a bad storm. Both are fair; the difference is who you trust to pay claims in a bad year.

Citizens during a storm

Citizens suspends new policies and coverage increases statewide when a hurricane or tropical storm watch or warning covers any part of Florida, as it did on October 7, 2026. Do not plan to buy or raise limits when a storm is on the map. If your private policy lapses or is nonrenewed, apply well before storm season, because a watch or warning closes the door. Private carriers apply similar binding restrictions. See hurricane season insurance checklist.

Getting out of Citizens

• Ask your agent to shop the private market before each renewal. New carriers keep arriving: OIR announced on May 20, 2026 that 20 new property insurers had entered the market since the reforms.
• Add mitigation. A wind mitigation inspection can lower the wind portion of your premium at Citizens and at private carriers, and the credits matter more with higher deductibles.
• Use the Florida Market Assistance Plan at 800-524-9023, which refers homeowners to private insurers.
• Keep your Citizens policy in force until the new one is bound and the lender has proof.

Key takeaways

• Citizens is Florida's insurer of last resort, and a primary residence is eligible only if no private offer comes within 20% of Citizens' premium.
• Its policy count fell from 1,407,805 in September 2023 to 254,736 in October 2026 as private carriers took policies out.
• Flood coverage is required on most wind-covered personal policies, phasing in through January 1, 2027.
• Surcharges and assessments after a major storm could reach 25% of premium, so factor the tail risk in alongside price.
• Compare a take-out offer on deductible, roof settlement, water limits and insurer strength, not just on price.