Southern Oak Insurance
Carrier website links, underwriting access points, mapped product lines, and appetite notes in one place.
This appetite summary is only a guide. Confirm eligibility, submission requirements, restrictions, and binding authority directly with the carrier or underwriter before relying on it.
Carrier appetite summary
Territory & program scope: Personal residential property in Florida only, written via Southern Oak’s standard and Golden Leaf Protection homeowners programs. The Golden Leaf manual (most recent homeowners underwriting manual on the public site) governs HO policy eligibility, rating and underwriting. Target risks are owner-occupied one- and two-family dwellings (primary or eligible secondary), selected condo and tenant risks that meet construction, age, and condition standards. Preferred business / target risks: - Well-maintained, owner-occupied single‑family or duplex dwellings showing clear pride of ownership and no significant deferred maintenance. - Construction: masonry or superior (including fire-resistive) walls with non‑combustible or well‑maintained roofing; mixed masonry/frame is acceptable but coded frame if more than one‑third of exterior is frame. - Homes with major systems updated within the last ~20 years: roof, electrical (min. 150‑amp breaker service), plumbing, and heating. - Risks that appear insurable at replacement cost with Coverage A at or above 100% of estimated replacement cost per company methodology. - Secondary/seasonal residences written on separate policies when they otherwise meet eligibility and condition standards. Key underwriting principles (agent is front‑line underwriter): - Agents act as front‑line underwriters and are expected to inspect all new business (including rewrites to new locations), obtain accurate building measurements where Coverage A is written, and secure inspection photos as required. - Pride of ownership and overall property condition are central; underwriting emphasizes visible maintenance, sound structure, and absence of obvious hazards. - Underwriting and rating follow the manual’s program‑specific eligibility, policy forms, and coverage relationships; agents must ensure forms and limits match actual occupancy and use. Eligibility & notable restrictions: - Policy forms: standard HO forms plus tenant homeowners (SOI form for tenants) and condo forms as specified in the manual’s policy‑form section. - Occupancy: owner‑occupied primary or eligible secondary premises; tenant‑occupied, life‑estate, and certain non‑standard occupancies can be written only under the specific tenant or additional‑insured provisions described in the manual (e.g., HO 04 41 Additional Insured for certain seller, joint‑owner, or life‑estate interests). - Secondary homes must be on separate policies; coverage for tenants and certain non‑standard owner situations must follow the manual’s specific eligibility rules. - Buildings separated only by unprotected openings are treated as a single building; separation by qualifying masonry/Concrete walls is required to treat sections as separate buildings. Declined / submit‑for‑approval business: - Risks that do not meet standard eligibility (construction, occupancy, condition, update age, or other manual rules) are ineligible to be bound. - Such ineligible risks may be submitted non‑bound to Southern Oak for individual underwriting review. The agent must: • Submit the risk for review and approval prior to binding. • Identify the specific underwriting rules or circumstances that are not met. - The company reserves the right to non‑renew or decline Citizens depopulation assumptions if subsequent underwriting review finds the risk does not meet company guidelines. Submission & binding expectations for agents: - Bound business must meet all manual eligibility and underwriting rules, unless a documented, prior non‑bound exception has been approved by Southern Oak underwriting. - Non‑standard risks (any rule exception) must be sent to the company as non‑bound, with full explanation and supporting details, for an underwriting decision. - Agents are expected to maintain and upload/retain inspection photos and measurements in the agent portal and to use company tools (including external risk platforms referenced in communications) to assess roof condition, hazard exposures, and overall property suitability. Broker / producer notes: - Southern Oak distributes exclusively through appointed independent agents; direct‑to‑consumer quoting is not offered. New agents must be appointed via the company’s “Become an Agent” process. - The agent portal houses Bulletins, Announcements, Manuals, Forms, and Endorsements and is the primary source for the most current underwriting rules. Public manuals provide baseline guidance but producers should always confirm current rules in the portal. - For Citizens depopulation offers, Southern Oak emphasizes that assumptions are made only on policies considered a good underwriting fit; agents remain the servicing producers on assumed business. Because some detailed sections of the homeowners manuals are lengthy and program‑specific, appointed producers should always rely on the full current manual and bulletins in the Southern Oak agent portal as the binding authority and treat the above as an operational summary of the current public guidance.