Homeowners in Florida who received a letter from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (the state-backed last resort property insurer in Florida) regarding the transfer of their policy to a private company have an important date: November 5 is the deadline to choose a company in one of the rounds of the program, and failing to respond may result in the entity selecting an insurer for them.
According to the official calendar for the transfer of residential policies from Citizens for 2026, updated on March 26, the round with a deadline of November 5 corresponds to policies scheduled for transfer on the 17th of that month.
The calendar indicates that the selection letters for that round were sent out on September 28, so the recipients must carefully review the received documentation and the date indicated to record their decision.
It is not a general deadline for all policyholders of Citizens nor a new insurance law. It is a phase of the policy transfer program to private companies, known in English as the Depopulation Program.
This mechanism allows private market insurers to submit bids to take over policies currently managed by Citizens, Florida's last resort insurer.
If one or more companies select a policy, the owner receives an informational package with the available offers, their estimated renewal premiums, and a coverage comparison.
What happens if the owner does not respond before November 5th?
According to the rules published by Citizens, if the insured does not record their decision within the timeframe specified in the letter, the entity will assign their policy to the private company that submitted the lowest estimated premium.
If there is only one available offer, the policy may be assigned to that insurer once the conditions of the process are met.
Therefore, not responding does not mean that the owner will automatically remain with Citizens.
The election can be registered directly online or through the insurance agent managing the policy.
Once the transfer process is complete, Citizens sends a notification of assumption and non-renewal, along with a certificate identifying the company that will take over the policy.
Can you choose to stay with Citizens?
Not all policyholders have that option.
The company explains that policies receiving a private offer with a premium that does not exceed the estimated renewal premium of Citizens by more than 20% may lose their eligibility to remain with the state insurer.
For example, if the estimated annual renewal premium with Citizens were $3,000, a private offer of $3,600 would be within that 20% margin.
In that case, the offer could prevent the owner from continuing with the entity, in accordance with the rules applicable to their policy.
The letter received by each insured individual is the key reference to know if they can remain with Citizens or if they must choose one of the available private companies.
Those who do have the right to remain with that company must explicitly register that choice before the deadline expires.
Additionally, the company warns that a person who manages to stay with the company may receive new transfer offers in later rounds and will have to respond again if they wish to retain that option.
How to choose an insurance company online?
The owner must access the official insurer selection portal of Citizens.
The system requires two pieces of information that appear in the received letter: the policy number and the registration code (registration code).
With that information, the policyholder can access the available options for their policy and record the corresponding choice.
Another alternative is to contact your insurance agent to review the offers and record the decision on your behalf.
Citizens recommends reviewing the comparative coverage charts included in the package before choosing a company.
It's not enough to compare only the price. It's also important to examine the deductibles, the limits of coverage, the exclusions, the protections against hurricanes, and any differences in the terms of the policy.
The amounts shown in the letters are estimated renewal premiums, so they should not be interpreted as a guarantee that the price will remain unchanged in future periods.
What happens after the relocation?
The effective date is the date on which a private company takes over the selected policy, in accordance with the established procedure.
It should not be confused with the annual insurance renewal date, as the transfer and renewal are different stages.
Citizens expressly warns that there is no longer a 30-day period after assuming office to request a return to the state insurer.
Once the transfer is completed, it is considered final within the relocation process.
However, Citizens also considers situations where a scheduled transfer does not materialize.
In these cases, the owner receives a notification indicating that their policy will remain with Citizens, although they may be reconsidered for future rounds.
There is another important date: December 4th.
The same official calendar includes a subsequent round for which the mailing of letters was scheduled for October 28.
The individuals included in that group will have until December 4 to register their choice, while the scheduled transfer date will be December 15, 2026.
This means that two owners may receive communications from Citizens during overlapping weeks and yet have different deadlines.
Therefore, before making any decision, it is important to review the individual offer form and confirm with the agent which company is proposing to take over the policy and what the actual options for continuation are.
To obtain assistance, Citizens provides its policyholders with the phone number 866-411-2742 and offers additional information on its residential policy relocation program page.
The program is part of the mechanisms used in Florida to transfer Citizens policies to the private market and reduce the concentration of insurance in the state entity.
The situation is different from issues related to claims for flooding or the extraordinary measures taken during weather threats, such as storms and hurricanes.
In this instance, the main topic is the decision that property owners must register when they receive a transfer offer, especially since the lack of response can determine which insurer will take over their policy.
The transfer of Citizens policies occurs amidst changes in the insurance market of Florida.
In October, it was reported about a reduction of over 20% in the rates of Kin Insurance for the southern part of the state and the decrease in the Citizens portfolio, which dropped from approximately 1.4 million policies in 2023 to 266,231 in August 2026.
More recently, two other insurers announced reductions in their homeowners' and condominium insurance, although these changes do not guarantee that the homeowners included in the transfer program will receive lower premiums.
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