To protect the public health, safety and welfare of Florida policyholders in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has issued Emergency Order 315284-23-EO for the following counties affected by Hurricane Idalia.

For cancellation notices issued or mailed from August 22 through August 31, 2023, the notice will be withdrawn and reissued on or after October 31, 2023.

Further, Citizens cannot cancel or nonrenew a policy or issue a notice of cancellation or nonrenewal from September 1 through October 31, 2023.

Coverage under policies subject to the emergency order will continue through October 31, 2023, unless the policyholder or premium finance company requests cancellation.

Your affected customers’ policies have already been reinstated, or their nonrenewals rescinded. If the policyholder intends to keep their policy with Citizens, any premium amounts due must be paid by the due date on their invoice to ensure continued coverage after October 31, 2023. Citizens will resume cancellations and nonrenewals after October 31.

Note: If the premium due date is prior to October 31, 2023, the premium must be paid no later than October 31.

The order is not applicable to:

• New-business policies effective on or after September 1, 2023
• Unbound submissions
• Policyholder-requested cancellations
• Policies assumed in our depopulation program

In addition to the items outlined above, for policies subject to the emergency order, any act that the policyholder was required to perform on or after September 1, including transmitting of information or funds, is now extended to October 31.

The emergency order also references the Florida law that prevents insurers from nonrenewing or cancelling a personal residential or commercial residential policy with damages from a hurricane that is the subject of a declaration of emergency and for which the OIR has filed an order for at least 90 days after the dwelling or residential property has been repaired. Exceptions may apply.

Notes:

• A policy note will be added to PolicyCenter® reflecting any action taken.
• A copy of the notice sent to policyholders regarding the continuation of coverage will be added to PolicyCenter.
• If you have questions or believe that Citizens did not identify a customer impacted by this emergency order, call 888.685.1555, and an underwriter will review the file.

Maximum Coverage Limits

For policies that are being nonrenewed or scheduled to nonrenew due to exceeding the maximum coverage limit (Dwellings and condominium units with a replacement cost of $700,000 or more in the affected counties are not eligible for coverage with Citizens), the nonrenewal has been rescinded. The policyholder will receive a renewal offer (if applicable) at the previous policy term coverage. Citizens will send a billing invoice with the renewal offer, if applicable, which must be paid by the due date on the invoice to continue coverage. The maximum coverage limit is determined by:

• Condominium policies – Coverage A and Coverage C (combined dwelling and contents)
• Dwelling policies – Coverage A

Policyholder Communications

Citizens will contact impacted policyholders with one of the below policyholder letters advising how the order affects their coverage with Citizens. Please ensure your customers enroll in myPolicy and keep their email addresses up to date.

• Coverage A Maximum Limits
• Combined Coverage A and Coverage C Maximum Limits
• Important Information Regarding Your Policy

Note: Policyholders with an email address on file will also receive an email.

Resources

For more information, agency staff can:

• Refer to the OIR Hurricane Idalia Information website.
• Log in to the Agents website and select FAQs on the top menu. Enter Emergency Order into the Search field for more details about Citizens’ handling of impacted policies.