Florida law gives a homeowner 120 days' written notice of a non-renewal, with the reason. Citizens Property Insurance, the state's insurer of last resort, is open only when no private insurer offers coverage or the private price is more than 20 percent above Citizens' for comparable coverage. Every policy carries a separate hurricane deductible, the roof's age and the wind inspection drive the answer, and flood is a separate policy that Citizens itself now requires.
What the non-renewal letter has to give you
Under section 627.4133 of the Florida Statutes, an insurer that will not renew a homeowners policy has to tell the first-named insured in writing at least 120 days before the policy ends, and the notice has to state the reason. The renewal premium has to reach you at least 45 days ahead. Cancellation for unpaid premium takes ten days' notice, and a policy cancelled in its first 60 days has shorter notice of its own. The same section says a single water damage claim cannot be the only reason for a cancellation or non-renewal unless you ignored a reasonable request to prevent a repeat, and claims caused by an act of God cannot be used at all unless the insurer can show you failed to take steps it asked for. After a hurricane covered by an emergency declaration and an order of the Insurance Commissioner, an authorized insurer cannot cancel or non-renew a damaged home until 90 days after the repairs are finished.
So the first thing I read is the reason on the letter. A roof, a claim, an inspection finding and a company leaving the county each call for a different response. More on the notice rules: Florida non-renewal rules.
Citizens: who gets in, and what it leaves out
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is the state-created insurer for homes the private market will not take. Its Clearinghouse page gives two doors: no private company will offer coverage at its approved rates, or the private premium is more than 20 percent higher than Citizens' premium for comparable coverage. The agent has to prove it through the Citizens Clearinghouse, which section 627.3518 requires. The test is repeated at every renewal: Citizens says any private offer that is not more than 20 percent above its renewal premium ends the Citizens policy. Through its depopulation program, private insurers approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation can also offer to take a policy out of Citizens.
- Size limit. Citizens' homeowners worksheet caps the dwelling amount at less than seven hundred thousand, except in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, where it is less than one million. A Broward home is under the lower cap. Above the cap the home goes to the private or surplus lines market.
- Who lives there. The Citizens homeowners form is for an owner whose primary residence it is; a rented house goes on a dwelling fire form instead.
- What is thin. The worksheet shows a special limit on accidental water discharge from plumbing and appliances, no water backup coverage, no animal liability, and no extended replacement cost on the dwelling. Sinkhole loss is not included unless added.
- Inspections. Citizens requires a four-point inspection (electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, roof) on homes more than 20 years old. Shingle roofs older than 25 years, and tile, concrete or metal roofs older than 50, need an inspector's report showing at least five years of useful life left.
- Assessments. Citizens warns that its policyholders can be assessed if it runs short of money to pay claims after a major storm.
Flood is a separate policy, and Citizens now checks
FEMA says it plainly: most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage. Storm surge and rising water need a flood policy, from the National Flood Insurance Program or from a private insurer that Florida authorizes under section 627.715. A new National Flood Insurance Program policy normally takes effect 30 days after purchase, with exceptions such as a purchase tied to a mortgage closing, so it cannot be bought with a storm in the forecast.
Citizens requires proof of flood coverage on personal residential policies that include wind. Homes inside a special flood hazard area need it now. Homes outside one have been phased in by dwelling value since January 2024, and from January 1, 2027 every such policy needs flood coverage whatever the value. Condominium unit-owner policies and policies that exclude wind are exempt. Add the flood premium to the Citizens premium before comparing it with a private offer.
The hurricane deductible and what triggers it
Section 627.701 requires an insurer to offer hurricane deductibles of five hundred dollars, 2 percent, 5 percent and 10 percent of the dwelling limit, and to print the deductible's dollar value on the declarations page. Under section 627.4025 the deductible applies to wind damage during a hurricane declared by the National Hurricane Center, from the moment a hurricane warning is issued for any part of Florida until 72 hours after the last hurricane watch or warning for any part of the state ends. A storm the Center never declared a hurricane does not meet that definition. The deductible applies once per calendar year with the same insurer, not once per storm. See how the Florida hurricane deductible works.
Andrew, the building code and the roof
Hurricane Andrew came ashore near Homestead before dawn on August 24, 1992, later re-rated Category 5. The National Weather Service in Miami counts about 49,000 homes destroyed and 108,000 damaged in southern Dade County. The Florida Building Code's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, which is Miami-Dade and Broward counties only, carries the stronger provisions South Florida adopted in response, and Miami-Dade's Product Control Section approves the windows, doors, shutters and roofing used there. Whether a home was built or re-roofed under those rules is one of the first things an underwriter asks.
Two statutes turn that into money. Section 627.0629 requires residential rate filings to include discounts for features shown to reduce wind loss: roof covering, roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall connections and opening protection. A wind mitigation inspection report is how you claim them. And section 627.7011 says an insurer may not refuse to write or renew a homeowners policy only because of roof age when the roof is under 15 years old; for an older roof it must let you obtain an inspection, and cannot refuse solely on age if the inspector finds five or more years of useful life. Details: Florida roof age rules. As of November 2026 the state's My Safe Florida Home program lists free wind mitigation inspections and grants for approved upgrades; the statute limits it to owner-occupied, site-built, homesteaded single-family homes.
Deadlines and state help
Section 627.70132 bars a property claim unless notice reaches the insurer within one year of the date of loss, and a supplemental claim within 18 months; for a hurricane the date of loss is the landfall date. The Department of Financial Services takes insurance questions and requests for help with an insurer at 1-877-693-5236, and the Florida Market Assistance Plan is a free state-authorized service that passes your home's details to agents who can place it with authorized insurers.
What I need to quote
The non-renewal or renewal notice, the current declarations page, the address and year built, the roof's material and the year it was last fully replaced, a wind mitigation report and four-point inspection if you have them, any claims in the last five years, and whether you live in the home. If there is a flood policy, send that page too. I can start from the notice and the declarations page alone.
Common questions
Who insures a home in Miami after a non-renewal?
Private authorized insurers first, then surplus lines insurers, then Citizens Property Insurance if no private insurer offers coverage or the private price is more than 20 percent above Citizens' for comparable coverage. A broker has to document that test before Citizens will write the policy.
How much notice does a Florida insurer have to give before non-renewing my home policy?
At least 120 days in writing, with the reason, under section 627.4133 of the Florida Statutes. Non-payment of premium is the exception at ten days.
Can I stay with Citizens if a private company offers to take my policy?
Only if the private offer is more than 20 percent above your Citizens renewal premium for comparable coverage. Citizens says an offer at or under that mark ends eligibility for renewal.
Does my Miami homeowners policy cover storm surge?
No. Surge and rising water are flood, which needs a separate policy from the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood insurer. Citizens requires its wind policyholders to carry one, with every policy included from January 1, 2027.
Can a Florida insurer drop me because my roof is old?
Not solely for age if the roof is under 15 years old. For an older roof the insurer must let you get an inspection, and cannot refuse only on age if the inspector finds at least five years of useful life remaining.
When does the hurricane deductible apply in Florida?
To wind damage from a storm the National Hurricane Center has declared a hurricane, from the first hurricane warning for any part of Florida until 72 hours after the last watch or warning ends. It applies once per calendar year with the same insurer.
What is the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone?
The part of the Florida Building Code that applies only in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, carrying the stronger wind provisions adopted after Hurricane Andrew. A wind mitigation report documents which of those features a home has.
General information about home insurance in Miami and South Florida as of November 2026, not legal advice. Florida statutes, Citizens rules and program funding change; the policy and the insurer's filed rules control. Flood is never part of a homeowners policy and needs its own policy. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.