Citizens Property Insurance Review: Low Rates but Limited Offerings From the Government Insurer
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is a government agency that offers homeowners and other types of property insurance to those who cannot find affordable coverage elsewhere. As a Florida resident, you will be eligible for a Citizens policy only if the private market will not cover you at a competitive rate and, if it is your only option, it is preferable to be insured than uninsured. Citizens' policies, however, do not provide much beyond low rates, as the insurer provides limited coverage options and poor customer service.
Citizens Property Insurance: Our thoughts
Citizens Property Insurance, a nonprofit organization established by the Florida state government, serves a unique role in the state as a low-cost homeowners insurance provider. Citizens, also known as "an insurer of last resort," can only write insurance policies for properties that private, authorized insurance companies will not cover or will not provide adequate coverage for. Louisiana, another state afflicted by extreme weather, established a similar but distinct insurance entity to address the same issue. Simply put, you can only buy a Citizens policy if:
- A Florida-licensed insurance company will not provide you with coverage.
- Premiums from Florida-authorized insurance companies are more than 15% higher than Citizens' comparable coverage.
Citizens' position as a backup insurer has both positive and negative implications. On the plus side, the nonprofit's policies offer its customers essential homeowners insurance coverage at a reasonable price: its policies are consistently ranked among the most affordable in the state.
When compared to private market insurers, purchasing a policy with Citizens provides you with fewer customization options. For example, you won't be able to change the standard limit of $100,000 on your personal liability coverage. Worse, the government entity has one of the state's worst customer service reputations of any homeowners insurance provider.
Bottom Line: Citizens encourage Floridians to find a private-market policy instead, and provide online tools to help them do so. Citizens homeowners insurance policies are purchased because you cannot find a reasonable price or coverage in the private homeowners insurance market. Citizens homeowners insurance policies provide basic coverage at a low cost, but you should expect a difficult customer service experience, particularly during the claims process.
Citizens home insurance quote comparison
Citizens home insurance quotes are among the lowest in the state when compared to some of Florida's largest insurance companies by market share. Citizens Property insurance rates are consistently competitive in our sample across different counties and home profiles. Rates were noticeably lower for homes with wind mitigation features, demonstrating the value of utilizing the insurer's discounts for home features that reduce the risk of wind damage.
$150000(No Wind Mitigation) | $150000(Wind Mitigation) | $300000(New Construction) | |
Citizens | $2293 | $910 | $2161 |
Security First | $1898 | $1204 | $2395 |
Universal | $2960 | $1306 | $2578 |
State Farm | $3793 | $2520 | $4369 |
One disadvantage of shopping with Citizens Insurance is that there is no online quote tool, so you cannot get a personalized home insurance quote online. If you want to see sample rates for your property insurance, you should contact a Citizens agent; the company's website has an agent lookup feature that will help you find a local contact near you.
Citizens Property Insurance policy coverage and discounts
Citizens Insurance provides very basic homeowners insurance coverage that is comparable to a HO-3 policy. If you can get coverage from private insurers but are eligible for Citizens due to high rates on the private market, you should still shop around to see if there is a better fit. Despite higher rates, these insurers are more likely to offer more coverage options and possibly more value for your money.
Covered by Citizens homeowners insurance | Details | Limits |
Your dwelling (Coverage A) | Covers damage to the structure of your home and attached structures in the event of a covered peril. Coverage is on a replacement-cost basis, meaning it will cover the cost of completely rebuilding the home, ignoring depreciation | $25,000 to $700,000. Maximum limit is extended to $1 million in Miami-Dade or Monroe counties |
Attached structures | Covers damage to structures not physically attached to your home, like a detached garage or storage shed | 2% to 60% of Coverage A |
Personal belongings | Covers damage to or theft of the contents of your home. Standard coverage values your items on an actual cash value basis, meaning you'll receive less money for items with wear and tear | 25% to 50% of Coverage A |
Additional living expenses | Covers the cost of staying elsewhere if your home is temporarily uninhabitable due to a covered peril, such as room and board | 10% of Coverage A |
Personal liability coverage | Protects you and your family from the costs of bodily damage or property damage for which you are legally liable | $100,000 |
Medical payments | Covers emergency medical costs in the event guests are injured on your property | $2,000 |
Debris removal | Covers cleanup costs for debris related to trees and wind caused by a covered peril | $500 |
Credit card, fund transfer, forgery and counterfeit money fraud | Covers monetary losses caused by these events | $500 |
Loss assessment | Covers losses collectively assessed by a homeowners association against its members | $1,000 |
Citizens policyholders benefit from the essentials of homeowners coverage thanks to these features. However, Citizens' customization options are limited in a number of important ways when compared to many private market insurers:
Low and fixed personal property special limits: High-value items are only covered up to low, fixed limits, and Citizens do not allow you to adjust them. Jewelry and furs, for example, are only covered up to $1,000, so if you own an engagement ring worth more than $1,000, you won't be fully covered.
Fixed personal liability coverage of $100,000: Most insurers will allow you to increase your liability coverage to much more than $100,000 for a small fee. You're stuck at that limit with Citizens.
No coverage for water backup or sump pump failure: Citizens does not provide coverage for damage caused by water backup or sump overflow either as a standard feature or an add-on. Although not standard in many homeowners insurance policies, it is often offered as optional add-on coverage.
Citizens do provide a selection of add-on coverage features for a fee. Citizens' only add-on features are building ordinance and sinkhole coverage, as well as an upgrade to replacement cost valuation for personal property.
Optional coverage | What it covers | Limits |
Sinkhole loss coverage | Covers damage to your dwelling due to ground subsidence, described as the sinking or settling of the ground's surface. However, deductibles are quite high, set at 10% of dwelling coverage | 100% of Coverage A |
Personal property replacement cost | Covers your personal belongings on a replacement cost basis, rather than an actual cost basis, meaning your reimbursement will ignore wear and tear and pay you for an item of similar specifications | 25% to 50% of Coverage A |
Ordinance or law coverage | Covers costs associated with rebuilding parts of your dwelling to be in compliance with current building codes and regulations | 25% or 50% of Coverage A |
Citizens homeowners insurance, as a Florida insurer, includes hurricane damage coverage, but it does not cover flood damage. Flood insurance must be purchased separately from the National Flood Insurance Program or a private-market flood insurance provider. Citizens Property, as is customary with hurricane coverage, has a separate deductible for storm-related damage, which means that, depending on your deductibles, you may end up paying more money out of pocket if you file a claim for hurricane damage.
Citizens Property Insurance deductible options
Deductible | Options |
All other perils | $500, $1,000 or $2,500 |
Hurricane deductible | Either $500 or 2%, 5% or 10% of Coverage A |
Citizens home insurance discounts
In comparison to most insurers, Citizens' discount options are limited. Because it is solely a property insurer, you will not be able to receive a discount by bundling your homeowners policy with other insurance policies such as auto or umbrella. Citizens only provides standard discount features related to increasing your home's safety from weather-related events, fires, or burglaries.
- Wind mitigation: Get a discount on features like window shutters and hip roofs that reduce wind damage.
- Building code: Get a discount if your house was built after January 1, 2002, or if it has an updated roof that meets current building codes.
- Alarm systems and sprinklers: If you have a centrally monitored fire or burglar alarm or a sprinkler system, you will receive a discount.
Citizens insurance inspections
Citizens may require a Florida-licensed inspector to conduct an inspection of your home, depending on the type and amount of coverage you want, the discounts you want, and the age and location of your property.
Four-point inspection: A four-point inspection is required for all homeowner applications for properties older than 30 years. The four points refer to a thorough examination of your home's electrical system, plumbing, heating and cooling system, and roof.
High-value inspection: If your home is worth more than $650,000, you may not be adequately covered by a Citizens policy due to its maximum dwelling coverage of $700,000, necessitating a high-value inspection.
Roof inspection: Roofs that are more than 25 years old (shingle or other type) or 50 years old (tile, slate, clay, concrete, or metal) require documentation demonstrating at least three years remaining useful life before Citizens will write a policy on your home. Citizens will be required to have an inspector complete a roof inspection form confirming that the roof meets the established roof requirements.
Wind-damage mitigation inspection: If you want to get a policy discount because of your home's wind mitigation features, you'll need an inspection to identify and document the features.
Sinkhole inspection: If you want to pay for optional sinkhole loss coverage, you'll need to get an inspection to see if your property qualifies.
Citizens wind insurance and other alternate policies
Citizens do provide additional policies in addition to homeowners insurance. These include wind-only policies for qualified homeowners and a variety of property policies for people who live in various types of structures, such as condos and mobile homes.
Wind-only policies: In certain areas of Florida, you can obtain standalone wind-only insurance that only covers damage from hail and wind. You can use a tool on Citizens' website to search your address to see if your property is eligible for a wind-only policy.
Modified homeowners policies: You can purchase a less expensive but more limited homeowners policy that provides less coverage for major perils such as water damage.
Condo unit policies: If you live in your condo unit, you can purchase a condo policy that covers the interior, personal property, liability coverage, and additional living expenses. These policies do not cover the condo building's exterior.
Mobile home insurance policies: Similar to a homeowners policy but for those who live in a mobile or manufactured home as their primary residence.
Renters insurance policies: If you rent, you can buy a policy that covers personal property, extra living expenses, and liability insurance without covering the dwelling itself.
Citizens Insurance Company assessment charges, rate changes and depopulation
A risk of being a Citizens policyholder is that your premiums may increase significantly and unexpectedly in the event of a major statewide disaster. Citizens set aside a portion of its premium income to cover future storm claims, but a devastating storm or series of storms could deplete those reserves. Citizens would then be required by Florida law to charge higher fees, known as assessments, to policyholders until the reserve deficit was eliminated.
The first round of assessments could cost policyholders up to 45 percent of their policy premium. This means that a Citizens policyholder with a $1,000 premium could face a $450 one-time surcharge on top of their premium. In particularly extreme cases, emergency assessments could be charged on top of this over multiple years. Of course, private market insurance has risks as well: insurers may choose to discontinue coverage in high-risk areas or raise rates to cover their losses.
- Citizens contend that any assessment is unlikely: It expects to be able to handle both a 1-in-100-year storm and a 1-in-28-year storm without charging policyholders extra. Regardless, while Citizens provide affordable rates, policyholders should be aware that extreme weather scenarios may result in significant charges.
Furthermore, the insurer anticipates that most Citizens Insurance policyholders will see rate increases this year and in the coming years. Although policyholders in inland areas outside of South Florida may see rate decreases, vulnerable areas near the southern coast, such as Miami, are expected to face rate hikes of around 10% per year in the coming years.
Finally, Citizens remains committed to finding coverage for its policyholders in the private market, a process known as depopulation. When Citizens locate private insurers willing to cover you, you will receive a policyholder choice offer letter informing you that one or more companies would like to take over your policy and cover your home. In this case, you should consider all of your options, including possibly staying with Citizens. If you receive this letter but want to stay with Citizens Insurance, you can fill out an opt out form to opt out of the process.
Citizens home insurance customer service reviews and ratings
Based on customer feedback and its customer-complaint ratio, Citizens Property Insurance performs poorly in terms of customer service. Customers' reviews are generally negative, with the majority of feedback describing an unfair claims process in which many customers believe their claims were wrongfully denied. According to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation's customer complaint index, Citizens has the highest share of customer complaints relative to the size of its business of any major insurance provider in the state.
Insurer | Market share | Complaint index |
Federated National | 4.9% | 0.84 |
Universal Property | 8.9% | 1.26 |
Security First | 3.3% | 1.33 |
Citizens Property | 4.9% | 2.65 |
A higher complaint index means more complaints relative to the size of a provider's business
Citizens benefit from its status as a government-backed nonprofit entity and its ability to levy emergency assessments on all insurance policyholders in Florida in terms of financial stability. Citizens has an A1 rating from credit rating agency Moody's, indicating that it has a low credit risk due to its ability to charge these assessments to policyholders. If you have Citizens Property Insurance, this means that Citizens will almost certainly be able to pay your claim given its ability to raise new funds. The disadvantage is that it will raise these funds by charging higher premiums to its policyholders.
Filing a claim and paying bills with Citizens Property Insurance
Citizens allow you to file a claim online or by phone. If you prefer an online claims process, go to the Citizens Property Insurance website and sign in to my Policy, the insurer's online self-service tool. You can also use this platform to view your policy and pay your bill online.
You can call Citizens' property insurance 24/7 phone number at 866-411-2742 to report a claim or pay your bill by phone. Finally, if you want to pay your bill by mail, you can send personal and cashier's checks to the Citizens Property Insurance Corp. address in Jacksonville, Florida, or directly to their payment processing department in the same city for overnight payments.