If you have a pool cage, lanai, carport or awning on your home, Citizens screen enclosure coverage is one of the first things you should check before the next storm season. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, Florida’s state-run insurer of last resort, does not provide Coverage A (dwelling) or Coverage B (other structures) for a long list of lightweight, open-to-the-weather structures. That is not a rumor or a one-time memo from years ago. It is how the Citizens policy form is written today, and after Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore through Tampa Bay in 2024, it is one of the most painful coverage gaps we explain to homeowners.
We are an independent Florida agency, so we are not here to defend Citizens or attack it. We are here to tell you plainly what your policy does and does not cover, and what options you have if a screen enclosure or carport matters to you.
What Citizens screen enclosure coverage actually excludes
Under the current Citizens homeowners and wind-only forms, the carrier will not provide Coverage A or Coverage B for the following structures, whether or not they are attached to the dwelling:
- Screened enclosures that are aluminum-framed, or that are not covered by the same (or substantially the same) materials as the primary dwelling, this is your typical pool cage or screened lanai.
- Carports that are aluminum, or not built of the same materials as the home.
- Patios and open-sided porches with a roof covering that is not the same material as the dwelling.
- Awnings of any kind.
- Structures with a roof or wall covering of thatch, lattice, slats or similar material.
- Slat houses, chickees, tiki huts, gazebos, cabanas, canopies, pergolas and similar structures built to be open to the weather.
In short: the aluminum-and-screen pool cage that a huge share of Florida homes have is generally not protected by your base Citizens policy. If one of these structures was previously scheduled under Coverage B with an increased limit, Citizens removes that increased limit and the related coverage at renewal.
A note on how we got here
This exclusion is not new. Citizens first removed coverage for screen enclosures, carports, patios and awnings on personal residential renewals back in 2011 and 2012, and local news covered it at the time. What has changed is the market around it, so the practical question for homeowners is no longer “is this coming?” but “what do I do about it now?”
Can you add any Citizens screen enclosure coverage back?
Sometimes, but it is limited. Citizens offers optional endorsements that can add back a narrow amount of coverage for hurricane losses to screen enclosures and aluminum carports on some policy types. These are restricted in scope, often capped at a modest sublimit, and tied specifically to hurricane perils rather than all-risk protection. Read any endorsement closely, because what looks like “screen enclosure coverage” may apply only to certain causes of loss and may exclude the very wind events you are most worried about.
Because the optional coverage is thin, many homeowners who genuinely value their pool cage or carport are better served by comparing the private market, where appetites and endorsements vary widely from carrier to carrier.
Private carriers that cover screened enclosures
This is where an independent agency earns its keep. Unlike Citizens, private Florida carriers each file their own forms and set their own appetite. Some will schedule a screened pool enclosure or aluminum carport under Coverage B with a meaningful limit; others sublimit it heavily or require an endorsement and specific conditions (for example, that the structure has an opening so wind-driven rain damage qualifies). Deductibles, especially the separate hurricane deductible, also differ.
The only way to know what your pool cage is worth on paper is to compare. We shop your home across 15 to 20-plus A-rated carriers and tell you honestly which ones treat your screen enclosure or carport the way you expect, and at what premium. If you want background on how Florida policies handle structures like these, our Florida homeowners insurance guide walks through the coverage parts in plain English.
Why 2026 is the year to compare the private market
Three current realities make this more than an academic exercise for Citizens policyholders.
Depopulation and takeout offers. Citizens is actively moving policies to private insurers. In 2025 alone, the depopulation program transferred more than 546,000 policies out of Citizens. Under Florida’s eligibility rules, if a participating private carrier offers you a renewal premium within 20 percent of your projected Citizens renewal, you generally cannot decline it and stay with Citizens. We explain how this works, and how to evaluate an offer, in our guide to Citizens takeout offers in Florida. The upside: the carrier you get moved to may actually cover structures Citizens won’t.
The flood-coverage requirement. Citizens now requires flood insurance on many of its wind policies under Florida Statute 627.715, phased in by dwelling value. As of January 1, 2026, homes with Coverage A of $400,000 or more (outside a special flood hazard area) must carry flood coverage, and homes inside a special flood hazard area must carry it regardless of value. By January 1, 2027, the requirement applies to all Citizens policies. If you are buying flood coverage anyway, it is worth pricing the whole package in the private market at the same time.
The eligibility rule itself. Citizens is meant to be a last resort. If the private market will write you at a competitive rate, that is usually the better long-term home for your policy, and often the better answer for the screen enclosure or carport Citizens simply will not insure.
What to do if you have a pool cage or carport on a Citizens policy
- Pull out your declarations page and look for screen enclosures, carports or awnings under Coverage B. If they are not listed, assume they are not covered.
- Estimate what it would actually cost to rebuild your pool cage or carport today. For many Florida homes that is a five-figure number you would otherwise pay out of pocket.
- Ask whether a Citizens optional endorsement is available and exactly what perils it covers, then weigh it against a private policy.
- Compare the private market before renewal, especially if you have already received a takeout offer or a flood-coverage notice.
If you are facing a different Citizens problem, such as a non-renewal because your home’s rebuild value exceeds the maximum insurable value, see our related explainer on Citizens insurance cancellation in Florida. And if you are a Tampa Bay homeowner, our Hillsborough County insurance page covers the local carriers we work with most.
Talk to a Florida-licensed advisor
Cornerstone Insurance is an independent, Florida-licensed agency that compares 15 to 20-plus A-rated carriers to find coverage that fits your home, including, where it is available, real protection for your screen enclosure, carport or lanai. We will review your current Citizens policy, tell you exactly what it covers, and show you side-by-side options. Request a no-obligation quote and we will do the comparison shopping for you.
