A Depopulation Packet makes the takeout decision look like a price list: carrier, premium, checkbox. But the premium is the only thing those offers show you — and it is rarely where the real differences live. Two offers $150 apart can behave thousands of dollars apart in the first claim. Here is the comparison we actually run when a client sends us a packet.
Start where the packet starts, because eligibility math comes first: if any offer is within 20% of your Citizens renewal estimate, staying with Citizens is already off the table and the comparison is among the private offers only. We covered exactly how the 20% rule works. Once you know which offers qualify, the premium becomes one factor among six — not the verdict.
Florida policies carry a separate hurricane deductible calculated as a percentage of your dwelling limit — commonly 2%, 5%, or 10%. On a $500,000 dwelling limit, the difference between 2% and 5% is the difference between $10,000 and $25,000 out of pocket before the carrier pays a storm claim. A takeout offer that saves $300 a year while moving you from 2% to 5% has not saved you money; it has moved $15,000 of hurricane risk onto your side of the table. Check this line before any other.
Roof valuation is where Florida carriers differ most. Some pay replacement cost on the roof for its full life; others apply a roof payment schedule that steps an older roof down toward actual cash value — meaning depreciation comes out of your claim check. If your roof is past its first decade, a carrier's roof schedule can matter more than a thousand dollars of premium difference. The offer letter will not mention it; the policy form does.
Non-storm water damage — the burst supply line, the failed water heater — is one of the most common Florida claims, and carriers increasingly cap it. Some policies sublimit water damage at $10,000 unless you buy it back; some exclude it for homes past a certain age; some require water sensors for full coverage. Citizens and each takeout carrier draw these lines differently. Know where yours sits before the first leak, not after.
Citizens policyholders carry an exposure private-market customers do not: when a bad storm year drains Citizens' reserves, it can levy surcharges on its own policyholders first — a meaningful percentage of premium — before broader assessments spread to the rest of the market. A private carrier offer inside the 20% window partly prices away that assessment exposure. It is a genuine point in favor of leaving — provided the carrier taking you is solid, which is the next question.
Takeout carriers range from established names to recently formed companies building a book. Worth ten minutes: the carrier's financial stability rating (many Florida property carriers are rated by Demotech rather than AM Best — an A rating there is the norm to expect), how long it has written in Florida, and how its claims operation reputationally handled the last major storm. Your agent sees these carriers' claims behavior across many clients — which is exactly the visibility the packet cannot give you.
The offers compare themselves to your premium. Compare them to your coverage: pull your Citizens declarations page and line up dwelling limit, hurricane deductible, water damage terms, and any endorsements you added deliberately. Depopulation offers are required to be comparable — comparable is not identical, and the differences hide in the four points above.
Send it over — photo of every page is enough. A licensed agent confirms the 20% math, pulls each qualifying carrier's actual policy form, and returns a one-page comparison: premium, deductibles, roof treatment, water limits, carrier rating, and our plain-English read on which offer we would take and why. If keeping Citizens is still on the table, we say that too. Then you choose before the deadline chooses for you.
Start with the takeout overview, send the packet here, or call (561) 503-2696.
Current as of August 2, 2026. Takeout mechanics and carrier lineups change between depopulation cycles — we re-verify each round.
This article describes the general case. Coverage terms, limits, and exclusions vary by carrier and policy form — your policy governs. Send us your declarations page and we will tell you exactly where you stand.
A licensed agent will read your coverage and answer plainly. No obligation, and no sales script.