As previously announced on October 3, 2023, in the Personal Lines Bulletin: Proof of Primary Residency and Webinars, to avoid a higher capping factor at renewal for policies effective December 16, 2023, and later, agents should contact policyholders to determine occupancy and provide proof of primary residence prior to the policy renewal date.

As a reminder, under Florida law, a primary residence is defined as: (a) the policyholder’s primary home, which the policyholder occupies for more than nine months of each year; or (b) a rental property that is the primary home of a tenant, which the tenant occupies for more than nine months of each year.

Homestead Exemption Status

An enhancement soon will be added to PolicyCenter® to determine the homestead exempt status on new-business submissions that are effective December 16, 2023, or later so that primary/non-primary determination can be made. The enhancement determines the primary residence status based on policy type and homestead information provided without the need to submit supporting documentation. If the system determines the residency is non-primary, the agent can decline the results and submit acceptable documentation as proof of primary residence (see below).

Figure 1: New Verify Homestead button near the bottom of the Dwelling screen in PolicyCenter.

Note: This does not apply to renewals unless there is a policy change submitted requesting an update from non-primary residence to primary residence

Utility Bills Are No Longer Acceptable

Utility bills are no longer acceptable proof of primary residency because if the policyholder lives out of state, the utility bill still indicates the property address.

Confirm Primary Residency on Existing Policies

To confirm a primary residence rate on a policy that is already indicated as primary:

• Submit a Change Policy transaction via PolicyCenter
• Select the appropriate proof of primary residence available on the Dwelling screen
• Upload the acceptable document that was selected on the Dwelling screen

When the Policyholder Affirmation Regarding Primary Residence form is required, PolicyCenter will trigger the form as a required document. Please see the steps to submit a policy change in the Primary Residence Guide under Resources.

Updating Existing Policies from Non-Primary to Primary

If an existing policy needs to be updated from non-primary to primary, follow the steps outlined below and/or refer to the Primary Residence Guide resource document to ensure the policy will be renewed with the proper rate and policy premium.

1. Proof of Primary Residency

One of the following must be submitted and are acceptable proof of primary residency:

• Homestead exemption
• New purchase signed affidavit
• Voter registration card
• Redacted Florida driver’s license*
• Redacted Florida identification card*
• Redacted military orders*
• Vehicle registration
• Lease agreement executed within the last 12 months. The lease agreement must be for more than nine months.

Notes:

• Agents must redact the personal information (e.g., driver’s license number, identification card number, military identification number) from the documents marked with an asterisk prior to uploading.
• For tenant-occupied risks, the selected proof of residency documentation must confirm the property location is the tenant’s primary residence.
• The new purchase signed affidavit is only accepted for owner-occupied risks and not rented risks.

2. Policyholder Affirmation Form

The policyholder must sign the Policyholder Affirmation Regarding Primary Residence (CIT PR01) form when changing from non-primary to primary. The form must be printed from the Agents site, signed by the policyholder (e-signature is acceptable), and uploaded with the acceptable proof of primary residency.

3. Submit a Policy Change

Create a policy change and submit the required documents with the form and proof of residency.

Note: If there has been a change in the occupancy and usage, coverage may need to be rewritten. Agents should verify that the policy is written on the correct policy form.

Policyholder Communications

Citizens is notifying impacted policyholders by sending a letter, and those with an email address on file will also be sent an email. Please ensure your customers register in myPolicy. Also, remember to keep their email addresses up to date in PolicyCenter.

Policies with effective dates of:

• December 16, 2023-March 31, 2024, were notified in early October.
• April 1-June 30, 2024, were notified in January.
• July 1-September 30, 2024, will be notified in February.
• October 1-December 15, 2024, will be notified in March.

Notes:

• A policyholder letter will be sent for each impacted policy. The letter will reference the impacted policy number; the email will not have the policy number.
• Agents were sent a list of their impacted customers with policy effective dates January 1-December 15, 2024, on January 8, 2024. For dates prior to January 1, agents can refer to their list that was sent in October.

Resources

For more details, log in to the Agents site and go to:

• Training > Personal Job Aids to access Policy Changes, Uploading and Linking Documents and Primary Residence Guide.
• Training > Webinar Recordings to access Proof of Primary Residency Requirements recorded webinar
• Personal > PR-M or PR-W and locate from the Spotlight section on the right-side of the page:
  • The applicable guide under PR-M Required Document Guides
  • The Primary Residence Guide under Resources