Florida’s State-Backed Home Insurer: When It’s an Option

Chris Chase
Licensed Florida insurance broker · FL License #G193830 · NPN 21407586
Last reviewed October 2026

Citizens Property Insurance is the state-backed company that insures Florida homes when the private market won’t, or won’t at a comparable price. It’s a real option for a lot of homeowners, and it comes with rules.

I’m writing this as a broker that also shops private companies, so the goal is to help you see where Citizens fits, not to push you toward or away from it.

Who can get it

According to Citizens, it may write a new policy only when:

• coverage is not available from a Florida-authorized insurance company, or
• premiums from Florida-authorized insurance companies are more than 20 percent higher than the premium for comparable coverage from Citizens.

What it requires

• Flood insurance. Citizens requires proof of a flood policy for many of its policyholders. See Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Flooding?
• A home under its value limit. Citizens only insures homes below a set dwelling amount, with a higher limit in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
• A four-point inspection on older homes. Expect one once the home is past about 20 years. See Four-Point Inspections and Home Insurance.
• Proof for a newer roof. A closed permit, or a contractor’s statement with a paid-in-full invoice.
• A current wind mitigation form if you want the credits. Citizens accepts the earlier form version when the inspection was done within five years before April 1, 2026 and nothing structural has changed.

Things that catch people off guard

• A gap in coverage. If the home has had no coverage recently, there can be a surcharge and a waiting period before coverage starts.
• Coverage placed by a lender. If your prior coverage was lender-placed, Citizens wants a four-point inspection dated very close to the policy start.
• Water claims. Two non-weather water losses in three years, or three in five, can leave you eligible only for a more basic policy unless the cause was repaired.
• Seasonal homes have extra requirements, such as a gated community or a central alarm.
• Short-term rentals. A home rented for short stays more than a few times a year isn’t eligible for a standard policy.
• Homes owned by an LLC or corporation don’t go on a standard homeowners policy. They can go on a different form, with liability coverage excluded.
• Pools. An unfenced or empty pool may only be eligible without liability coverage.

Your notice period is different

Most Florida homeowners get at least 120 days’ notice of a nonrenewal. The Florida Department of Financial Services lists an exception: when a Citizens policy has been assumed by an authorized private insurance company, the notice period is 45 days. If you receive a letter saying a private company has offered to take over your Citizens policy, read it carefully and call me before the deadline in the letter.

If your wind coverage was removed

The Department of Financial Services notes that when a private policy excludes wind coverage, the excluded wind coverage is available through Citizens or the private market. So in some cases Citizens covers only the wind portion alongside a private policy for everything else.

What to compare

Price is only one line. When I put a Citizens quote next to a private one, I look at:

• The dwelling amount and whether it matches the rebuild estimate
• Whether belongings are paid at replacement cost or depreciated value
• Water damage coverage: full, limited, or excluded
• The hurricane deductible
• Liability coverage
• The flood insurance requirement and what it adds to your total cost

That last one is easy to miss. If Citizens requires a flood policy and a private company doesn’t, the fair comparison is Citizens plus flood against the private quote.

What private quotes have looked like

For context, here are averages from homeowners insurance quotes in the area over the past 36 months:

These are averages of past quotes, not an offer.

What to do

• Have the private market shopped first. It’s required for eligibility anyway.
• Get your inspections in order. A current four-point and wind mitigation report help with every company.
• Fix what’s fixable. A repaired leak, a replaced panel, or a documented roof can move you from ineligible to eligible with a private company.
• Keep coverage continuous.
• Re-shop every year. The private market changes, and so does your home.

How I handle a Citizens quote

When someone calls me about Citizens, I start by shopping the private companies available to me for that home, because that’s what the eligibility rule calls for and because a private policy is sometimes the better fit. I write down what each one offered or why it declined.

Then I line up the comparable private offers against what Citizens would charge, and walk you through the 20% math and the coverage differences. You’ll see the whole picture, including the cost of any flood policy that comes with it, before you decide.

Common questions

Citizens’ rules change often. Check citizensfla.com for the current ones, and call me to see how they apply to your home.

Official sources

• Citizens Property Insurance: getting a policy
• Florida Department of Financial Services: homeowners insurance overview
• Citizens Property Insurance: wind mitigation form changes

Keep reading

• Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Flooding?
• Four-Point Inspections and Home Insurance
• How Past Claims Affect Your Home Insurance
• Florida homeowners insurance

Related coverage: homeowners insurance and flood insurance.