Florida couple drags Citizens Insurance to trial over $46K Hurricane Ian claim — now the insurer’s bill could top $400K

“The needle moved a little more towards justice with this decision,” stated lead counsel Patrick Montoya, a Miami-based trial attorney with over two decades of experience handling complex commercial litigation, class actions and first-party property cases.

According to Montoya, Guerra and Fitzgerald were seriously delayed by their insurance company that then denied their claim.

“Today, the insurance company is going to pay that bill, and another bill for the cost of holding them accountable,” he additionally stated.

The defendant is Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, a Florida state-created “insurer of last resort” that provides coverage for homeowners who can’t find any in the private market.

How a $46K claim turned into a near half-million-dollar bill

On Sept. 28, 2022, one of the deadliest storms to ever hit Florida, Hurricane Ian, wreaked havoc on the state — Guerra and Fitzgerald’s house was not spared. Although the damage was not immediately noticeable, the couple later discovered water intrusion in their roof, and they filed an insurance claim, which Citizens denied.

In Citizens’ defense, they said the notice was filed too late, and the damage to the roof was a result of “wear and tear,” not the storm. But Guerra and Fitzgerald had been told otherwise.

Senior counsel attorney on their case, Markus Kamberger, stated that “the roof was within its lifespan, and the experts who deal with this kind of damage attributed it to the hurricane.”

The couple filed a breach of contract suit in January 2025, with Montoya and Kamberger joining the case as it advanced to trial.

In October 2026, after a full trial, the jury rejected the insurer’s arguments. They ruled that the house suffered direct damage from Hurricane Ian during the policy period, officially overturning the denial.

Montoya said of the case: “This was a David and Goliath case, and the Davids can still win.”

Citizens’ pattern of denying claims

The verdict in Guerra and Fitzgerald’s case comes amid an ongoing controversy over how Citizens handles policyholder claims. ProPublica reported in September 2025 that the insurer won over 90% of insurance disputes in mandatory arbitration and more than 50% of disputes taken to public court.

Citizens is Florida’s largest home insurer, a position it gained as private providers receded from the market. According to data from Insurance.com, Florida has the country’s highest average home insurance premium in 2026. This has left many homeowners with no choice but to use Citizens for their coverage.

Insurify reported in 2024 that many Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton claims made to Citizens were not paid. The same report also said three-quarters of Hurricane Debby claims were closed unpaid. News4JAX reported that the insurer told them the claims were denied because they resulted from flood damage, which is outside its coverage.

The Washington Sun noted that, in addition to flood-related claims, Citizens doesn’t count claims closed for lack of coverage or because they were below the deductible as “claim denials.”

Using this narrow definition, Citizens CEO Tim Cerio said that only 13% of claims were denied across Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton — a number much less than what independent organizations reported.