Citizens Takeout Offer or

Non-Renewal Letter? Bring It To Us.

You are holding mail from Citizens or from your carrier, there is a date on it, and nobody has explained what it means. We are independent advisors in North Florida who read that letter with you and compare what the rest of the market will actually offer before you answer it.

Black exclamation mark inside a circle on a white background

Start With Which Letter You Got

Two very different situations bring homeowners to this page, and the next step is not the same for both.


  • A takeout offer from Citizens. A private carrier approved by the state has offered to assume your policy. You have a response window, and how you answer affects whether you can stay with Citizens.
  • A non-renewal notice from a private carrier. Your current company has decided not to continue the policy at the end of the term. Nothing is being offered to replace it, so the replacement is on you and there is a date when coverage stops.


If you are not sure which one you have, read us the first paragraph over the phone. Call 850-759-0505 and we will tell you what you are looking at in about two minutes.

What Does a Citizens

Takeout Offer Actually Mean?

It means a private insurance company has been approved to assume your Citizens policy, and Citizens is notifying you that your policy is on that list. This is Florida's depopulation process, which moves policies out of the state-backed insurer and into the private market. The letter names the company making the offer and the premium that company is willing to write your home for.


The offer is a decision put in front of you, not an instruction you have to follow. What it does not tell you is how that premium compares to everything else available for your home, which is the piece that actually decides whether the move is good for you.

How Long Do I

Have To Respond?

Your letter carries a response window, and the date on your notice is the one that governs. Read it before anything else, because the calendar drives every other choice here.


If the window closes without a response, the decision gets made for you. Silence is not neutral in this process, and once the transfer takes effect, undoing it is a much harder conversation than making the call in the first week. If your deadline is inside seven days, phone us rather than emailing.

Can I Stay With Citizens

If a Private Company Makes an Offer?

Sometimes, and it turns on how the private premium compares with your Citizens renewal premium. Florida's eligibility rules tie your ability to remain with Citizens to that comparison, so the numbers on your letter matter more than your preference does. Send us both figures and we will tell you where you stand.


This is the single most misunderstood part of the letter. Homeowners assume the choice is theirs alone, and homeowners also assume they have no choice at all. Neither is right, and which one applies to you is a specific answer we can give you the same day.

 A Replacement Policy

Is Not a Like-for-Like Swap

The premium is the number everyone looks at, and it is rarely where the real difference sits. When a home policy changes companies, the terms underneath it move too.

Hurricane deductible

Often stated as a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat dollar amount, which changes what you pay out of pocket after a named storm.

Roof coverage

Replacement cost versus actual cash value, plus roof age and material limits that can reduce what gets paid on an older roof.

Water damage

Sublimits and interior water caps vary widely between carriers.

Screened enclosures, pool cages and carports

These are frequently limited or excluded outright, and in this corridor that is real money.

Other structures and personal property limits

Percentages of the dwelling limit differ, so the same house can carry different limits at two companies.

We read those terms side by side against the policy you have now, then tell you plainly where the new policy is better, where it is thinner, and what it would cost to bring it back up. That is what a homeowners policy review looks like here.

Warning symbol: black exclamation mark inside a circle on a white background

What Happens If My Policy Is Not Renewed?

Coverage ends on the date in the notice, and if you have a mortgage, your lender will force-place a policy to fill the gap. Force-placed coverage is expensive and protects the lender, not your belongings or your liability, so the goal is always to have a replacement bound before that date.


A non-renewal usually traces back to something specific: roof age, a prior claim, the carrier reducing exposure in coastal counties, or an inspection finding. Knowing which one it was changes which companies will look at your home, and that is the first thing we sort out.

Bring Us the Letter

and We Will Read It With You

Send us the notice, your current declarations page, and your most recent renewal offer. That is enough for us to work with, and there is no charge for the review.

Hands reviewing paperwork at a table with a small model house and pen

Step 1:

Send us the letter

Email it, drop it at either office, or read it to us over the phone. We confirm what kind of notice it is and what your actual deadline is.

Step 2:

We shop the market

We are independent, so we compare your home across 20 or more carriers rather than one company's answer. The takeout offer goes into that comparison alongside everything else.

Step 3:

We compare the coverage, not just the price

Wind, water, roof and enclosure terms get lined up against the policy you have today, so you can see what changes and not only what it costs.

Step 4:

You decide, we bind it

We tell you what we would do and why. When you choose, we bind coverage so there is no gap between the old policy ending and the new one starting.

Why Homeowners From Duval to Escambia Call Us First

We work this corridor every week, from Jacksonville and Tallahassee west through Bay and Okaloosa counties to Pensacola, including the coastal counties where wind and flood terms carry the most weight.

Black curved arc on a white background

Independent, with quotes compared across 20 or more carriers, so an offer can be measured against real alternatives instead of accepted blind.

Thick black curved arc on a white background

Free policy review, whether or not you end up moving your coverage to us.

Black curved arc on a white background

Coverage reviewed as a whole portfolio, so a replaced home policy gets checked against the auto, flood and umbrella sitting on top of it.

Black curved arc on a white background

Two offices you can walk into: Tallahassee at 3233 Thomasville Road and Fort Walton Beach at 7 Racetrack Rd. NE, Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Black curved arc on a white background

Named advisors you can ask for by name, listed on our team page.

The Coverage That

Has To Move With It

Replacing a home policy touches more than the house. Wind and water are handled by separate coverages in Florida, and a change to one can leave the other misaligned.


Your hurricane deductible and windstorm terms live in the hurricane and windstorm coverage on the home policy, so those change when the policy does. Flood is a separate policy entirely, and if your lender requires it, that requirement follows the new loan or policy paperwork. We check the flood coverage on the same call so nothing lapses in the handoff, and we look at the rest of your personal insurance while we are in there.

Small speech bubble icon with a question mark in the top-left corner on a white background

Questions We Hear Every Week About Citizens Letters

  • I got a takeout offer from Citizens. What do I do first?

    Find the response deadline on the letter, then get the offered premium compared against the rest of the market before that date. A takeout offer tells you what one approved carrier will charge, not what your home can be insured for elsewhere. An independent agent can run that comparison and show you both the price and the coverage differences.

  • Can I stay with Citizens if a private company makes an offer?

    It depends on how the private premium compares with your Citizens renewal premium, because Florida ties eligibility to remain with Citizens to that comparison. Both numbers are usually on the paperwork you already have. Once someone reads them together, the answer is straightforward.

  • How long do I have to respond to a Citizens takeout letter?

    The response window is printed on your notice, and that date is the one that counts. Do not wait for it, because comparing quotes and binding a replacement takes a few business days, and an inspection can add more. Aim to have the conversation in the first week the letter arrives.

  • What happens if my Citizens policy is not renewed?

    Coverage ends on the date in the notice, and if you have a mortgage, the lender can force-place a policy that costs more and covers less. Replacing the policy before that date avoids both the gap and the force-placed premium. Start by finding out why the non-renewal happened, since the reason determines which carriers will consider your home.

  • Who can help me replace a Citizens policy in Florida?

    An independent agent licensed in Florida who works with a wide carrier roster, so your home is shopped rather than quoted once. We do this from offices in Tallahassee and Fort Walton Beach for homeowners from Duval County to Escambia County. Call 850-759-0505 and bring the letter.

  • Will my premium go up if I move off Citizens?

    It can go either way, which is exactly why the offer is worth comparing rather than assuming. Wind mitigation credits, a newer roof, and bundling home with auto all pull the number down, and those credits are frequently missing from a policy that has sat unreviewed. We look for them as part of the review.

There Is a Date on That Letter. Let's Talk Before It Passes.

A takeout offer or a non-renewal notice is a decision with a clock on it, and it is a lot easier to make with someone reading it alongside you. Bring us the letter, and we will tell you what it means, what your options actually are, and what we would do in your place.