Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is no longer Florida’s largest property insurer for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, marking a significant shift in the state’s insurance market.

The state-backed insurer has reduced its policies by more than 900,000 from a peak of 1.4 million two years ago. The reduction stems from an aggressive depopulation program that moves homeowners from the state-run insurer to private companies.

In October alone, approximately 199,000 policies transferred to private insurers, with about 40% moving to premiums lower than what they paid at Citizens. Under the program, policyholders can switch to private insurance if the premium is within 20% of their Citizens rate.

Seventeen new insurers have entered Florida’s market, creating increased competition. Industry experts project that Florida’s average rate and premium changes will both be under 1% this year, marking the second consecutive year of the nation’s lowest rate changes.

The market stabilization has eliminated concerns about a potential hurricane tax—a surcharge that would have been applied to all Florida consumers if Citizens faced significant storm losses. Citizens officials say they have no specific target for policy reductions and remain committed to serving existing customers.

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