Under the premium reduction dividend option, the insurer applies policy dividends toward the payment of renewal premiums. Unless a policy has been in force for many years, the annual policy dividend usually is not large enough to pay an entire annual renewal premium. If a policyowner is paying premiums more often than annually, the dividend may cover one or more of the installments. The insurer notifies the policyowner of the amount of the policy dividend and bills the policyowner for the difference, if any, between the premium amount due and the amount of the policy dividend. If the amount of an annual policy dividend exceeds the amount of the annual renewal premium, the policyowner can select another dividend option to receive the remainder of the dividend, or the insurer will apply the automatic dividend option