The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) approved rate changes and a rule change to Citizens’ Commercial Lines for new-business risks effective on or after January 1, 2026.

Additionally, approval from the OIR allowed Citizens to revise the Commercial Lines underwriting manuals to accommodate a more consistent format and to consolidate and reorder rules and rating tables for ease-of-use effective December 15, 2025.

The premium determination steps and rate factor tables are now found in the newly renamed Rating Steps and Factors, formerly Rates and Rating Rules.

Underwriting Guidelines

All underwriting rules and guidelines now will be included in the smaller, consolidated Underwriting Guidelines segments of the manual.

Rules that have been combined and/or re-numbered include:

• Policy Term, Renewals, and General Revisions
• Premium & Payment Options
• Cost of Construction Increase
• Loss History & Credit Reports
• Definitions
• Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS)
• Protective Devices and Services – Sprinkler Systems
• Policy Cancellations

Rule 500 E - Submission Procedures – Building Safety or Milestone Inspection Reports has been amended to meet legislative changes, which require Milestone Inspections for certain properties statewide.

2026 Rate Change

Certain Commercial Lines policies are subject to Citizens’ glide path, which was modified (but not established) by Senate Bill 76. The last statutorily required annual 1% increase in the glide path cap to 15% will take effect January 1, 2026, excluding:

• Coverage changes
• Mitigation adjustments
• A-rated risks
• Required surcharges and assessments
• A required rapid cash build-up provision for the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF), if applicable

Note: The rate changes vary by risk, occupancy, product line, and territory.

Loss Runs Requirement

Citizens will require five years of prior loss history documentation for new-business risks. This will allow Citizens to:

• Evaluate a risk’s eligibility more thoroughly
• Identify potential unrepaired damage from past claims

Note: Loss runs are not required for new purchases and new construction.

To support this underwriting requirement, PolicyCenter® will be updated to capture five years of prior loss history.

The section on the Prior Losses tab will be updated to: Enter historical losses (past five years)

Figure 1: PolicyCenter’s Prior Losses section

Resources

Log in to the Agents site to:

• Access the updated version of the Underwriting Guidelines or Rating Steps and Factors. Select Commercial > the applicable policy form > Manuals.
• Select Commercial > one of the policy forms and then Rating Worksheets
• Select Training > Commercial Job Aids to access:
  • Commercial Lines New-Business Submission Guide
  • Uploading and Linking Documents
  • Commercial Lines Resources
  • Required document guides, in the Learn More section on the right side of the page will be updated in December.
    • Commercial Residential Multiperil (CR-M)
    • Commercial Nonresidential Multiperil (CNR-M)
    • Commercial Residential Wind-Only (CR-W)
    • Commercial Nonresidential Wind-Only (CNR-W)