Got a Citizens Depopulation Offer? What Florida Homeowners Should Know Before Choosing
You received a letter from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation saying that a private insurance company—or perhaps several companies—would like to assume your policy.
Now what?
For many Florida homeowners, a Citizens depopulation offer can be confusing. The letter may contain several premiums, coverage comparisons, deadlines, and unfamiliar insurance company names. More importantly, depending on the offer you receive, remaining with Citizens may not always be an option.
Before making a decision, it is important to understand what the program means and what you should actually compare.
At The Beacon Insurance Agency, we believe this is exactly the kind of insurance decision that deserves a careful review—not simply choosing the lowest number on the page.
What is Citizens depopulation?
Citizens’ Depopulation Program is designed to move eligible policies from Citizens into Florida’s private insurance market. Private insurers participating in the program must be approved by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), which evaluates whether participating companies meet regulatory requirements and have the financial resources and business plans necessary to assume policies and pay claims (Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, n.d.).
If one or more participating insurers select your policy, Citizens sends you a Depopulation Packet. That packet includes the available private-market offers, estimated renewal premiums, and coverage worksheets to help you compare the options with your Citizens policy (Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, 2026).
Receiving the letter does not mean something is wrong with your home or your existing policy. It means a private insurer has expressed interest in providing your coverage through the depopulation process.
The 20% rule is important
This is one of the most important details to understand.
Under Florida law, if you receive an offer for comparable coverage from an eligible private insurer and its premium is not more than 20% greater than Citizens’ estimated renewal premium, you generally become ineligible to remain with Citizens (Florida Legislature, 2025; Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, 2026).
Imagine that Citizens estimates your renewal premium at $3,000 per year. A comparable qualifying private-market offer of $3,600 or less would fall within that 20% threshold. In that situation, you may no longer have the option to simply renew with Citizens.
If all qualifying offers are more than 20% above the Citizens estimated renewal premium, you may be eligible to remain with Citizens—but you still need to register that choice by the deadline shown in your packet (Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, 2026).
Don’t compare price alone
Suppose you receive two private insurance offers.
One is slightly cheaper. The other costs a little more.
It may be tempting to immediately choose the less expensive policy, but premium is only one part of the comparison.
Citizens provides coverage worksheets specifically so homeowners can evaluate differences between the available policies. Florida law requires the comparison to involve coverages that are reasonably comparable and include descriptions of the coverage and estimated premiums (Florida Legislature, 2025).
Before choosing, review important details such as:
✓ Dwelling and personal property limits
✓ Hurricane and other deductibles
✓ Water damage limitations
✓ Loss of use coverage
✓ Liability protection
✓ Exclusions and endorsements
A policy that saves a few hundred dollars annually may not necessarily be the better choice if it also changes coverage that matters to your particular property.
What if you receive more than one offer?
Having several offers is actually an opportunity to compare.
Different insurance companies may provide different estimated premiums and policy terms. This is where working with an insurance professional can be particularly valuable. Instead of looking only at the price, your agent can help you understand how the coverage differs and which option better matches your home’s characteristics and your financial priorities.
Citizens itself encourages policyholders with multiple offers to review the available coverage worksheets and work with their agent when evaluating their options (Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, 2026).
Don’t ignore the deadline
This part deserves special attention.
Citizens requires policyholders to register their choice by the deadline shown in the Policyholder Choice Offer Form. If you do not make a selection, Citizens states that the policy will be assigned to the participating private-market company that offered the lowest estimated premium.
For the current Personal Lines depopulation round with an assumption date of September 15, 2026, Citizens began sending Policyholder Choice letters on July 28, 2026, and the deadline for policyholders to register their choice is September 3, 2026 (Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, 2026).
There is another important change homeowners should know about: Citizens states that there is no longer a 30-day post-assumption period to return to Citizens. Once the assumption occurs, the transfer is final for that process (Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, 2026).
That makes reviewing your options before the deadline especially important.
You received the letter. What should you do now?
Start by reading the entire Depopulation Packet rather than focusing only on the premium.
Compare the Citizens estimated renewal with each private offer, examine the coverage worksheets, identify meaningful differences in deductibles and coverage, and determine whether your policy remains eligible for Citizens.
Then, if anything is unclear, speak with your insurance agent before registering your choice.
At The Beacon Insurance Agency, we can help Florida homeowners review their Citizens depopulation offers, understand the differences between available options, and make an informed decision based on both price and protection.
Receiving a depopulation letter does not have to be overwhelming. But it is a letter worth taking seriously—and one you should not leave unanswered.
References
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. (2026). Personal Lines Depopulation.
https://www.citizensfla.com/depoppl
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. (2026). 2026 Personal Lines Depopulation Calendar – Agent.
https://www.citizensfla.com/documents/20702/107636/2026%2BPersonal%2BLines%2BCalendar_Agent.pdf/bcfde5f2-5171-a05a-e6b6-3e22be318012
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. (2023). New Rules for Citizens’ Depopulation Program.
https://www.citizensfla.com/-/new-rules-for-citizens-depopulation-program
Florida Legislature. (2025). Florida Statutes § 627.351 – Insurance risk apportionment plans.
https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699%2F0627%2FSections%2F0627.351.html
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. (n.d.). Take-Out Companies.
https://floir.com/property-casualty/take-out-companies
