Does Citizens require flood insurance?

Which Citizens policyholders does the flood question apply to?

The requirement reaches Citizens Personal Residential policies that carry wind coverage. Homes located in a FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), zones A, AO, AH, A1–A30, AE, A99, V, V1–V30, and VE, must have and maintain a flood policy regardless of the dwelling’s insured value. Outside an SFHA, whether flood coverage is required instead depends on the policy’s Coverage A (dwelling) value under Citizens’ phase-in schedule, described below.

Three categories of Citizens business are exempt from the flood requirement: condominium unit-owner policies, tenant (renters) policies that only insure contents, and any policy that has already excluded windstorm/hail coverage. Because the rule is tied to wind coverage, a policy without wind coverage doesn’t trigger it.

How has the requirement been phased in, and on what dates?

Citizens rolled the flood requirement out in stages. New Personal Residential policies written in an SFHA were required to carry flood coverage starting April 1, 2023, and existing SFHA policyholders were brought in at their next renewal on or after July 1, 2023.

For homes outside an SFHA, the requirement instead phases in by Coverage A dwelling value: $600,000 and above as of January 1, 2024; $500,000 and above as of January 1, 2025; and $400,000 and above as of January 1, 2026, which is the threshold currently in effect. Beginning January 1, 2027, the requirement is scheduled to extend to all Citizens Personal Residential policies with wind coverage, regardless of dwelling value.

What counts as acceptable coverage — NFIP, private, or either?

Citizens accepts either National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) coverage or a qualifying private flood policy; it does not require one over the other. Whichever route a policyholder chooses, the flood coverage limit generally needs to be at least equal to the Citizens policy’s Coverage A dwelling value. Where NFIP’s own program maximums (currently $250,000 under the regular program, $35,000 under the emergency program) fall short of that Coverage A figure, Citizens treats the maximum available NFIP limit as sufficient to satisfy the requirement, since a policyholder cannot buy more NFIP coverage than the program offers.

What is a flood affirmation, and when are you asked for one?

The Policyholder Affirmation Regarding Flood Insurance (form CIT FW01) is the document Citizens uses to confirm, at the point of application or renewal, that a policyholder subject to the flood requirement actually has qualifying coverage in place. It is collected alongside proof such as a flood policy declarations page, a qualifying flood endorsement added to a multi-peril policy, or a submitted flood application with proof of premium payment if the policy hasn’t bound yet. New applicants in an affected category complete the affirmation when they apply; existing policyholders who become subject to the requirement complete it as part of their renewal paperwork.

How much flood coverage is typically asked for?

Citizens asks for flood coverage in an amount equal to or greater than the Coverage A dwelling limit carried on the Citizens policy itself, not a flat statutory minimum. That means the flood limit a homeowner needs rises and falls with how much dwelling coverage they carry on their Citizens policy, and it can end up higher than typical NFIP maximums for higher-value homes, which is where the “maximum available NFIP limit” allowance described above comes into play.

What happens at renewal if flood coverage is not in place?

Citizens has stated plainly that policyholders in an affected category must have flood insurance in place to renew. In practice, a Personal Residential policyholder who is subject to the requirement and cannot show qualifying flood coverage and a completed affirmation is not eligible to renew that policy with Citizens, since Citizens itself does not sell flood insurance and treats the outside flood policy as a condition of keeping the wind coverage. Policyholders in that position are directed to their agent to look at options in the private market instead. Separately, when the NFIP itself has been disrupted, for example during a federal government shutdown that halted new NFIP business, Citizens has in the past granted temporary deferrals of the proof-of-flood-coverage requirement so policies weren’t cancelled purely because the federal program was unavailable to write new business. Those deferrals are tied to the specific disruption and are not a standing exception to the rule.

For the broader picture beyond Citizens — NFIP basics, private flood options, and flood coverage for homes that are not on a Citizens policy at all — see the directory’s Florida flood insurance guide.