Florida Senate - 2012                             CS for SB 1428
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Smith
       
       
       
       
       597-02861-12                                          20121428c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the renewal of a commercial lines
    3         insurance policy; amending s. 627.4133, F.S.;
    4         providing that the transfer of a policy to certain
    5         other insurers is considered a renewal of the policy
    6         rather than a cancellation or nonrenewal; requiring
    7         notice of such transfer; specifying which types of
    8         policies such transfer provisions apply to; providing
    9         an effective date.
   10  
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Subsection (8) is added to section 627.4133,
   14  Florida Statutes, to read:
   15         627.4133 Notice of cancellation, nonrenewal, or renewal
   16  premium.—
   17         (8) Upon expiration of the policy term, an insurer may
   18  transfer a commercial lines policy to another authorized insurer
   19  that is a member of the same group or owned by the same holding
   20  company as the transferring insurer. The transfer constitutes a
   21  renewal of the policy and may not be treated as a cancellation
   22  or a nonrenewal of the policy. The insurer must provide notice
   23  of its intent to transfer the policy at least 45 days before the
   24  effective date of the transfer along with the financial rating
   25  of the authorized insurer to which the policy is being
   26  transferred. Such notice may be provided in the notice of
   27  renewal premium. This subsection does not apply to a policy
   28  providing residential property insurance coverage, except for
   29  farmowners insurance and commercial general liability policies
   30  providing farm coverage or commercial property policies
   31  providing farm coverage.
   32         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.