Florida’s Largest Property Insurer Sheds Over 100,000 Policies
Florida’s largest property insurer, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, has recently transferred over 100,000 home insurance policies to private insurers.
Citizens, created by the Florida Legislature in 2002, serves as the insurer of last resort for eligible Florida property owners unable to obtain coverage in the private market. The company’s policy count has increased substantially in recent years as private insurers have reduced their customer base or raised rates due to losses from payouts and litigation.
Citizens confirmed to Newsweek that 102,083 policies were depopulated to private insurers this month. As of January 31, the state insurer had 941,156 active policies.
Spokesperson Michael Peltier stated, “On February 18, 2025, 102,083 Citizens policies were assumed by private insurance companies participating in the Citizens Depopulation Program after they sought and received approval from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to do so.”
The policies were assumed by eight insurance providers, with Manatee Insurance Exchange taking over the largest number of policies, exceeding 32,000.
The last time Citizens experienced a comparable reduction in active policies was between September and October, when over 200,000 policies were removed. This month’s depopulation also marks the first time since spring 2022 that Citizens’ policy count fell below 850,000.
Florida residents are currently facing some of the highest home insurance rates in the nation. According to Bankrate, the average Florida resident pays $5,488 per year to insure a home valued at $300,000—approximately $3,000 more than the national average of $2,258. Rates can vary significantly based on location. For example, residents of West Palm Beach pay an average of $8,240 to insure homes worth $300,000.
Citizens has stated on its website, “Citizens is committed to helping its policyholders find coverage in the private market. As required by Florida law, Citizens’ Depopulation Program matches Citizens policyholders with insurance companies interested in removing their policy from Citizens and providing private-market coverage for their policy. All companies assuming policies from Citizens have been approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation.”
Tim Cerio, the president and CEO of Citizens, has indicated that the company anticipates ending 2025 with slightly fewer than 771,000 active policies, as reported by NBC Miami. Further depopulation efforts are scheduled for March and April.
