Citizens Depopulation by the Numbers
From 1.4 million policies to under 300,000: the policy counts, the assumptions by year, the carriers doing the assuming, and the 20% rule that decides whether you can stay — every figure from Citizens’ own reports, dated.
The short answer
Citizens Property Insurance — Florida’s state-created insurer of last resort — held 1,407,805 policies at its September 30, 2023 monthly peak. By July 31, 2026 it held 278,196, an 80% decline, and Citizens states it is no longer Florida’s largest property insurer. The engine is depopulation: private carriers assumed 275,324 Citizens policies in 2023, 477,821 in 2024, a record 585,432 in 2025, and 120,894 through August 18, 2026 — more than 2.3 million policies and $836 billion of exposure assumed by private carriers since 2014 — nearly 1.5 million of it since the start of 2023. The figures on this page come from Citizens’ policies-in-force and exposure-removed reports and the state regulator’s takeout records, with the handful of reported items attributed inline — each with its as-of date.
Citizens policies in force
Citizens publishes its policies-in-force monthly. The trajectory:
| Date | Policies in force |
|---|---|
| September 30, 2023 (peak) | 1,407,805 |
| December 31, 2023 | 1,228,718 |
| December 31, 2024 | 936,182 |
| December 31, 2025 | 395,337 |
| July 31, 2026 | 278,196 |
The July 2026 count breaks down to 216,279 personal residential multiperil policies, 57,543 personal residential wind-only, and the remainder commercial. Citizens’ own communications describe the peak episode as “1.42 million policies in October 2023” using its daily snapshot; the monthly-report peak is the 1,407,805 figure above.
Policies assumed by private carriers, year by year
Depopulation — private carriers assuming Citizens policies with state approval — is where the decline came from. Policies assumed by year, per Citizens’ exposure-removed reporting:
| Year | Policies assumed | Exposure removed |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 7,463 | — |
| 2021 | 2,814 | — |
| 2022 | 16,408 | — |
| 2023 | 275,324 | $113.4 billion |
| 2024 | 477,821 | $214.5 billion |
| 2025 (record year) | 585,432 | $235.6 billion |
| 2026 through August 18 | 120,894 | $42.1 billion |
For scale: the previous depopulation era peaked at 416,623 policies in 2014 and 272,785 in 2015 before the market tightened; the trough was 2,814 policies in all of 2021. The largest single round of the current wave came on October 24, 2025 — 199,434 policies assumed across five carriers in one day, per The News Service of Florida, citing Citizens data. The 2026 pace is well below 2025’s, which is itself part of the story: with Citizens back near last-resort size, there is simply less left to assume.
Who’s assuming policies in 2026
Nine carriers have assumed Citizens policies in 2026 through August 18, per Citizens’ program statistics. Where we’ve published a full profile of the carrier, the name links to it:
| Carrier | Policies assumed (2026, through Aug 18) |
|---|---|
| Manatee Insurance Exchange | 42,507 |
| Slide Insurance | 41,717 |
| Praxis Reciprocal Exchange | 13,435 |
| Apex Star Reciprocal Exchange | 9,583 |
| Southern Oak Insurance | 5,399 |
| Mangrove Property Insurance | 4,314 |
| Patriot Select Property & Casualty | 2,007 |
| One Alliance North America Insurance Exchange | 1,267 |
| American Integrity Insurance | 665 |
A structural note worth understanding rather than judging: several of the most active takeout carriers are recently formed companies, many organized as reciprocal exchanges — Manatee, Praxis, Apex Star, Mangrove, Patriot Select and others date from the 2023–2025 formation wave that followed Florida’s legislative reforms, while names like Slide, Southern Oak, American Integrity, Florida Peninsula, and Monarch National are established Florida writers. Company age and structure are underwriting-relevant facts a comparison should weigh alongside rates, forms, and reinsurance — carrier by carrier, not as a category verdict. The regulator has approved 20 new property carriers into the Florida market since the 2022–23 reforms, per its May 2026 announcement.
The 20% rule — and what offers actually look like
The mechanism that makes a takeout offer consequential is the eligibility rule: receive an offer priced not more than 20% above your estimated Citizens renewal premium, and you’re no longer eligible to remain with Citizens. Offers above that line leave you the choice to stay. A policyholder selected for assumption is transferred unless they opt out — reported opt-out windows run from 30 days before to 30 days after the assumption date — and an assumed policy stays on Citizens’ policy forms through the end of its term, after which the new carrier offers renewal on its own approved rates and forms. Citizens states that takeout offers “are increasingly priced at or below Citizens’ premium levels,” and a January 2026 program analysis by Lisa Miller & Associates, reproducing Citizens program materials, reports 59% of private-market offers are currently accepted. The honest counterweight: individual renewal offers can land far above Citizens’ price — one example documented by Spectrum News 13 in May 2026, citing Citizens data, ran $12,000 against a $3,600 Citizens premium — which is precisely why the estimate on your offer letter deserves verification with your agent before the window closes. We walk that letter line by line in our takeout offer guide.
The wider picture
Per Citizens’ releases and board materials: in-force exposure fell from $520.1 billion in June 2024 to $295.1 billion in June 2025 — a 43% drop in a year. In December 2025 Citizens recommended its first statewide average rate decrease since 2015 — a -2.6% personal-lines statewide average, with roughly three in five policyholders projected to see decreases, per Citizens’ December 10, 2025 release. Its CEO has declared the return “to its proper role as Florida’s insurer of last resort.” And the flood mandate intersects all of it: Citizens policyholders face the flood insurance requirement reaching every remaining wind-covered personal residential policy on January 1, 2027 (condo unit-owner forms stay exempt) — while leaving Citizens for a takeout or private carrier ends that requirement — though the requirement ending is a compliance fact, not a coverage answer: how much flood coverage fits the home is a question worth settling with your agent either way. For a homeowner weighing an offer, those two pages together are the decision.
Sources: Citizens’ monthly Policies in Force reports, Citizens’ Exposure Removed 2014–2026 report and depopulation program statistics, Citizens press releases and board materials, and the Office of Insurance Regulation’s take-out company records. Each figure carries its as-of date.
Citizens depopulation FAQs
How many policies does Citizens have now?
278,196 as of Citizens’ latest monthly policies-in-force report (July 31, 2026) — down 80% from the September 2023 monthly peak of 1,407,805. Citizens states it is no longer Florida’s largest property insurer.
Which carriers are taking Citizens policies in 2026?
Nine through August 18, 2026, led by Manatee Insurance Exchange (42,507) and Slide (41,717), followed by Praxis, Apex Star, Southern Oak, Mangrove, Patriot Select, One Alliance, and American Integrity — per Citizens’ program statistics.
Do I have to accept a takeout offer?
If the offer is priced not more than 20% above your estimated Citizens renewal premium, you’re no longer eligible to remain with Citizens. Above that line, you may opt out and stay — reported opt-out windows run from 30 days before to 30 days after the assumption date. Either way, the offer deserves a real comparison before the window closes.
Will my premium change if I’m assumed?
Assumption itself doesn’t change your policy mid-term — under the program, an assumed policy stays on Citizens’ forms through the end of its term. At the new carrier’s first renewal, pricing follows its approved rates: Citizens reports offers increasingly at or below its premiums, while documented individual cases have run well above. The renewal estimate on your offer letter is the number to verify with your agent.
Why did I get a Depopulation Packet letter?
You were selected for an assumption round: the packet lists every private-market offer with coverage worksheets and estimated renewal premiums beside Citizens’ figure, and an Offer Form with a registration deadline. Register a choice by the deadline — otherwise Citizens assigns your policy to the company that offered the lowest premium. Our takeout offer guide walks through it line by line.
Does leaving Citizens end the flood insurance requirement?
Yes — the flood mandate is a condition of Citizens coverage, not a general Florida law. Private carriers set their own rules, and federal law requires flood only for special-flood-hazard-area homes with federally backed mortgages. Comparing an offer fairly means putting the required flood premium on the Citizens side of the ledger — and how much flood coverage fits the home stays the same question with any carrier.
Holding a takeout offer? Verify it before the deadline decides for you
We put the offer, Citizens plus required flood, and 20+ private carriers side by side — one conversation. Call or text 813.920.8181.
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