- Introduction to Citizens Insurance
- What Kinds of Insurance Does Citizens Offer?
- Does Citizens Sell Homeowners Insurance?
- Does Citizens Sell Liability Insurance?
- How Does Citizens Insurance Work?
- Pros and Cons of Citizens Insurance
- Get Customer Support Or File A Claim For Citizens Insurance
- Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction to Citizens Property Insurance
Citizens Property Insurance was created as a not-for-profit government entity in 2002 by the Florida Legislature. While Citizens prices their policies high to prevent competition with the open market, many private insurers have left the Florida property market in recent years - significantly raising the number of Citizens policyholders. Today, Citizens is now the largest property insurer in Florida with as many as 1.4 million policies statewide.
What kinds of insurance does Citizens Property Insurance offer?
Citizens Property Insurance provides a variety of Personal Residential policies that cover single-family homes, duplexes, condos, rental properties, mobile and manufactured homes, and even provides coverage for renters. Depending on the type of property, whether you own or rent it, and other factors you might need to consider different policy types.
Insurance policies available through Citizens - Homeowners (HO-3): Designed for owner-occupied, detached, single-family homes and duplexes.
- Modified Homeowners (HO-8): Designed for homes that don’t qualify for an HO-3 policy and provide much more limited coverage.
- Dwelling Fire (DP-3): Available for tenant-occupied properties and properties that don’t qualify for an HO-3 or HO-8, such as seasonal or secondary residences.
- Dwelling Fire (DP-1): Similar to the DP-3, but offers much more limited coverage.
- Condo Unit Owners (HO-6): Available to condominium owners who live in their unit, and does not cover the exterior of their building.
- Mobile Homeowners (MHO-3): Covers owner-occupied mobile and manufactured homes.
- Mobile Dwelling Fire (MDP-1): Covers tenant-occupied mobile and manufactured homes, or owner-occupied homes that do not qualify for an MHO-3 policy.
- Renters Contents (HO-4): Available to tenants/renters of single-family homes, multi-unit buildings, apartments, or condominium units.
- Mobile Home Renters Contents (MHO-4): Available to tenants/renters of mobile or manufactured homes.
Citizens also offers Wind-only policies in certain areas of the state when private insurance companies aren’t willing to provide this coverage and customers meet certain eligibility requirements. Eligible customers may purchase the following types of wind-only policies:
- Homeowners (HW-2)
- Tenant/Renters Contents (HW-4)
- Condominium Unit Owners (HW-6)
- Dwelling (DW-2)
- Mobile Homes (MW-2)
- Mobile Home Dwelling (MD-1)
Does Citizens Property Insurance Sell Homeowners Insurance?
Yes, Citizens Property Insurance sells home insurance policies - but they provide less coverage and have more restrictions than a traditional HO-3 (homeowners), or HO-6 (condo) policy.
Does Citizens Property Insurance Sell Landlord Insurance?
Yes, Citizens Property Insurance sells landlord insurance for condos, single-family homes, and mobile/manufactured homes. Typically, however, Citizens excludes coverage for short-term rentals, such as AirBnBs or VRBO-rented properties.
What does Citizens Property Insurance cover?
While Citizens provides more traditional property insurance, especially compared to other last-resort insurers, Citizens policies are still more limited and provide less coverage than private insurance policies.
Citizens HO-3 Policy
Private Insurance HO-3 Policy
Provides a maximum Coverage A or Dwelling limit of $700,000, except in Miami-Dade or Monroe counties where the maximum is $1 Million.
Private insurers set coverage maximums individually, and many are willing to insure homes worth $1 Million or more.
Citizens policies exclude coverages such as theft away from premises, extended replacement cost coverage, water backup or sump overflow, and scheduled personal property. They also significantly limit some coverages, including loss of use, fungi & rot protection for property, and some forms of personal property (jewelry, silverware, watercraft, etc.)
A private insurance policy has higher coverage options, and more flexibility to add coverage to a policy through endorsements.
Liability coverage is severely limited. Customers can only purchase $100,000 in Personal Liability and $2,000 Medical Payments coverage. Animal Liability is also not available.
Most carriers offer higher Personal Liability limits - often up to $500,000, and sometimes even higher.
Citizens policyholders are subject to a high assessment charge or Policyholder Surcharge (up to 45% of their premium) if a major storm or event uses up Citizens funds to pay out claims.
Florida policyholders who are not insured through Citizens can only be billed up to 2% of their premium for an assessment charge. This assessment is also collected only after the Citizens Policyholder Surcharge is exhausted.
Who is eligible for Citizens Property Insurance?
Citizens Property Insurance is a last-resort insurer that won’t work for every customer or property. Under Florida law, customers are only eligible for Citizens if one of the following is true: - They cannot find coverage through a Florida private insurance company.
- The premiums they’ve been offered through private insurers are more than 20% higher than a comparable Citizens quote.
If you meet this criteria, you can only purchase a policy through a Citizens-appointed insurance broker.
Who is not eligible for Citizens Property Insurance?
If you’re able to secure a private insurance policy for a lower price than Citizens, or Citizens is less than 20% cheaper than your private options – you’re not eligible for a Citizens policy. The best way to determine your eligibility for Citizens is to talk to a licensed Citizens Insurance Agent.
If you’re a current Citizens policyholder, you might also be selected for the Citizens Depopulation Program. This program allows private-market companies to select your Citizens policy and produce offers for coverage. If any of these offers are less than 20% more than your current citizens premium, you are ineligible for a renewal of your Citizens policy.
How do you buy a Citizens policy?
If you’ve shopped for insurance for a home and can’t find coverage or can’t find coverage you can afford, you could be a candidate for Citizens Insurance. You can only buy Citizens coverage through a licensed broker or agent.
If your broker determines you’re eligible for coverage, they’ll help you fill out the application, choose coverage, and determine your premium estimate. If you’ve upgraded your home with wind-damage mitigation features such as hurricane-proof windows/doors, storm shutters, and roof improvements you can also qualify for discounts through Citizens.
Pros And Cons of Citizens Property Insurance
Pros
- Provides coverage for certain high-risk locations and, for some customers, offers a lower price than private-market alternatives.
- Purchasing a Citizens policy can prevent expensive lapses in coverage if your policy is canceled by a private carrier.
- Citizens offers wind-only coverage in certain areas of Florida, which can help some customers retain their private market coverage that excludes hail or windstorms.
Cons
- Coverage through Citizens is not as effective for high net-worth individuals, as it limits Coverage A to $700,000 (up to $1 Million in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties) and only provides $100,000 in personal liability.
- Citizens policyholders are subject to a large “Citizens Policyholder Surcharge”. In the event that Citizens experiences a massive drain on their claim reserves, all policyholders can be charged as much as 45% of their annual premium.
- You might be required to purchase flood insurance. Currently only required for customers in high risk areas and for all homes insured for $600,000, but by 2027 all Citizens customers will be required to purchase a flood policy.
Get Customer Support For Or File A Claim With Citizens Property Insurance
Citizens Property Insurance offers a claims form for policyholders to use here. You can also contact them 24/7 at (866) 411-2742.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I Buy a Citizens policy?
Buying a Citizens policy should only be your last resort, after you’ve considered traditional homeowners policies. But, if you haven’t been able to find coverage for your home, or haven’t been able to afford private market options, Citizens could be your best option. The cost of a Citizens policy can vary based on factors like location and coverage limits, so it's best to get a quote first.
How much does a Citizens policy cost?
Like any insurance, the cost of a Citizens policy can vary significantly depending on where you live, your property, the coverage, and additional endorsements. The best way to find out if Citizens offers your best price is to get quotes from several carriers, including Citizens through a licensed broker. Use Coverage Cat to get fast, online home insurance quotes in Florida, or find a local Citizen-appointed broker here.
Is Using Citizens Property Insurance Worth It?
Using Citizens Property Insurance is worth considering if you've exhausted all other options for obtaining property insurance and cannot find coverage through regular insurers due to high-risk factors such as location or property history. If you’re insured by Citizens, however, it’s important to understand the risks that you’re self-insuring for – such as certain exclusions and lower coverages.
Some Citizens policyholders supplement their Citizens policy with personal umbrella policies that provide higher liability coverage, or watercraft policies to make their coverage more effective. To get comprehensive guidance on your home, auto, watercraft, and umbrella policies - try Coverage Cat. Get an FL Homeowners Quote
Reviewed by
Max Cho
, Licensed Insurance Broker NPN 20377411
