The Florida Senate

624.425  Resident agent and countersignature required, property, casualty, surety insurance.--

(1)  Except as stated in s. 624.426, no authorized property, casualty, or surety insurer shall assume direct liability as to a subject of insurance resident, located, or to be performed in this state unless the policy or contract of insurance is issued by or through, and is countersigned by, a local producing agent who is a resident of this state, regularly commissioned and licensed currently as an agent and appointed as an agent for the insurer under this code. If two or more authorized insurers issue a single policy of insurance against legal liability for loss or damage to person or property caused by the nuclear energy hazard, or a single policy insuring against loss or damage to property by radioactive contamination, whether or not also insuring against one or more other perils proper to insure against in this state, such policy if otherwise lawful may be countersigned on behalf of all of the insurers by a licensed and appointed resident agent of any insurer appearing thereon. Such agent shall receive on each policy or contract the full and usual commission allowed and paid by the insurer to its agents on business written or transacted by them for the insurer.

(2)  If any subject of insurance referred to in subsection (1) is insured under a policy, or contract, or certificate of renewal or continuation thereof, issued in another state and covering also property and risks outside this state, a certificate evidencing such insurance as to subjects located, resident, or to be performed in this state, shall be issued by or through and shall be countersigned by the insurer's commissioned and appointed local producing agent resident in this state in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as is provided in subsection (1) as to policies and contracts; except that the compensation to be paid to the agent may relate only to the Florida portion of the insurance risks represented by such policy or contract.

(3)  An agent shall not sign or countersign in blank any policy to be issued outside her or his office, or countersign in blank any countersignature endorsement therefor, or certificate issued thereunder. An agent may give a written power of attorney to the issuing insurance company to countersign such documents by imprinting his name, or the name of the agency or other entity with which the agent may be sharing commission pursuant to s. 626.753(1)(a) and (2), thereon in lieu of manually countersigning such documents; but an agent shall not give a power of attorney to any other person to countersign any such document in her or his name unless the person so authorized is directly employed by the agent and by no other person, and is so employed in the office of the agent.

(4)  This section shall not be deemed to prohibit insurers from using salaried licensed and appointed agents for the production and servicing of business in this state and the issuance and countersignature by such agents of insurance policies or contracts, when required under subsection (1), and without payment of commission therefor.

(5)  This section shall not be deemed to prohibit an insurer from authorizing an agent who is not regularly commissioned and appointed currently as an agent of the insurer from countersigning a policy or contract of insurance issued pursuant to the provisions of ss. 627.311 and 627.351. This section does not apply to reissuance of insurance policies or endorsements thereto which are part of a mass reissuance of such policies or endorsements and do not involve a change of premium or payment of agent's commissions.

History.--s. 69, ch. 59-205; s. 1, ch. 74-64; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 59, 64, 809(1st), ch. 82-243; s. 6, ch. 83-288; ss. 187, 188, ch. 91-108; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 187, ch. 97-102; s. 1, ch. 98-199.