The Florida Senate

628.281  Exceptions to requirement that office, records, and assets be maintained in this state.--

(1)  The provisions of s. 628.271 shall not be deemed to prohibit or prevent an insurer from:

(a)  Establishing and maintaining branch offices or regional home offices in other states where necessary or convenient to the transaction of its business and keeping therein the detailed records and assets customary and reasonably necessary for the servicing of its insurance in force and affairs in the territory served by such an office, as long as such records and assets are made readily available at such office for examination by the department at its request.

(b)  Having, depositing, or transmitting funds and assets of the insurer in or to jurisdictions outside this state as required by other jurisdictions as a condition of transacting insurance in such jurisdictions reasonably and customarily required in the regular course of its business.

(c)  Establishing and maintaining its principal operations offices, its usual operations records, and such of its assets as may be necessary or convenient for the purpose, in another state in which the insurer is authorized to transact insurance in order that general administration of its affairs may be combined with that of an affiliated insurer or insurers, but subject to the following conditions:

1.  That the department consent in writing to such removal of offices, records, and assets from this state upon evidence satisfactory to it that the same will facilitate and make more economical the operations of the insurer and will not unreasonably diminish the service or protection thereafter to be given the insurer's policyholders in this state and elsewhere;

2.  That the insurer will continue to maintain in this state its principal corporate office or place of business, and maintain therein available to the inspection of the department complete records of its corporate proceedings and a copy of each financial statement of the insurer current within the preceding 5 years, including a copy of each interim financial statement prepared for the information of the insurer's officers or directors;

3.  That, upon the written request of the department, the insurer will with reasonable promptness produce at its principal corporate offices in this state for examination or for subpoena its records or copies thereof relative to a particular transaction or transactions of the insurer as designated by the department in its request; and

4.  That, if at any time the department finds that the conditions justifying the maintenance of such offices, records, and assets outside this state no longer exist, or that the insurer has willfully and knowingly violated any of the conditions stated in subparagraphs 2. and 3., the department may order the return of such offices, records, and assets to this state within such reasonable time, not less than 6 months, as may be specified in the order; and that for failure to comply with such order, as thereafter modified or extended, if any, the department shall suspend or revoke the insurer's certificate of authority.

(2)  Section 628.271 does not apply as to domestic insurers which, as of immediately prior to the effective date of this code, had lawfully established, and which thereafter maintain, their principal offices, records, and assets in another state.

History.--s. 648, ch. 59-205; ss. 13, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; s. 21, ch. 78-95; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 657, 665, 809(1st), ch. 82-243; ss. 187, 188, ch. 91-108; s. 4, ch. 91-429.