Citizens Property Insurance is a state-created carrier that exists to insure Florida properties the private market will not. In 2026, roughly one in four Florida homeowner policies is with Citizens. The state's stated goal is to reduce that share by improving the conditions that drive the private market away from these homes.
Your roof is at the center of that conversation.
How a roof affects your insurer options
The private market underwrites a roof based on:
- Material and current condition
- Age (years since installation)
- Attachment standard (RAS 118 vs. 127, etc.)
- Wind-mitigation documentation (form OIR-B1-1802)
- Secondary water resistance
- Visible damage or wear
A roof under 10 years old, properly attached, with a current wind-mitigation report and self-adhered underlayment, is competitive in the private market. Most private carriers will quote it.
A roof over 20 years old, with mortar-set attachment, no documented secondary water resistance, and any visible wear, is in Citizens territory. Most private carriers will not quote it without significant exclusions.
The threshold between these is not absolute — different carriers draw the line differently — but the general gradient is clear.
What this means in practice
If you are with Citizens and want to leave, the leverage point is your roof. The carriers reviewing your home will look at:
- The roof material and age
- The wind-mitigation report
- Whether the home has ever had a roof claim
- Whether secondary water resistance is documented
A re-roof done correctly — with current attachment, current underlayment, documented wind-mitigation report — typically opens the private market within 6 months of the install date. Several of our clients have moved from Citizens to private carriers after a full re-roof, with annual premium reductions of $3,000 to $9,000.
The break-even period on a re-roof financed by insurance premium savings alone is typically 8 to 15 years. The roof itself is good for 50+ years. The math is favorable.
What this means if your roof is not the issue
If your roof is current but you are still with Citizens, the issue is somewhere else — typically opening protection (windows and doors), age of plumbing, or distance from coast. Your wind-mitigation report will identify the roof-related items. A complete review including the rest of the home is the next step.
A note on the My Safe Florida Home program
The state grant program for hardening upgrades is the most direct path for owners who want to upgrade and cannot self-fund. We have written separately about MSFH. Briefly: it pays $2 of grant for every $1 of homeowner spend, capped at $10,000 of grant. For owners on the margin between Citizens and the private market, MSFH is sometimes the bridge.
What we will not do
Promise that a re-roof will move you to a specific private carrier. The carriers' underwriting rules change quarterly; the roof improvement is one input among many. What we can do is build a roof that gives you the best possible underwriting profile. The rest is your insurance agent's conversation.
If you want to think through this honestly for your specific property, a good agent and an honest roofer can map the path. We are happy to be the second of those.
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