Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s Board of Governors has voted to file for an average 2.6% rate decrease across personal lines, effective June 2026 — the first rate cut Florida’s insurer of last resort has sought since 2015.
The more striking figure sits underneath it. Citizens’ calculated actuarially sound premium for homeowner dwelling policies has fallen 43%, from $6,347 in 2024 to $3,617 for 2026.
What “Actuarially Sound” Means Here
Citizens is required to charge rates that are not competitive with the private market, and for years it was also charging rates far below what its own actuaries said the risk was worth. The gap was closed slowly by a statutory glide path — annual increases capped at a set percentage regardless of what the indicated rate was.
That gap is now closing from the other direction. The indicated rate has fallen so far that the charged rate has caught up with it, and Citizens is filing a decrease rather than an increase for the first time in a decade.
The 43% drop in the indicated premium is the clearest single measure of what Florida’s litigation reforms did to the underlying cost of writing property insurance in the state.
The Private Market Is Moving Too
Citizens is not alone. Multiple private carriers have filed rate decreases for 2026, and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation — which must approve the Citizens filing — has signalled it may land on a larger decrease than the one requested, on the basis that litigation costs are still falling.
More than a dozen new insurers have entered Florida since the reforms. New entrants compete on price. That is the mechanism by which reform reaches homeowners, and it takes years rather than months.
What Florida Homeowners Should Actually Do
A falling market is when shopping pays most, because the spread between carriers widens as new entrants price aggressively for share.
- Re-quote before you renew, even if your renewal shows a decrease. A 2.6% cut from a carrier that was 30% overpriced is not a good outcome.
- If you are still with Citizens, expect a take-out offer. Depopulation is running at record volumes. Check the assuming carrier’s rating and, more importantly, the coverage form.
- Look hard at the roof settlement clause. This is where Florida policies differ most. Replacement cost on a roof of any age is very different from a payout schedule that depreciates after year ten, and the premium difference between the two is often small.
- Check the hurricane deductible. It is a percentage of the dwelling limit — typically 2%, 5% or 10% — not a flat amount. On a $500,000 dwelling limit, a 5% hurricane deductible is $25,000 out of pocket before anything pays.
- Claim your mitigation credits. A wind mitigation inspection costs a couple of hundred dollars and routinely returns multiples of that annually in Florida. Opening protection, roof-to-wall connections and roof deck attachment all carry credits.
The Caveat Worth Stating
None of this is weather-proof. Florida’s improvement is a reduction in litigation cost, not in hurricane cost. A severe landfall season would test how much of the improvement is structural and how much is the absence of a major event since Ian.
The reforms made the market insurable again. They did not move the coastline.
Sources: Insurance Journal, “After Years of Pushing Rate Hikes, Florida’s Citizens Now Wants HO Rate Decrease”; Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, 2026 Recommended Rate Filing
Compare what the national carriers are charging in our home insurance guide.