Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is Florida’s state-created nonprofit insurance company. It’s available as a last-resort option for Florida homeowners, renters, condo unit owners, and mobile or manufactured home owners who can’t find comparable home insurance coverage from private insurers.
What is Citizens Property Insurance Corporation?
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation was established by the Florida legislature in 2002 to help address challenges in the state’s property insurance market. It operates as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization rather than a for-profit private insurance company.
Citizens provides coverage using money collected from its own policyholders through premiums. A premium is the amount a policyholder pays to maintain insurance coverage. If Citizens experiences major financial losses after a catastrophic storm or string of costly weather events, Florida law allows it to charge eligible policyholders statewide an extra fee, called an assessment, to help cover the shortfall rather than using public funds or state tax revenue.
Citizens has become Florida's largest property insurer at multiple points over the past two decades, including in 2011, when it held 23% of the market. At that time, Florida was going through a home insurance crisis. Private insurers were pulling out of the state due to multiple factors, including high claim volume, a challenging legal environment, and limited availability of reinsurance (insurance that insurers buy to help cover large losses).
Who qualifies for a Citizens policy?
Citizens home insurance is intended for Florida homeowners who cannot obtain comparable coverage from a private insurer. Not every Florida homeowner will qualify.
Citizens uses a system called the Clearinghouse to help determine whether a property can get comparable coverage elsewhere. Insurance agents are required to use it for new policies and at each policy renewal. You may qualify if the cheapest comparable private coverage you can find costs more than 20% above what Citizens would charge for the same coverage.
In most Florida counties, Citizens Property Insurance can insure homes only if the dwelling replacement cost (how much it would cost to repair or rebuild your home at today’s prices), or the combined dwelling and personal property coverage, is less than $700,000.
The limit may be as high as $1 million in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, if the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation decides there aren't enough private insurers competing for business there.
Citizens' depopulation program and policy nonrenewals
Citizens’ depopulation program reduces the number of policies it manages by moving eligible policies to approved private insurers at renewal. It’s separate from the Clearinghouse, which helps determine whether comparable private insurance is available when a homeowner applies for or renews a Citizens policy.
Through depopulation, a private insurer may offer to take over an existing Citizens policy — known as a takeout offer. If the offer includes comparable coverage and the new premium isn't more than 20% higher than the policyholder's Citizens renewal premium, the homeowner typically must accept the new policy and can't remain with Citizens. (This is a different comparison than the Clearinghouse threshold above. Here, the question is how much more a private offer can cost, not how much less.) If the new premium is more than 20% higher, the homeowner can choose to stay with Citizens or switch to the private company.
Homeowners who receive a depopulation packet with a takeout offer should compare the new policy’s coverage, rate, deductibles (how much you pay toward covered claims), and exclusions (what your policy doesn’t cover) carefully before making a decision.
If you don’t select an option by the deadline listed on your Offer Form, Citizens will automatically assign the policy to the approved insurer with the lowest premium.
Thanks to state reforms and depopulation efforts, rates have begun to stabilize and private insurers are coming back to the Sunshine State. As of mid-2026, Citizens' market share has dropped to 2% — the lowest it's been in more than 15 years.
How Citizens' rates compare to private insurance
Citizens’ premiums are not always the cheapest option for homeowners. While Citizens may offer lower rates than some private insurers in certain situations, the average cost of homeowners insurance in Florida depends on other factors, including your home’s:
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Age
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Location
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Construction type
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Coverage needs
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Storm risk
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Claims history
Citizens’ rates are also affected by Florida’s statutory glide path, which caps how much Citizens can raise any individual policyholder's rate each year — currently 15% for primary homes. Because of this cap, your Citizens premium may rise more slowly than what's needed to fully reflect your home's actual risk. This gap, combined with major storm losses, is one reason Citizens has historically been more likely than private insurers to charge assessments to cover shortfalls.
How to save money on Citizens insurance in Florida
Homeowners may be able to lower their premium with Citizens through wind mitigation improvements. Citizens’ mitigation discount program provides savings for installing qualifying hurricane-resistant features (and getting a wind mitigation inspection to prove it), such as:
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Hurricane shutters or storm panels
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Wind-rated roofing materials
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Reinforced roof attachments
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Impact-resistant doors and windows
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Wind-resistant roof designs
The best way to find the most affordable coverage is to compare quotes and coverage details from available insurers. The lowest premium isn’t always the best value. You should exhaust all other options before resorting to Citizens home insurance in Florida.
Frequently asked questions
Is Citizens Property Insurance backed by the state of Florida?
Citizens Property Insurance is a state-created insurer in Florida that steps in for homeowners who can't find coverage in the private market. But just because the state created it doesn't mean it's backed by tax dollars, and it doesn't come with any kind of guaranteed payout. Instead, Citizens runs on policyholder premiums and, if needed, extra charges called assessments — fees Florida law allows Citizens to collect from policyholders statewide to help cover major losses.
Who has the cheapest homeowners insurance in Florida?
No single insurer has the cheapest homeowners insurance in Florida. The cost of coverage depends on factors such as your home’s location, age, roof condition, construction type, coverage limits, deductible, and claims history. Comparing home insurance quotes from multiple insurers is the best way to find the lowest price for your coverage needs and budget.
Is Citizens Insurance dropping customers in Florida?
No. Citizens has been reducing its policy count through Florida’s depopulation program, which allows eligible policies to be transferred at renewal to approved private insurance companies when more affordable coverage becomes available. As legal reforms have allowed Florida’s private insurance market to stabilize, private insurers have returned, so Citizens’ market share has gradually declined as more policyholders have moved back to traditional companies.
Is Citizens Property Insurance legit?
Yes, Citizens Property Insurance is a legitimate, nonprofit insurer created by the Florida Legislature in 2002 that’s regulated by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. It serves as Florida’s insurer of last resort for eligible property owners, making Citizens Insurance a good option for Floridians who cannot obtain comparable, affordable coverage in the private insurance market.
