Is your condo building insured by Citizens? A new clearinghouse arrives by January 1, 2027

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is Florida's state-created insurer. It was set up to cover properties that cannot find coverage in the private market. Many condo associations have bought their building policy from Citizens in recent years.

In June 2026, Governor DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1028. It became chapter 2026-150, Laws of Florida, on June 16, 2026. The law tells Citizens to set up new "clearinghouses" for its commercial policies on or before January 1, 2027. A condo association's building policy is one of those commercial policies. That date is about ten weeks away.

What the new law does

The law creates two clearinghouses for commercial policies. One is for offers from authorized insurers. The other is for offers from surplus lines insurers. Citizens must submit new applications and renewals to the program. The goal, in the Legislature's words, is to steer commercial policies away from Citizens and toward private insurers.

Here is how an offer can affect your association:

• Authorized insurers: the existing rule for commercial residential policies stays. If a licensed private insurer offers comparable coverage for no more than 20 percent above the Citizens cost, the association is not eligible for Citizens.
• Surplus lines insurers: this is the new part. If an approved surplus lines insurer offers comparable coverage for a total cost no more than 15 percent above the Citizens total cost, the association becomes ineligible for Citizens. The law applies this to new applicants and to current policyholders.
• "Comparable" means coverage equivalent to or better than Citizens coverage in all aspects. Administrative and procedural terms do not count in that comparison.
• "Total cost" is not just the premium. The law counts the yearly premium plus all fees, taxes, assessments, surcharges and other mandatory charges over the whole policy period.

The law also sets a bar for the surplus lines insurers that take part. Each must have an A.M. Best financial strength rating of A- or better and a financial size category of A-VII or better. The Office of Insurance Regulation must approve the program, first and then every year.

Notice if Citizens will not renew

If a qualifying surplus lines offer makes an association ineligible, the clearinghouse administrator must send the first-named insured a written notice of nonrenewal stating the reason, within 5 days of the offer. If that notice is not sent, the 15 percent rule does not apply to that policy. The usual nonrenewal notice rules in section 627.4133 do not apply to this kind of nonrenewal. For a board, that means the notice may come faster than members are used to, so it matters who receives the association's mail and email.

Where things stand this fall

On September 1, 2026, Citizens announced it had picked Bridge Specialty, a division of Brown & Brown, to build and run the surplus lines commercial clearinghouse. Insurance Journal reported that the contract was still being negotiated. A runner-up bidder filed a notice of intent to protest, then withdrew it in a letter dated September 14.

The authorized-insurer side is less settled. Insurance Journal reported that in July Citizens received fewer than two responsive replies for that clearinghouse. The law lets Citizens hold off on a commercial clearinghouse when there is not enough commercial support for it, until there is.

The number of policies is shrinking. A Senate staff analysis counted 7,654 Citizens commercial residential policies at the end of 2023 and 2,995 on November 30, 2025. Insurance Journal reported that at the end of June 2026 Citizens held 4,562 commercial policies of all kinds, covering 10,678 buildings.

One thing this law is not about: your own unit-owner policy, often called an HO-6. That is a personal policy, not a commercial one. Citizens has run a separate personal lines clearinghouse since 2013.

What to do now

If you are a board member:

• Find out whether the association's building policy is with Citizens, and write down the renewal date.
• Ask the association's insurance agent how the clearinghouse will affect your next renewal, and how any offer will be compared with Citizens on coverage and total cost.
• Make sure the name and address on the policy, the first-named insured, reach someone who reads the mail. A nonrenewal notice must arrive within 5 days of a qualifying offer.
• If an offer comes in, ask the agent for a side-by-side of coverage and total cost, and ask the association's attorney about any duties in your documents. What to buy is the board's decision, not this paper's.
• Remember the budget: insurance premiums are part of what owners pay, so the renewal timing matters for 2027 numbers.

If you are an owner:

• Ask the board or manager, in writing, who insures the building and when the policy renews. The current insurance policies are official records owners can ask to see.
• Read the insurance line in the proposed 2027 budget when it arrives.
• Keep your own HO-6 policy current. This law does not change it.

Questions about how Citizens applies the rules can go to Citizens or to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Questions about your association's documents go to the association's attorney.