Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is a “not-for-profit, tax-exempt government corporation whose public purpose is to provide insurance protection to Florida property owners throughout the state. The corporation insures hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses and condominiums whose owners otherwise might not be able to find coverage.
Citizens operates according to statutory requirements created by the Florida Legislature and a Plan of Operation approved by the Florida Financial Services Commission. The corporation is governed by a Board of Governors that administers its Plan of Operation. Florida's Governor, President of the Florida Senate, Speaker of the Florida House and the state's Chief Financial Officer each appoint two members to the Board.
Citizens has offices in Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Tampa. Tallahassee is the corporate headquarters for the organization. The Jacksonville and Tampa offices provide policy services and underwriting, claims, and customer support.
Citizens may require several types of inspections of a dwelling prior to providing coverage. These inspections include:
Roof Certification - Citizens sometimes requires a Roof Certification inspection be performed in order to validate the age and condition of the roof to be insured.
Wind Mitigation Inspection - Citizens provides some of the larger discounts associated with Wind Mitigation Inspections.
4 Point Inspection - Citizens, like most other insurers, requires 4 Point inspections on older homes (typically 25 years or more) to verify condition and functionality of the roof, plumbing, HVAC and electrical systems.
Hi-Value Inspection – Citizens Hi Value is a general inspection required usually when the insured value is in excess of $1,000,000.
As of January 1, 2009, Citizens required that all dwellings with an insured value of $750,000 or more be required to have hurricane resistant opening protection in order to maintain coverage. It is important to know your insured value and to talk to your agent for the latest changes to Citizens policy requirements.
