Florida regulators have signed off on plans by seven insurers to assume nearly 229,000 personal residential policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., marking another significant step in the state’s ongoing push to shrink the size of its insurer of last resort.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved the requests as part of its latest depopulation order, aimed at shifting policyholders back into the private market. Manatee Insurance Exchange received the largest approval, with clearance to assume up to 75,000 multiperil policies and 1,000 wind-only policies.
Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Co. Inc. was approved to take on as many as 24,000 multiperil and 1,000 wind-only policies. Florida Peninsula Insurance Co. was granted approval to assume up to 40,000 multiperil policies, according to Best Wire.
Other insurers approved for smaller multiperil policy assumptions include Mangrove Property Insurance Co. with 31,947 policies, TypTap Insurance Co. with 25,000, and American Integrity Insurance with 1,000.
Patriot Select Property and Casualty Insurance Co. received authorization to assume 20,000 multiperil policies around October 21. The company could take on up to 30,000 additional policies during assumption periods in October and November. In a separate order earlier this year, Patriot, along with Mangrove and Slide Insurance Co., was approved to remove more than 135,000 policies from Citizens.
As of July 11, Citizens reported 779,995 policies in force, according to its website -- a steep decline from its peak of 1.4 million policies in September 2023. The insurer began 2025 with just over 941,000 policies across both personal and commercial lines.
Florida lawmakers have passed a series of legal reforms in recent years to curb litigation and reduce exposure for insurers, including limits on assignment of benefits and the elimination of one-way attorney fees. The changes have led to increased interest from private carriers and helped accelerate Citizens’ depopulation.
Despite recent reductions in its book of business, Citizens remained the largest writer of homeowners multiperil coverage in Florida in 2024, with a 14.84% market share based on direct premiums written, according to BestLink. It was followed by Universal Insurance Holdings Group (8.10%), State Farm Group (7.03%), Florida Peninsula Group (6.40%), and Slide Insurance Group (5.49%).
