The Florida Senate

626.7351  Qualifications for customer representative's license.--The department shall not grant or issue a license as customer representative to any individual found by it to be untrustworthy or incompetent, or who does not meet each of the following qualifications:

(1)  The applicant is a natural person.

(2)(a)  The applicant is a United States citizen or legal alien who possesses work authorization from the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service and is a bona fide resident of this state and will actually reside in the state at least 6 months out of the year. An individual who is a bona fide resident of this state shall be deemed to meet the residence requirements of this subsection, notwithstanding the existence at the time of application for license of a license in his or her name on the records of another state as a resident licensee of the other state, if the applicant furnishes a letter of clearance satisfactory to the department that the resident licenses have been canceled or changed to a nonresident basis and that he or she is in good standing.

(b)  The applicant is a resident of another state sharing a common boundary with this state and has been employed in this state for a period of not less than 6 months by a Florida resident general lines agent licensed and appointed under this chapter. The applicant licensed under this subsection must meet all other requirements as described in this chapter and must, under the direct supervision of a licensed and appointed Florida resident general lines agent, conduct business solely within the confines of the office of the agent or agency whom he or she represents in this state.

(3)  Within the 2 years next preceding the date the application for license was filed with the department, the applicant has completed a course in insurance, 3 hours of which shall be on the subject matter of ethics, approved by the department or has had at least 6 months' experience in responsible insurance duties as a substantially full-time employee. Courses must include instruction on the subject matter of unauthorized entities engaging in the business of insurance. The scope of the topic of unauthorized entities shall include the Florida Nonprofit Multiple-Employer Welfare Arrangement Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. ss. 1001 et seq., as such acts relate to the provision of health insurance by employers and the regulation of such insurance.

(4)  The license is not being sought for the purpose of writing or handling controlled business in violation of s. 626.730

(5)  The applicant will be employed by only one agent or agency and the agency will appoint one designated agent within the agency who will supervise the work of the applicant and his or her conduct in the insurance business, and the applicant will spend all of his or her business time in the employment of the agent or agency and will be domiciled in the office of the appointing agent or agency as provided in s. 626.7352

(6)  Upon the issuance of the license applied for, the applicant is not an agent, a service representative, or a managing general agent.

(7)  The applicant has passed any required examination for license required under s. 626.221

History.--ss. 71, 207, ch. 90-363; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 18, ch. 92-146; s. 243, ch. 97-102; s. 39, ch. 98-199; s. 45, ch. 2003-267; s. 38, ch. 2003-281.