In response to questions about roof coatings and sealants used with the intent to repair and/or extend a roof covering’s useful life, Citizens would like to provide the following information to assist agents with determining roof insurability under our underwriting rules.

Roof Coatings and Sealants

For new and renewal business, where a sealant or coating has been applied to the roof, Underwriting will review the risk, including age and condition of the original roof, to determine eligibility for coverage. An Underwriter may extend the remaining useful life (RUL) to 1-3 years on buildings with coating updates. The roof condition will be validated with a roof inspection performed by a licensed roofer or general contractor, including the required photographs of the entire roof line/surface.

Note: Maintenance roof coatings – such as acrylic, silicone, urethane, soy, elastomeric or other similar coatings that are typically applied to an existing roof covering for waterproofing or UV protection – do not meet Citizens’ requirements for proof of roof covering material replacement.

Roof Replacement

For a roof replacement, whether a re-roof (complete full roof covering removal and replacement) or one-time re-cover (complete full installation of an additional roof covering over one existing underlying substrate), Underwriting may request completed contracts/proposals to confirm what Florida Building Code (FBC)-approved roof covering product is proposed or has been installed. In addition, the work must be completed by a Florida licensed roofing contractor in compliance with code and with a permit issued.

Note: Citizens may conduct inspections to verify the risk meets eligibility requirements.

Resources

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

• Select Commercial, and then select the appropriate policy type on the left-menu bar:
  • Select Manuals in the center menu to access the Underwriting guidelines. Review, Rule 103. Ineligible Risks for older roof rules.
  • Look in the Spotlight section for the Required Document Guides.
• Select Training > Webinar Recordings to access Five Things You Need to Know about Citizens Q2: Roof Condition Recorded Webinar
• Select Training > Commercial Job Aids to access Citizens’ learning resources:
  • New-Business Submission Guide
  • Uploading and Linking Documents
  • Required Document Guides, in the Learn More section, on the right side of the page
• You also can select FAQs on the website’s top menu and enter +roof +covering or +roof +coating in the Search field.