To protect the public health, safety, and welfare of Florida policyholders in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has issued the following emergency orders:

EO 400385-24 for the following counties affected by Hurricane Helene:

For cancellation notices issued or mailed from September 16 through September 25, 2024, the notice will be withdrawn and, if still applicable, reissued on or after December 10, 2024.

Citizens cannot cancel or nonrenew a policy or issue a notice of cancellation or nonrenewal for these counties from September 26 through December 10, 2024.

EO 400473-24 for the following counties affected by Hurricane Milton:

For cancellation notices issued or mailed from September 28 through October 7, 2024, the notice will be withdrawn and, if still applicable, reissued on or after December 10, 2024.

Citizens cannot cancel or nonrenew a policy or issue a notice of cancellation or nonrenewal for these counties from October 8 through December 10, 2024.

The following counties are impacted by both emergency orders for Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton: Charlotte, Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota.

Note: The nine overlapping counties with binders effective on September 26 and September 27 will also have an extended period to make payment through December 10, 2024.

For policies subject to the emergency orders, coverage will remain in effect through December 10, 2024, unless the policyholder or premium finance company requests cancellation. Policyholders will be required to pay any additional premium that is owed as a result of coverage remaining in effect.

Your affected customers’ policies have already been reinstated or their nonrenewals have been rescinded. If the policyholder intends to keep their policy with Citizens, any premium amounts due, including the premium for coverage remaining in effect, must be paid by the due date on their invoice. Citizens will resume cancellations and nonrenewals after December 10, 2024.

Note: If the premium due date on the invoice is earlier than December 10, 2024, the payment must be submitted by December 10, 2024, at the latest.

The order is not applicable to:

• New-business policies effective prior to:
  • September 16, 2024, for Hurricane Helene
  • September 28, 2024, for Hurricane Milton
• New-business policies effective on or after:
  • September 26, 2024, for Hurricane Helene
  • October 8, 2024, for Hurricane Milton
• 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 26 for Hurricane Helene and on or after October 8 for Hurricane Milton, including transmitting information or funds, is now extended to December 10, 2024.

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 either or both emergency orders, call 888.685.1555 and an underwriter will review the file.

Maximum Coverage Limits

For policies in counties subject to the emergency order(s) that are being nonrenewed or scheduled to nonrenew due to exceeding the maximum coverage limit, the nonrenewal has been rescinded. The policyholder will receive a renewal offer (if applicable) at the previous policy term coverage or the maximum limit. 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.

Note: If the premium due date is prior to December 10, 2024, the premium must be paid no later than December 10.

Policyholder Communications

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

• Hurricane Helene only:
  • Coverage A Maximum Limits
  • Important Information Regarding Your Policy
• Hurricane Milton only:
  • Coverage A Maximum Limits
  • Important Information Regarding Your Policy
• Hurricane Helene and Milton
  • Coverage A 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 Helene Information and OIR Hurricane Milton Information websites.
• 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.