Citizens Property Insurance in 2026: Takeouts, the 20% Rule and the Flood Deadline

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation had 266,231 policies on its books at the end of August 2026. By Citizens' own count it peaked at about 1.41 million in October 2023. Its website showed 254,736 on October 2.

Most of that drop is takeouts. Private insurers, approved one batch at a time by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), assumed 1,469,721 Citizens policies from 2023 through September 22, 2026. If you're one of the quarter-million still insured by Citizens, the same process is pointed at your policy, and the rules are written so that ignoring the letter moves you anyway.

From 1.41 million to about 255,000

0500K1M1.5M

266,231

Aug '23Sep '24Oct '25Aug '26

Source: Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, monthly Policies in Force reports, August 2023 to August 2026 (month-end, all lines). Reports from January 2024 on are labelled "Excludes Takeouts".

Show the numbers

	Policies in force
Aug '23	1,377,425
Sep '23	1,407,805
Oct '23	1,334,620
Nov '23	1,260,430
Dec '23	1,228,718
Jan '24	1,165,867
Feb '24	1,169,427
Mar '24	1,168,919
Apr '24	1,188,800
May '24	1,193,484
Jun '24	1,213,495
Jul '24	1,232,161
Aug '24	1,250,791
Sep '24	1,263,055
Oct '24	1,036,913
Nov '24	988,051
Dec '24	936,182
Jan '25	941,156
Feb '25	847,571
Mar '25	841,470
Apr '25	809,984
May '25	819,027
Jun '25	779,552
Jul '25	782,424
Aug '25	771,916
Sep '25	769,316
Oct '25	568,914
Nov '25	437,095
Dec '25	395,337
Jan '26	392,689
Feb '26	336,393
Mar '26	321,957
Apr '26	294,894
May '26	293,772
Jun '26	278,246
Jul '26	278,196
Aug '26	266,231

The count didn't fall in a straight line. It actually grew in 2024, from 1,165,867 at the end of January to 1,263,055 at the end of September: more policies came in than left. Then the large rounds landed: 226,142 fewer policies in October 2024 alone, and about 374,000 fewer between the end of September and the end of December 2025.

Behind it are two law changes. SB 2-A (December 2022) ended one-way attorney fees in property insurance suits, set Citizens' 20% eligibility test and created the flood requirement. HB 837 (March 2023) changed the rules for suing insurers. OIR's market page says 21 additional property and casualty insurers have been approved to enter Florida following the reforms it lists.

Citizens put itself at about 2% of the residential market in June. That fits what the law says Citizens is for. Under s. 627.351(6)(n), its rates must be actuarially sound and not competitive with the private admitted market's approved rates.

An OIR approval is a ceiling, not a forecast

• OIR approved (maximum)
• Actually assumed

01M2M3M

202320242025

Source: Florida OIR, Market Overview (policies approved for takeout; 2024 approvals as of Sept. 5, 2024); Citizens, 2014-2026 Exposure Summary (policies actually assumed, all lines)

Show the numbers

	OIR approved (maximum)	Actually assumed
2023	646,617	275,324
2024	1,263,749	477,821
2025	1,883,487	585,432

When you read that OIR approved a company to take up to 100,000 Citizens policies, that is a cap. In 2025, OIR approved takeouts of up to 1,883,487 policies and 585,432 actually moved, about 31%. Each approval comes as a consent order listing the number of policies and the assumption dates (OIR's Take-Out Companies page links every order by case number).

A headline about an approval tells you little about your own renewal; the packet from Citizens does. In 2026 through September 22, 131,144 policies were assumed by nine private insurers, according to Citizens' 2026 statistics.

How a takeout works when the letter arrives

The rules come from s. 627.351(6) of the Florida Statutes and Citizens' Depopulation Plan, approved by OIR Order No. 401992-25 on October 21, 2025. In order:

1. An insurer picks your policy. It needs an OIR consent order first. Recent orders (for example, Case Nos. 402581-26-CO, 402961-26-CO and 403124-26-CO) say an offer can't be more than 40% above your estimated Citizens renewal premium.
2. Citizens mails a Depopulation Packet. It lists every offer with its estimated renewal premium next to the Citizens estimate, with coverage worksheets for each. The plan requires the notice to reach you at least 30 days before the assumption date.
3. The 20% test decides whether you can stay. If any offer of comparable coverage is not more than 20% above Citizens' estimated renewal premium, your policy is no longer eligible for Citizens. "Comparable" means the same major perils at substantially similar levels, without add-on endorsements.
4. You register a choice by the date on the Offer Form, online or through your agent.
5. If you do nothing, Citizens assigns the policy to the insurer with the lowest estimated premium, regardless of eligibility. Eligible policyholders who want to stay have to say so, every time offers arrive.
6. The assumption date splits the claims. A loss before it is Citizens' claim; a loss on or after it belongs to the new insurer. You keep paying Citizens for the current term, and the policy stays on Citizens' forms until the term ends. The new insurer bills the next term and sends policy information about 45 days before its coverage starts.

Two rules matter more than they look. First, there is no way back. The old 30-day window to return after an assumption no longer exists; once a policy is assumed, the transfer is final. SB 2-A also repealed the option to return to Citizens at renewal if the new insurer raised rates past Citizens' glide path (Senate analysis).

Second, the new insurer has to offer you coverage for at least three years from the assumption date, on its OIR-approved forms and rates. During that time it can cancel or nonrenew only for listed reasons such as nonpayment, fraud or a substantial change in risk. That's a promise to keep offering coverage. It is not a promise to keep the price where it started. (You can keep your agent: the takeout insurer has to pay or appoint the agent of record for at least the first year.)

Source: Citizens, Policies Assumed in 2026 (data as of Sept. 22, 2026); Citizens 2026 Personal Lines Calendar; Citizens Depopulation Resources (insurers making offers, as of Oct. 11, 2026).

The rounds have shrunk since February, and so has the schedule. Citizens' 2027 calendar has six personal lines rounds (February 16, April 20, June 15, August 17, October 19 and December 14) against nine in 2026.

Who can stay in Citizens

Even without a takeout offer, the 20% rule follows you to every renewal. Citizens' Clearinghouse (required by s. 627.3518) requires agents to run HO-3, HO-6, DP-1 and DP-3 policies through it for new business and to remarket Citizens business at renewal. An offer not more than 20% above the Citizens renewal premium leads to nonrenewal. Wind-only forms aren't in the Clearinghouse.

You may see 15% quoted somewhere. For homes and condos it's 20%. The 15% figures in s. 627.351(6) cover other things: the 15% annual cap on rate increases for a primary residence (s. 627.351(6)(n)5.d.), the most Citizens can surcharge its own policyholders to cover a deficit, and a 2026 rule for commercial risks offered surplus lines coverage (SB 1028).

The rest of the eligibility rules:

• Value cap. A home with a dwelling replacement cost of $700,000 or more isn't eligible, and neither is a condo unit whose dwelling plus contents replacement cost reaches $700,000. In counties OIR finds lack enough competition the line is under $1 million; a January 2024 Senate staff analysis names Miami-Dade and Monroe.
• Primary vs non-primary. A primary residence is lived in by the owner (or a tenant) for more than nine months a year. The 20% test has applied to non-primary homes renewing since July 1, 2024. Surplus lines insurers can't take out a primary residence or a homesteaded home.
• Staying once doesn't settle it. Citizens' confirmation letter warns that a future offer within 20% makes the policy ineligible, and the policy may go through the Clearinghouse before the next renewal.
• Wind-only. In coastal areas that were eligible for the old Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association on January 1, 2002, Citizens writes wind-only policies, and you buy the rest of the coverage privately. Citizens has an address lookup.
• Commercial nonresidential policies can't elect to stay at all.

Miami-Dade64,949Broward43,101Palm Beach22,973Pinellas20,739Monroe11,791Sarasota9,584Lee7,934Pasco7,538Brevard6,348Hillsborough5,633

Source: Citizens, Detail by County, August 31, 2026; all six product lines added together

Show the numbers

County	Policies
Miami-Dade	64,949
Broward	43,101
Palm Beach	22,973
Pinellas	20,739
Monroe	11,791
Sarasota	9,584
Lee	7,934
Pasco	7,538
Brevard	6,348
Hillsborough	5,633

Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach hold 131,023 Citizens policies, about 49% of the total. Monroe's mix is different: 9,838 of its 11,791 Citizens policies are personal wind-only. If you're in the Keys with a Citizens wind policy, your takeout and renewal questions are about that wind policy; the rest of your home coverage, if you have it, is with another insurer.

Flood insurance: the January 1, 2027 deadline

Source: s. 627.351(6)(aa), Florida Statutes; Citizens, Flood. "Flood zone" means a FEMA special flood hazard area. Dates apply to policies effective on or after them; the statute uses dwelling replacement cost and Citizens applies it to Coverage A, the dwelling limit.

The requirement attaches to the policy's effective date, so the date that matters is your renewal. A Citizens home policy with wind coverage that renews on or after January 1, 2027 needs flood coverage in place, whatever the home is worth and whatever the flood zone.

The statute exempts two kinds of Citizens policies: ones that don't cover wind, and condo unit-owner policies. Citizens' flood page adds tenant contents (renters) policies to that list. So a condo owner's HO-6 isn't covered by the rule (more on condo insurance in Florida).

How much flood coverage? At least your Citizens Coverage A, or, if the National Flood Insurance Program can't write that much, the NFIP maximum you qualify for: $250,000 for the dwelling in the regular program. Citizens wants proof (the flood declarations page, or a pending application plus proof of payment) and a signed form CIT FW01.

A private flood policy can also satisfy the rule if it meets the minimums in s. 627.715. More background: Florida flood insurance.

2026 rates: down on average, not for every form

• Up
• Down

HO-6 condo unit owners−10.4%HO-3 homeowners−8.7%HW-6 condo wind-only−7.2%HW-2 homeowners wind-only−4.8%DP-1 / DP-3 dwelling−4.2%HO-4 renters−1.0%MW-2 / MD-1 mobile home wind-only+2.0%MHO-3 / MDP-1 mobile home+2.2%DW-2 dwelling wind-only+6.8%HW-4 renters wind-only+8.1%

Source: Citizens, Revised 2026 Rate Kit (average approved change by policy form, effective July 1, 2026)

Show the numbers

Form	Average change
HO-6 condo unit owners	−10.4%
HO-3 homeowners	−8.7%
HW-6 condo wind-only	−7.2%
HW-2 homeowners wind-only	−4.8%
DP-1 / DP-3 dwelling	−4.2%
HO-4 renters	−1.0%
MW-2 / MD-1 mobile home wind-only	+2.0%
MHO-3 / MDP-1 mobile home	+2.2%
DW-2 dwelling wind-only	+6.8%
HW-4 renters wind-only	+8.1%

Citizens' 2026 rates, set by OIR, took effect July 1, 2026 for new policies and apply to existing policies at renewal. Citizens' March 4 release put the average for homeowners multiperil at −8.8% and homeowners wind-only at −5.5%. The rate kit shows the HO-3 average premium going from $3,506 to $3,202.

Some forms went the other way: dwelling wind-only up 6.8%, renters wind-only up 8.1%, mobile home policies up about 2%. The rate kit also shows average increases in some counties.

Increases on a primary residence are capped by the "glide path": since January 1, 2026, no single policy's rate can rise more than 15% a year, not counting coverage changes, surcharges, assessments and sinkhole coverage. Non-primary homes aren't on the glide path but can't be charged more than 50% above the prior year's rate. I haven't found a 2027 rate recommendation yet; Citizens' board meets December 9.

At renewal, compare the new declarations page with the old one. If Coverage A went up, part of the premium change is coverage, not rate.

Assessments: leaving Citizens doesn't take you out of the pool

If storms use up Citizens' money for claims, the law lets it add assessments to premiums. Citizens said in June that its 2026 claims-paying resources total at least $9.6 billion: $5.34 billion of surplus, $2.82 billion of reinsurance and other risk transfer, and $1.44 billion from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. It said that's enough to pay claims from a 1-in-360-year hurricane without assessments.

Source: s. 627.351(6)(b)3., Florida Statutes; s. 215.555(6)(b), Florida Statutes; Citizens, Assessments.

"Nearly every" is literal. The emergency assessment can land on homeowners, renters, auto, boat and pet policies. The exclusions are workers' compensation, medical malpractice, accident and health, NFIP flood and federal crop insurance.

Example: on a $3,000 Citizens premium, a 15% surcharge is $450 (Citizens uses the same example). Not paying it is treated as not paying the premium.

So leaving Citizens takes you out of layer 1 only. Layer 2 and the FHCF assessment would still reach you through your homeowners and auto policies. Citizens' own wording on its depopulation page says private-market policyholders can be subject to a much lower assessment, not none. None of this means an assessment is coming; it's how the law is built.

My Safe Florida Home

The state's hardening program pays for a wind mitigation inspection and then helps with the cost of the work. Under s. 215.5586:

• Inspection: site-built, owner-occupied single-family home (detached, or attached up to three stories) with a homestead exemption.
• Grant: insured value $700,000 or less, built before January 1, 2008, a program inspection in the prior 24 months, and a low- or moderate-income applicant.
• Money: the state puts in up to $10,000, $2 for every $1 from the homeowner. Low-income applicants don't need to match.
• What it pays for: opening protection (doors, garage doors, windows, skylights) and roof work: roof-to-wall connections, the roof deck, and secondary water resistance installed with a roof covering.

Example: approved work costing $15,000 would be $10,000 from the state and $5,000 from a moderate-income owner. Low-income applicants 60 and older go first.

On funding: lawmakers added no new money in 2026 (WFLX, May 8), but the 2026-27 budget, which took effect July 1, carried forward about $378 million in unspent program funds (Florida Realtors, June 30, 2026). The program site was taking accounts as of October 11. After the work, get the updated wind mitigation report to your agent so any mitigation credits on the policy reflect it.

What I'd do this fall

If you got a Depopulation Packet: find the choice deadline on the Offer Form and put it on a calendar. Lay each offer's coverage worksheet next to the Citizens one and check Coverage A, the hurricane deductible, the other-perils deductible, and whether claims are paid at replacement cost or actual cash value. If the packet says you're eligible to stay and you want to, register it; silence picks the lowest-premium offer for you.

If you're staying with Citizens: check your renewal date against January 1, 2027 and line up flood coverage at least 30 days before it. Expect the Clearinghouse to shop you again at renewal.

If a claim or a takeout goes wrong, Florida's Department of Financial Services takes insurance complaints online and on its consumer helpline, 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (1-877-693-5236), or (850) 413-3089 from out of state. OIR takes reports of claim problems on its catastrophe claims page. For how Florida home policies are put together, see Florida home insurance.

Questions people ask

Can I refuse a Citizens takeout offer?

Only if you are eligible to stay. If any offer of comparable coverage is not more than 20% above Citizens' estimated renewal premium, the policy is no longer eligible for Citizens. If you are eligible, you must register your choice to stay by the deadline on the Offer Form, every time offers arrive.

What happens if I ignore a Citizens depopulation letter?

If no choice is registered by the deadline on the Offer Form, Citizens assigns the policy to the insurer with the lowest estimated premium, regardless of eligibility. Once the policy is assumed, the transfer is final; there is no 30-day window to return.

Does Citizens require flood insurance?

For personal residential policies that include wind coverage, yes. For policies effective on or after January 1, 2027, the phase-in reaches all of them except condo unit-owner policies and, per Citizens, renters (tenant contents) policies. Policies that exclude wind are exempt.

How many policies does Citizens have now?

266,231 at the end of August 2026, the latest monthly report, and 254,736 on October 2, 2026, according to Citizens' website. Citizens says its count peaked at about 1.41 million in October 2023.

Your own policy wording and Florida law control. Confirm your situation with a licensed agent, Citizens or the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, and for legal questions, an attorney.

Sources

1. Citizens: Policies in Force as of August 31, 2026
2. Citizens: Detail by Product Line, August 31, 2026
3. Citizens: Detail by County, August 31, 2026
4. Citizens: News page (policies in force as of October 2, 2026)
5. Citizens: 2026 multiperil rates to drop statewide (March 4, 2026; 1.41 million peak)
6. Citizens: Revised 2026 Rate Kit
7. Citizens: 2026 rate change bulletin (15% glide path)
8. Citizens: Smaller Citizens secures coverage for 2026 hurricane season (June 23, 2026)
9. Citizens: Be prepared for Hurricane Isaias (October 7, 2026)
10. Citizens: Personal Lines Depopulation
11. Citizens: Depopulation Resources
12. Citizens: Depopulation Plan, OIR Order No. 401992-25 (October 21, 2025)
13. Citizens: Policyholder Choice Offer letter (12.09.2025)
14. Citizens: Remain with Citizens confirmation letter (12.09.2025)
15. Citizens: Clearinghouse
16. Citizens: 2014-2026 Exposure Summary
17. Citizens: Policies Assumed in 2026
18. Citizens: 2026 Personal Lines Calendar
19. Citizens: 2027 Personal Lines Calendar
20. Citizens: Flood
21. Citizens: Wind-Only Eligibility
22. Citizens: Assessments
23. Florida Statutes s. 627.351 (Citizens Property Insurance Corporation)
24. Florida Statutes s. 215.555 (Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund)
25. Florida Statutes s. 215.5586 (My Safe Florida Home)
26. Florida OIR: Take-Out Companies (consent orders by case number)
27. Florida OIR: Market Overview
28. Florida OIR: Catastrophe Claims Data
29. Florida Senate: SB 2-A (2022 Special Session A)
30. Florida Senate: SB 2-A fiscal policy analysis (December 12, 2022)
31. Florida Senate: HB 837 (2023)
32. Florida Senate: SB 1106 staff analysis (January 12, 2024)
33. Florida Senate: SB 1028 (2026)
34. FEMA FloodSmart: Buy a policy (waiting period)
35. My Safe Florida Home
36. WFLX: My Safe Florida Home has money left from last year (May 8, 2026)
37. Florida Department of Financial Services: Storm resources and consumer helpline
38. Florida Realtors: A fresh state budget targets housing supply, assistance (June 30, 2026)
39. CBS News: Isaias live updates (October 10-11, 2026)
40. CBS12: DeSantis briefing on Isaias outages (October 10, 2026)
41. Citizens monthly Policies in Force reports used for the line chart: Aug 2023, Sep 2023, Oct 2023, Nov 2023, Dec 2023, Jan 2024, Feb 2024, Mar 2024, Apr 2024, May 2024, Jun 2024, Jul 2024, Aug 2024, Sep 2024, Oct 2024, Nov 2024, Dec 2024, Jan 2025, Feb 2025, Mar 2025, Apr 2025, May 2025, Jun 2025, Jul 2025, Aug 2025, Sep 2025, Oct 2025, Nov 2025, Dec 2025, Jan 2026, Feb 2026, Mar 2026, Apr 2026, May 2026, Jun 2026, Jul 2026, Aug 2026