Citizens Property Insurance Proposes 2.6% Average Rate Cut for 2026 in Florida

Citizens Property Insurance Corp., a state-backed insurer in Florida, has proposed an average 2.6% rate reduction for personal lines policies, effective June 1, 2026. This decrease reflects projected savings for approximately 463,096 policyholders statewide, averaging $359 less than 2025 premiums. Significant reductions, over 11%, are anticipated in South Florida's tri-county area, with Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties seeing the bulk of the savings. These reductions coincide with a notable decline in Citizens’ overall policies, expected to drop to about 385,000 by the end of 2025, the lowest in the company's history. The rate adjustments are attributed primarily to legislative reforms passed in 2022 and 2023 targeting legal costs. These reforms restrict plaintiffs' attorneys from collecting fees in claims litigation unless payments exceed initial insurer offers, leading Citizens to require $500 million less in premiums for 2025 expenses. Additional cost-containment strategies influencing rates include litigation diversion to administrative hearings and the transfer of policies to private insurers through Citizens' depopulation program. Contrastingly, rates are projected to increase in certain Central Florida counties, including Orange, Osceola, Lake, and Brevard, in order to align premiums with actuarial soundness. Some counties, like Polk and Seminole, may experience slight decreases. These geographic discrepancies underscore the varied impact of reforms and market adjustments across Florida's diverse insurance landscape. Citizens' Board of Governors has approved the proposed rate changes, but they remain subject to confirmation by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation after public hearings. This rate reduction represents the first decrease in a decade for Citizens, primarily covering owner-occupied single-family homes, condominium units, and mobile homes. The insurance market broadly witnessed nearly flat premium growth between 2023 and 2025, signaling a potential trend of rate moderation driven by regulatory and market dynamics. Industry experts from the Insurance Information Institute suggest that private insurers may emulate Citizens’ reductions in 2026, following state recognition of Florida insurers achieving some of the country's lowest average rate increases. The ongoing adjustments in Florida's property insurance market illustrate the effects of legal reform, policy depopulation, and targeted rate setting as strategies to balance insurer solvency with consumer premium relief.