California FAIR Plan policies rise 152% as Florida Citizens shrinks
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Private insurers have pulled back from high-risk property markets, leaving state-backed pools to carry the risk. California's FAIR Plan grew 152 percent from September 2022 to March 2026, while Florida's Citizens fell from about 1.4 million policies in 2023 to 293,772 in May 2026.
- Farmers Insurance — stopped writing Farmers-branded home, auto and umbrella policies in Florida, citing risk exposure Tampa Bay Times (tampabay.com)
- Affiliated companies of Florida insurers — reported 1.8 billion dollars net income and about 680 million dollars in dividends in 2017 to 2019, while the insurers lost 432 million dollars, according to an internal analysis by Florida's insurance regulator that was not shared with the legislature
- Florida homeowners moved from Citizens — are steered to private offers up to 20 percent above Citizens' premium
- California policyholders — 50 percent of a 1 billion dollar member assessment after the Los Angeles fires can be passed to them as a temporary charge CalMatters
What happened
Farmers said in July 2023 that it would stop writing Farmers-branded home, auto and umbrella policies in Florida, affecting about 100,000 customers; the statement cited risk exposure and did not name hurricanes.
The California FAIR Plan, the state-mandated insurer of last resort, had about 668,000 policies by January 2026, up 43 percent from September 2024 to December 2025, according to the California Department of Insurance.
Florida's state-run Citizens Property Insurance peaked at about 1.4 million policies in September 2023 and fell to 396,387 by December 2025 as private insurers took policies over, WUSF reported.
Insurance Business reported 684,388 FAIR Plan policies in March 2026 with about 750 billion dollars in coverage, and CalMatters reported that 50 percent of a 1 billion dollar assessment after the Los Angeles fires could be passed to policyholders.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: State Farm has been operating on emergency rate increases in 2025, with a settlement reported in March 2026.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say how many Florida policyholders moved from Citizens to private insurers, or at what premiums.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the figures from Florida's internal regulator analysis for 2017 to 2019 are not checked against a published copy.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether Farmers' exit from Florida was driven by hurricane losses; the company's statement does not name hurricanes.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Report on Farmers Insurance leaving Florida, 11 July 2023Tampa Bay Times (tampabay.com) · 2023-07-11
- FAIR Plan growth slows below 2% as California's insurance market continues to show signs of recoveryCalifornia Department of Insurance · 2026
- Citizens Property Insurance now has fewer than 400,000 policiesWUSF · 2025-12-27
- California's FAIR Plan carries growing load as insurers retreat beyond wildfire zonesInsurance Business · 2026
- Homeowners insurance costs rising in California FAIR PlanCalMatters · 2025-02-11
Connected cases
- California homeowners' insurance retreat United States · 2022–2026
- Farmers Insurance (Insurer) — here: Stopped writing Florida home, auto and umbrella policies; there: Left Florida home, auto and umbrella market (2023)
- California FAIR Plan (Insurer) — here: State-mandated insurer of last resort; policy count grew; there: State-mandated insurer of last resort
- Citizens Property Insurance (Florida) (Public authority) — here: Florida state-run insurer; policy count fell; there: Florida state-run insurer
- Farmers Insurance ends about 100,000 Florida home, auto and umbrella policies United States · 2023–2026
- Farmers Insurance (Insurer) — here: Stopped writing Florida home, auto and umbrella policies; there: insurer that stopped the policies
- Citizens Property Insurance (Florida) (Public authority) — here: Florida state-run insurer; policy count fell; there: state-run insurer whose policy count fell
- Florida Citizens depopulation and insurer affiliate profits United States · 2017–2026
- Farmers Insurance (Insurer) — here: Stopped writing Florida home, auto and umbrella policies; there: Insurer that stopped branded Florida policies
- Citizens Property Insurance (Florida) (Public authority) — here: Florida state-run insurer; policy count fell; there: State-run insurer of last resort