Citizens has updated the new-business required documents for Personal Lines policies that include changes to the new-business eligibility documents and verification of roof replacement.
As announced in the Personal Lines Bulletin: 2023 Application and Rule Changes, Citizens now requires customers with a renewal or in-force policy effective January 1, 2023, or later to compare all known offers of coverage to Citizens’ premium to confirm eligibility under the 20% rule. If the comparable premium is more than 20% greater than Citizens’ premium, the agent should only select option B in PolicyCenter® to answer the question Offer of Coverage (A, B, or C must be selected to be eligible for coverage.).
Figure 1: Pre-Qualification Questions
Acceptable documentation for option B must include both of the following and will be presented on the Required Documents screen:
Figure 2: Offer of Coverage B
Option A (I am unaware of any offer of coverage from an authorized insurer.) is no longer an acceptable answer for these customers. This option should only be selected if: the customer has been nonrenewed or cancelled; the coverage has lapsed; or if it is a new purchase and there are no offers of coverage from an authorized insurer.
Acceptable documentation for option A must include both of the following and will be presented on the Required Documents screen:
Figure 3: Offer of Coverage A
For additional guidance and additional scenarios, please see the New Business Eligibility Guide, which can be found in FAQ 4517.
Citizens has updated the required documents for proof of roof replacement for risks with roofs older than 25 years for shingle or other types of roofs and 50 years for tile, slate, concrete or metal roofs, effective January 1, 2023, or later. The Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form OIR -B1-1802, the 4-Point Inspection Form and the Roof Inspection Form are no longer acceptable for proof of roof replacement.
You will be able to bind the submission if you have one of the following acceptable items of documentation:
If you have proof of roof replacement, enter the year it was updated in the Year of Last – Roofing field on the Dwelling Construction screen.
Figure 4: New Roof Replacement Support Document
Risks that do not meet the roof replacement eligibility requirements will be submitted unbound and may be eligible for coverage by proving that the roof has at least three years remaining useful life.
Acceptable documentation includes:
Enter the remaining useful life on the Dwelling Construction screen.
For more information regarding these changes:
Credentialed agency staff can log in to the Agents website and select Training, locate the Spotlight section on the right side of the page, and in the Resource section on the bottom access the following:
