The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has approved updates to Citizens’ Commercial Lines underwriting rules effective April 17, 2023. The update adds a provision regarding the midterm cancellation of the applicant’s prior policy term with another carrier. This rule is effective for any new application received on or after April 21, 2023.

Applications submitted to Citizens with an effective date prior to the date the applicant’s current policy expires are not eligible. For example, if the prior policy term reflects March 5, 2022, to March 5, 2023 – but the application effective date is January 6, 2023 – it would not be eligible.

Rule 103: Ineligible Risks has been updated with the following rule:

Risks for which the most recent prior policy was not in force for a full annual term. These risks remain ineligible until the prior policy expiration date. Risks may be submitted up to 30 days after the prior annual policy’s full annual term expiration date.

*Exception ‐ if the prior policy carrier issued a company cancellation (excluding nonpayment).

Notes:

• Risks with prior policies less than an annual term do not qualify for new business.
• Submitting business midterm for the sole purpose of obtaining a lower premium is not permitted.

Applications in which the prior policy was not in force for a full annual term due to policyholder request or the policyholder’s failure to pay premiums will remain ineligible until the prior policy expiration date. Exceptions are noted below:

• The submission date is within 30 days after the prior policy full-term expiration date.
• The prior policy carrier issued a company cancellation (excluding nonpayment).
• The prior carrier has been declared insolvent.

Resources

For more information, agents and credentialed agency staff can log in to the Agents website to review resources to help you service your customers:

• For updated Commercial Lines Underwriting Guidelines, select Commercial, then policy type, and lastly Manuals.