Senate Bill sb1002

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1002

    By Senator Posey





    24-1022-05                                          See HB 501

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to insurance field

  3         representatives and operations; amending s.

  4         626.321, F.S.; including service warranty

  5         agreement sales covering communications

  6         equipment under certain limited licensing

  7         provisions; limiting a licensing requirement

  8         for a communications equipment retail vendor

  9         license; revising certain application and

10         licensing requirements for certain entities;

11         requiring certain fees; providing construction

12         relating to criminal liability or disciplinary

13         proceedings; amending s. 626.471, F.S.;

14         increasing a period of notification of intent

15         to terminate an appointment; amending s.

16         626.731, F.S.; revising a qualification for

17         licensure as a general lines agent; providing

18         an effective date.

19  

20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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22         Section 1.  Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) and

23  paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section 626.321, Florida

24  Statutes, are amended to read:

25         626.321  Limited licenses.--

26         (1)  The department shall issue to a qualified

27  individual, or a qualified individual or entity under

28  paragraphs (c), (d), (e), and (i), a license as agent

29  authorized to transact a limited class of business in any of

30  the following categories:

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1002
    24-1022-05                                          See HB 501




 1         (i)  In-transit and storage personal property

 2  insurance; communications equipment property insurance, or

 3  communications equipment inland marine insurance, and

 4  communications equipment service warranty agreement sales.--

 5         1.  A license covering only the insurance of personal

 6  property not held for resale, covering the risks of

 7  transportation or storage in rented or leased motor vehicles,

 8  trailers, or self-service storage facilities, as the latter

 9  are defined in s. 83.803, may be issued, without examination,

10  only to employees or authorized representatives of lessors who

11  rent or lease motor vehicles, trailers, or self-service

12  storage facilities and who are authorized by an insurer to

13  issue certificates or other evidences of insurance to lessees

14  of such motor vehicles, trailers, or self-service storage

15  facilities under an insurance policy issued to the lessor. A

16  person licensed under this paragraph shall give a prospective

17  purchaser of in-transit or storage personal property insurance

18  written notice that his or her homeowner's policy may provide

19  coverage for the loss of personal property and that the

20  purchase of such insurance is not required under the lease

21  terms.

22         2.  A license covering only communications equipment,

23  for the loss, theft, mechanical failure, malfunction of or

24  damage to, communications equipment. The license may be issued

25  only to:

26         a.  Employees or authorized representatives of a

27  licensed general lines agent;

28         b.  The primary Each business location of a retail

29  vendor of communications equipment; or

30         c.  Employees, agents, or authorized representatives of

31  a retail vendor of communications equipment.

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1002
    24-1022-05                                          See HB 501




 1  

 2  The license authorizes the sale of such policies, or

 3  certificates under a group master policy, only with respect to

 4  the sale of, or provision of communications service for,

 5  communications equipment. A general lines agent is not

 6  required to obtain a license under this subparagraph to offer

 7  or sell communications equipment property insurance or

 8  communication equipment inland marine insurance. The license

 9  also authorizes sales of service warranty agreements covering

10  only communications equipment to the same extent as if

11  licensed under s. 634.419 or s. 634.420. The provisions of

12  this chapter requiring submission of fingerprints do not apply

13  to communications equipment licenses issued to qualified

14  entities under this subparagraph. Licensees offering policies

15  under this subparagraph must receive initial training from,

16  and have a contractual relationship with, a general lines

17  agent. An entity seeking a license under this subparagraph and

18  applying for a license pursuant to paragraph (2)(a) may, in

19  lieu of individually licensing each location as provided in

20  paragraph (2)(b), provide a list of each office, branch

21  office, or place of business making use of the entity's

22  business name and transacting business under the entity's

23  license by submitting to the department, in connection with

24  the entity's license application, a list containing the

25  physical address of each such location and an initial $55 fee

26  for each location. Such list shall be submitted annually to

27  the department together with an initial $55 fee for any new

28  branch location which was not previously identified as

29  transacting business under such a license and a $5 transfer

30  fee for each branch location previously identified as

31  transacting business under another such license. Any branch

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1002
    24-1022-05                                          See HB 501




 1  location individually licensed under paragraph (2)(b) prior to

 2  January 1, 2006, may surrender its license and be transferred

 3  to a list of branch locations for a licensed entity under this

 4  subparagraph at no charge. A licensed and appointed entity

 5  authorizing transactions under its license at such branch

 6  locations shall be directly responsible and accountable for

 7  the acts of the listed branch locations under the license.

 8  Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to render a

 9  person criminally liable or subject to any disciplinary

10  proceedings for any act unless such person personally

11  committed or knew or should have known of such act and of the

12  facts constituting a violation of this chapter. For the

13  purposes of this subparagraph, the term "communications

14  equipment" means handsets, pagers, personal digital

15  assistants, portable computers, automatic answering devices,

16  and other devices or accessories used to originate or receive

17  communications signals or service, and includes services

18  related to the use of such devices, such as consumer access to

19  a wireless network; however, the term does not include

20  telecommunications switching equipment, transmission wires,

21  cell site transceiver equipment, or other equipment and

22  systems used by telecommunications companies to provide

23  telecommunications service to consumers.

24         (2)  An entity applying for a license under this

25  section is required to:

26         (c)  Pay the applicable fees for the a license as

27  prescribed in s. 624.501, be appointed under s. 626.112, and

28  pay the prescribed appointment fee under s. 624.501. A

29  licensed and appointed entity shall be directly responsible

30  and accountable for all acts of the licensee's employees.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1002
    24-1022-05                                          See HB 501




 1         Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 626.471, Florida

 2  Statutes, is amended to read:

 3         626.471  Termination of appointment.--

 4         (1)  Subject to an appointee's contract rights, an

 5  appointing entity may terminate its appointment of any

 6  appointee at any time. Except when termination is upon a

 7  ground which would subject the appointee to suspension or

 8  revocation of his or her license and appointment under s.

 9  626.611 or s. 626.621, and except as provided by contract

10  between the appointing entity and the appointee, the

11  appointing entity shall give at least 120 60 days' advance

12  written notice of its intention to terminate such appointment

13  to the appointee, either by delivery thereof to the appointee

14  in person or by mailing it, postage prepaid, addressed to the

15  appointee at his or her last address of record with the

16  appointing entity. Notice so mailed shall be deemed to have

17  been given when deposited in a United States Postal Service

18  mail depository.

19         Section 3.  Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section

20  626.731, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

21         626.731  Qualifications for general lines agent's

22  license.--

23         (1)  The department shall not grant or issue a license

24  as general lines agent to any individual found by it to be

25  untrustworthy or incompetent or who does not meet each of the

26  following qualifications:

27         (f)  The applicant is not a service representative, a

28  managing general agent, or a special agent or similar service

29  representative of a health insurer which also transacts

30  property, casualty, or surety insurance; except that the

31  president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer, including

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1002
    24-1022-05                                          See HB 501




 1  a member of the board of directors, of a corporate insurer, if

 2  otherwise qualified under and meeting the requirements of this

 3  part, may be licensed and appointed as a local resident agent.

 4         Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

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