House Bill 1749

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1749

        By Representatives Farkas, Morroni, Jones, Pruitt,
    Sanderson and Rayson





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to service warranties; amending

  3         s. 634.041, F.S.; modifying insurance

  4         requirements for service agreement companies;

  5         amending s. 634.081, F.S.; providing for

  6         revocation of a service agreement company's

  7         license if the ratio of unearned gross written

  8         premiums written to net assets exceeds a

  9         specified amount; amending s. 634.121, F.S.;

10         prescribing manner in which a service agreement

11         must identify restrictions or limitations on

12         benefits or the existence of a rental car

13         provision; amending s. 634.312, F.S.; requiring

14         home warranty contracts to state that the

15         warranty may not provide listing period

16         coverage free of charge; amending s. 634.401,

17         F.S.; redefining the term "service warranty";

18         providing an effective date.

19

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

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22         Section 1.  Subsections (8) and (9) of section 634.041,

23  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

24         634.041  Qualifications for license.--To qualify for

25  and hold a license to issue service agreements in this state,

26  a service agreement company must be in compliance with this

27  part, with applicable rules of the department, with related

28  sections of the Florida Insurance Code, and with its charter

29  powers and must comply with the following:

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  1         (8)(a)  A service agreement company must establish and

  2  maintain an unearned premium reserve in accordance with the

  3  following:

  4         1.  It must consist of unencumbered assets equal to a

  5  minimum of 50 percent of the unearned gross written premium on

  6  each service agreement and must amortize this reserve pro rata

  7  over the duration of the service agreement.  Such assets must

  8  be held in the form of cash or invested in securities for

  9  investment under ss. 625.301-625.340.

10         2.  In addition to the net asset requirements set forth

11  in subsection (6), a company utilizing the 50-percent reserve

12  must not allow its ratio of gross written premium in force to

13  net assets to exceed 10 to 1.  For companies that have

14  utilized both contractual liability insurance and the

15  50-percent reserve, this ratio must be calculated based only

16  on that portion of gross written premium in force which is

17  covered by the 50-percent reserve.

18         3.  A company that uses an unearned premium reserve

19  must deposit with the department securities of the type

20  eligible for deposit by insurers under s. 625.52 equal to 15

21  percent of the unearned premium reserve.  This reserve deposit

22  may be included as an asset for calculating the requirement of

23  subparagraph 1.  A request for release of the reserve deposit

24  may be made quarterly only after the department has approved

25  the company's current quarterly or annual financial statement

26  and a statement sworn to by two officers of the company,

27  verifying that the release will not reduce the reserve deposit

28  to less than 15 percent of the unearned premium reserve.

29         (b)  A service agreement company does not have to

30  establish and maintain an unearned premium reserve if it

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  1  purchases and maintains contractual liability insurance in

  2  accordance with the following:

  3         1.  The insurance covers 100 percent of its claim

  4  exposure and is obtained from an insurer approved by the

  5  department which holds a certificate of authority to do

  6  business within this state. The insurer may not delegate the

  7  responsibility for maintaining claims reserves to the service

  8  agreement company, and the insurer issuing the policy must

  9  maintain adequate reserves to cover all claim exposure of the

10  service agreement company during the effective period of the

11  policy.

12         2.  If the service agreement company does not meet its

13  contractual obligations, the contractual liability insurance

14  policy binds its issuer to pay or cause to be paid to the

15  service agreement holder all legitimate claims and

16  cancellation refunds for all service agreements issued by the

17  service agreement company while the policy was in effect.

18  This requirement also applies to those service agreements for

19  which no premium has been remitted to the insurer.

20         3.  If the issuer of the contractual liability policy

21  is fulfilling the service agreements covered by the

22  contractual liability policy and the service agreement holder

23  cancels the service agreement, the issuer must make a full

24  refund of unearned premium to the consumer, subject to the

25  cancellation fee provisions of s. 634.121(5).  The sales

26  representative and agent must refund to the contractual

27  liability policy issuer their unearned pro rata commission.

28         4.  The policy may not be canceled, terminated, or

29  nonrenewed by the insurer or the service agreement company

30  unless a 90-day written notice thereof has been given to the

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  1  department by the insurer before the date of the cancellation,

  2  termination, or nonrenewal.

  3         5.  The service agreement company must provide the

  4  department with the claims statistics.

  5         (9)  In meeting the requirements of this part, a

  6  service agreement company may not utilize both the 50-percent

  7  reserve and contractual liability insurance simultaneously,

  8  unless the service agreement company complies with the

  9  requirements of this subsection. However, A company may have

10  contractual liability coverage on service agreements

11  previously sold and sell new service agreements covered by the

12  50-percent-reserve, and the converse of this is also allowed.

13  A service agreement company may simultaneously use a 50-per

14  cent reserve and contractual liability insurance if:

15         (a)  Each contractual liability policy clearly

16  identifies the service agreements that are covered;

17         (b)  The service agreement company separately reports

18  premiums written under each applicable contractual liability

19  policy and under the 50-percent reserve on all reports

20  required under s. 634.137;

21         (c)  The service agreement company submits to the

22  department a plan to simultaneously use a 50-percent reserve

23  and contractual liability insurance for review and approval at

24  least 30-days before their implementation; and

25         (d)  Each licensed salesperson appointed by the service

26  agreement company sells service contracts covered exclusively

27  by the 50-percent reserve or covered exclusively by

28  contractual liability insurance, and the service contract

29  agreement company maintains a record for each licensed sales

30  person which indicates which type of contract that salesperson

31  transacts.

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  1

  2  A service agreement company must be able to distinguish how

  3  each individual service agreement is covered.

  4         Section 2.  Subsection (5) of section 634.081, Florida

  5  Statutes, is amended to read:

  6         634.081  Suspension or revocation of license;

  7  grounds.--

  8         (5)  The department shall suspend or revoke the license

  9  of a company if it finds that the ratio of unearned gross

10  written premiums written to net assets exceeds 10 to 1 unless

11  the company has in excess of $750,000 in net assets and is

12  utilizing contractual liability insurance which cedes 100

13  percent of the service agreement company's claims liabilities

14  to the contractual liability insurer or is utilizing

15  contractual liability insurance which reimburses the service

16  agreement company for 100 percent of its paid claims.

17  However, if a service agreement company has been licensed by

18  the department in excess of 10 years, is in compliance with

19  all applicable provisions of this part, and has net assets at

20  all times in excess of $3 million that comply with the

21  provisions of part II of chapter 625, such company may not

22  exceed a ratio of gross written premiums written to net assets

23  of 15 to 1.

24         Section 3.  Subsections (9) and (12) of section

25  634.121, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

26         634.121  Filing of forms, required procedures,

27  provisions.--

28         (9)  Each service agreement form must contain in

29  conspicuous, boldfaced type any statement or clause that

30  places restrictions or limitations on the benefits offered or

31  disclose such restrictions or limitations in regular typeface

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  1  in a section of the service agreement containing a

  2  conspicuous, boldfaced-type heading.

  3         (12)  If a service agreement contains a rental car

  4  provision, it must disclose the terms and conditions of this

  5  benefit in conspicuous, boldfaced type or disclose the terms

  6  and conditions of this benefit in regular typeface in a

  7  section of the service agreement containing a conspicuous,

  8  boldfaced-type heading.

  9         Section 4.  Subsection (6) is added to section 634.312,

10  Florida Statutes, to read:

11         634.312  Filing, approval of forms.--

12         (6)  All home warranty contracts must state in

13  conspicuous, boldfaced type that the home warranty may not

14  provide listing period coverage free of charge.

15         Section 5.  Subsection (14) of section 634.401, Florida

16  Statutes, is amended to read:

17         634.401  Definitions.--As used in this part, the term:

18         (14)  "Service warranty" means any warranty, guaranty,

19  extended warranty or extended guaranty, contract agreement, or

20  other written promise to indemnify against the cost of repair

21  or replacement of a consumer product in return for the payment

22  of a segregated charge by the consumer, including, but not

23  limited to, any agreement for a specified duration which

24  provides the consumer a discount in excess of 40 percent on

25  parts and labor during such period; however:

26         (a)  Maintenance service contracts written for 1 year

27  which do not contain provisions for indemnification and which

28  provide only for regularly scheduled maintenance, motor

29  vehicle service agreements, transactions exempt under s.

30  624.125, and home warranties subject to regulation under parts

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 1749

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  1  I and II of this chapter are excluded from this definition;

  2  and

  3         (b)  The term "service warranty" does not include

  4  service contracts between consumers and condominium

  5  associations.

  6         Section 6.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

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  9                          SENATE SUMMARY

10    Modifies insurance requirements for service agreement
      companies. Provides for revocation of a service agreement
11    company's license if the ratio of unearned gross written
      premiums written to net assets exceeds a specified
12    amount. Prescribes the manner in which a service
      agreement must identify restrictions or limitations on
13    benefits or the existence of a rental car provision.
      Requires home warranty contracts to state in conspicuous
14    boldfaced type that the warranty may not provide listing
      period coverage free of charge. Redefines the term
15    "service warranty".

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