Carousel News

Personal Lines Bulletin

Citizens Highlights

Navigation Menu

Breadcrumb

Web Content Display (Global)

Personal Lines Bulletin

Asset Publisher

Update: Securing Coverage for Gulfstream, Southern Fidelity and Universal North America Risks
06.10.21

Recently, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) issued consent orders for the following carriers to early nonrenew or early cancel selected Personal Lines policies:

After you have exhausted all other avenues for coverage, Citizens is ready to assist Citizens-appointed agents with securing coverage for these risks that meet Citizens’ eligibility guidelines.



Deferral for Required Documents for New-Business Submissions

Agents should submit required documents for all new-business submissions, including proof of repair for any fully repaired damage.

To support the short time frame needed to provide coverage for affected customers who have their coverage ending between June 1 and June 30, however, agents can defer required documents for new-business submissions for:

  • 4-Point inspection forms
  • Roof condition documentation
  • Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Forms

Submit the Personal Lines: Document Deferral Form in lieu of these required documents in PolicyCenter®. This deferral program ends June 30.

Agents must submit all required documents no later than 90 days after the Citizens policy effective date to be considered for renewal.

As reminders:

  • All new-business risks must be submitted through the Property Insurance Clearinghouse for applicable policy types.
  • Payment is required for coverage to be bound.
  • Citizens has statutory maximums on coverage limits: Any risk in any county (except Miami-Dade or Monroe counties) that has a dwelling replacement cost of $700,000 or more, or a single condominium unit that has a combined dwelling and content replacement cost of $700,000 or more, is not eligible for Citizens coverage. In Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, any risk that has a dwelling replacement cost of $1,000,000 or more or a single condominium unit that has a combined dwelling and content replacement cost of $1,000,000 or more is not eligible for Citizens coverage.


Risks with Existing Damage

To submit a risk with existing damage, contact the Customer Care Center at 888.685.1555. Inform the representative that the risk has existing damage and is related to securing coverage for Gulfstream, Southern Fidelity or Universal North America risks that are being cancelled or nonrenewed early. The representative will provide you with further instructions as these risks must be submitted unbound for review.

If after review, a Personal Lines Underwriter approves the application and the policy is issued, the agent must submit the following no later than 60 days after the policy’s effective date:

  • Photos of the existing damage
  • Document(s) reflecting when the repairs will be completed

Note: Personal Lines Underwriters may request an existing damage written disclaimer from the applicant.



Entering the Prior Carrier in PolicyCenter

When submitting a new-business risk into PolicyCenter, agents must follow the steps below to select the appropriate prior-carrier information:

  1. On the Policy Info Screen, enter information regarding the prior policies.
  2. Click in the Carrier Name field to access the search feature.
    Result: The External Carriers search page displays.
  3. Enter the first few characters of the carrier’s name, and select Search.
    Result: The search results display.
  4. In the search results, select the applicable Carrier Id and Carrier Name as shown here:
    Carrier Id Carrier Name
    200888 Gulfstream Property and Casualty Insurance Company
    200989 Southern Fidelity Insurance Company
    200786 Universal Insurance Company of North America
  5. Complete the remaining fields: Policy Number, Expiration Date and Cancel or Non-Renewal Reason.


Resources

For more details, log in to the Agents website and select:

  • Training > Citizens Essentials for online webinar recordings to help you navigate the new-business submission process and service your customers:
    • Citizens Essentials 1: Personal - Eligibility and Prequalification
    • Citizens Essentials 2: Success in the Clearinghouse
    • Citizens Essentials 3: Personal - Submission and Issuance in PolicyCenter
    • Citizens Essentials 4: Personal - Servicing, Remarketing and Renewals
  • Training > Personal Job Aids to access:
  • FAQs on the top menu. Enter +document +deferral in the Search field.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact Citizens’ Customer Care Center weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET, 888.685.1555.

Legal Disclaimer




Citizens provides agent communications online for historical purposes only, and the communications have not been updated to include any changes that may have been made after publication. Agents can find the latest information by reviewing the applicable underwriting manuals, and by logging in and accessing our FAQs, which are available from the top of any page on our website.