After years of Florida homeowners bracing for the next rate hike letter, 2026 is bringing a version of the opposite: actual, statewide decreases, though the relief is more modest than the headlines suggest.
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the state-run insurer of last resort, cut rates for its homeowners multiperil policyholders by an average of 8.8% for 2026, with wind-only policies dropping about 5.5% on average. State regulators set a floor requiring at least a 2% decrease across all Citizens personal lines policies. The new rates apply to new policyholders immediately and to existing policyholders as their plans come up for renewal. Beyond Citizens, 51 of Florida’s 67 counties saw private insurers file rate decreases for 2026, a reversal after several years where increases were the norm.
The bigger story is what’s driving it. Citizens’ policy count has fallen to about 336,000, down 76% from its peak of 1.41 million in October 2023, as more homeowners have been able to move back to private insurers. State officials point to 2022 legislative reforms that ended one-way attorney fees and assignment-of-benefit agreements, both of which had fueled a wave of litigation that insurers cited as a major cost driver, as the main reason the market has stabilized enough to allow rate cuts.
None of this means Florida homeowners insurance is cheap. The average policy still runs between $4,200 and $5,700 a year depending on coverage and location, more than double the national average of roughly $2,580. For South Florida homeowners specifically, coastal exposure and rebuilding costs keep rates well above the state average even after this year’s cuts. The decrease is real, but it’s a correction off a genuinely painful peak, not a return to what Florida insurance cost a decade ago.
