Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida’s state-run insurer of last resort, has officially lost its status as the largest property insurance provider in the state. Experts see this as a key step toward a more stable, market-driven insurance environment.

Citizens reported late last week that October takeouts and policy assumptions by private insurers reduced its total policies to about 560,000, a level last seen in spring 2021 — just before a surge in litigation and multiple insurer failures increased the company’s exposure.

With this reduction, Universal Property & Casualty Insurance and State Farm Florida Insurance are now the largest property carriers in Florida. Universal had 561,546 policies at the end of September, while State Farm held 646,429 policies at the end of August, according to the latest data from Florida regulators.

Citizens’ current policy count is roughly 40% lower than its September 2023 peak of 1.3 million policies, just months before legislative reforms limited one-way attorney fees and discouraged excessive claims litigation. A smaller Citizens footprint indicates that more policyholders are turning to private insurers as premiums fall, reflecting the impact of both the law changes and the state’s depopulation program. Officials say these trends signal a stabilizing market.

A Citizens spokesperson described the figures as “significant,” noting that approximately 199,000 policies were transferred through takeouts in October.

Participation in takeout programs has also been rising. During the first half of the year, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) approved takeout offers for about 1.2 million Citizens policies, but only 200,000 were accepted. This fall, nine insurers were approved for 368,947 takeouts, with over half completed in October. The largest shares went to Slide Insurance and Manatee Insurance Exchange.

These developments coincide with broader signs of improvement in the state’s insurance market. Security First Insurance recently announced one of the largest statewide homeowners rate reductions in three years. Auto insurers have followed suit: State Farm reported a 10% average decrease in personal auto premiums in Florida, continuing a trend of rate cuts throughout the year.

Overall, the data show that Florida’s property insurance market is gradually stabilizing, with Citizens shrinking and private insurers gaining strength.