If you attended the FIRM Insurance Town Hall last month, read the excellent coverage by Keys Weekly and posted on this website or watched the replay on FIRM’s You Tube channel, you’re probably asking, “So what happens now?”
SIRS vs RUL
The main topic of the town hall was the disconnect between the Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) and an insurer’s underwriting criteria for the Remaining Useful Life of a roof (RUL.)
What should you do if your condo association finds itself in a situation where the SIRS timeline and Citizens Underwriting evaluation don’t match up? Start with your insurance agent to find out your options. Citizens will work with associations facing non-renewals to get into compliance, but being proactive with your agent working on your behalf is key.
Bridging the Gap
For its part, FIRM continues to look for ways to advocate on behalf of Monroe County residents. FIRM president Mel Montagne reached out to former Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) Deputy Commissioner Lisa Miller for guidance on these issues along with having Monroe County’s strict building code accurately acknowledged on the OIR’s mitigation form.
Miller recently covered the topic of roof construction and OIR’s new mitigation form on her podcast “The Florida Insurance Round-Up.”
In an email to Miller, Montagne stressed the importance of “…better recognition of techniques and documents that actually keep water out and reflect real remaining life, more accurate data for credits, and rules that match conditions in high-risk coastal counties like Monroe.”
Relief for Habitat for Humanity Homeowners
The impact of Citizens’ flood insurance requirement and take-out policy on Habitat for Humanity homeowners was addressed during the afternoon session of the Town Hall.
Most Habitat for Humanity homes in the Keys are built not only to the strictest building codes but also well above base flood elevation. The phased-in flood insurance requirement is pushing many Habitat for Humanity homeowners into financial distress. These modest homes, owned by lower-income families, already stretch to cover mortgages.
A June 2026 report from the Urban Institute, produced with support from Habitat for Humanity International, confirms these are not isolated stories. Nationally, the share of new mortgage borrowers whose insurance premiums exceeded 3 percent of income — the accepted affordability threshold — rose from 10.5 percent in 2018 to 16.2 percent in 2024. Low-income borrowers, the population Habitat serves, bear a disproportionate share of this burden.
According to the United Way 2024 ALICE Report, the Monroe County data reveals that 44% of households lived below the ALICE threshold in 2024, including 34% that were classified as ALICE and 10% that were living below those levels defined in poverty. ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, employed—early above the federal poverty level but still cannot afford the basic cost of living in their communities.
Habitat for Humanity homeowners who are depopulated from Citizens into private carriers often face significant disruption within just one to two years. Many receive non-renewal notices due to the carrier reducing hurricane exposure, forcing them back to Citizens. In other cases, rapid premium increases by the depopulation carrier cause the policy to no longer qualify under the 20% rule, making them eligible to return to Citizens. This back-and-forth, combined with repeated premium hikes, creates ongoing instability and higher costs for low-income families.
Request for Action in Tallahassee
These patterns show the current flood requirement and depopulation mechanics are having severe unintended consequences on Florida’s most vulnerable homeowners. We urge Citizens to highlight this data to legislators and stakeholders, specifically advocating for:
- Income-based or affordable-housing exemptions from the universal flood mandate
- Protections for low-income policyholders during depopulation transitions
- Exemption of deed-restricted Habitat properties from depopulation
- Formal consideration of the Urban Institute’s Property Insurance Affordability report (June 2026) as independent, third-party evidence supporting these requests
Working with its lobbyist, FIRM has begun the process of developing its legislative priorities for the 2027 Florida Session to address these issues.