Clearwater Insurance

Insurance in Clearwater, Florida

Clearwater spans a wide range of risk in a small geography — barrier island and beachfront on one side, ordinary inland Pinellas neighborhoods on the other, priced very differently by the same carriers. We write across both.

If a Citizens takeout letter arrives, do not just ignore it

Citizens Property Insurance was never meant to be Florida’s largest property insurer, and it no longer is. Its portfolio peaked at roughly 1.42 million policies in October 2023 and has fallen sharply since; more than 546,000 policies moved to private carriers through the depopulation program in 2025 alone, and 17 new insurers have entered the Florida market since the legislative reforms.

Rates followed. Citizens filed for a statewide average decrease for personal lines, and in January 2026 the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved a larger cut than the company asked for — an average decrease of about 8.7 percent for personal lines across most of the state, against a filing of under 3 percent.

What this means at your kitchen table: if you are a Citizens policyholder in Clearwater and you receive a takeout offer from a private carrier, that offer is a real decision with a deadline, not junk mail. Sometimes the private policy is better and cheaper. Sometimes the coverage form is narrower in ways the premium comparison hides. You generally have a limited window to respond, and the default outcome if you do nothing is not always the one you want.

Send us the letter. We will compare the takeout form against your current Citizens policy line by line and tell you which one we would put our own house on. There is no charge for that and you are not obligated to move your business to us.

Barrier island and near-coastal property

Wind, flood and ordinance or law are the three coverages that decide whether a coastal Clearwater claim ends well. Wind and flood are separate policies. Ordinance or law is the one that pays to rebuild to current elevation and code if a repair crosses the local substantial improvement threshold. We quote all three together rather than one at a time, because looking at them separately is how gaps get created.

Boats

Clearwater is a boating market and a homeowners policy is not a boat policy. Hull, liability, uninsured boater, towing and fuel spill liability belong on a marine form, and the difference in cost is usually small relative to the exposure.

What we write here

Home, condo, flood, boat, auto, renters, umbrella and business. Call (813) 499-9347.