Senate Bill 1612c1

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    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 1612

    By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator
    Diaz-Balart




    311-1799-00

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to insurance; amending s.

  3         626.321, F.S.; authorizing individuals and

  4         entities holding a credit life or disability

  5         insurance license to sell credit insurance;

  6         modifying requirements for licensure; amending

  7         s. 627.679, F.S.; requiring certain disclosures

  8         to be made within a specified time upon the

  9         sale of credit life insurance; allowing a

10         borrower a specified time from the date of such

11         disclosures to rescind the coverage; providing

12         an effective date.

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

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16         Section 1.  Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section

17  626.321, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

18         626.321  Limited licenses.--

19         (1)  The department shall issue to a qualified

20  individual, or a qualified individual or entity under

21  paragraphs (c), (d), and (e), a license as agent authorized to

22  transact a limited class of business in any of the following

23  categories:

24         (e)  Credit life or disability insurance.--License

25  covering only credit life or disability insurance. The license

26  may be issued only to an individual employed by a life or

27  health insurer as an officer or other salaried or commissioned

28  representative, or to an individual employed by or associated

29  with a lending or financing institution or creditor, and may

30  authorize the sale of such insurance only with respect to

31  borrowers or debtors of such lending or financing institution

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    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 1612
    311-1799-00




  1  or creditor.  However, only the individual or entity whose tax

  2  identification number is used in receiving or is credited with

  3  receiving the commission from the sale of such insurance shall

  4  be the licensed agent of the insurer.  No individual while so

  5  licensed shall hold a license as an agent or solicitor as to

  6  any other or additional kind or class of life or health

  7  insurance coverage. An entity other than a lending or

  8  financial institution defined in s. 655.005(1)(g), (h), or (p)

  9  holding a limited license under this paragraph is shall also

10  be authorized to sell credit insurance and credit property

11  insurance. An entity applying for a license under this

12  section:

13         1.  Is required to submit only one application for a

14  license under s. 626.171, excluding the requirements of s.

15  626.171(5), provided that the entity is regulated by any of

16  the following federal or state agencies:  Office of the

17  Comptroller of the Currency; the Securities and Exchange

18  Commission; or the Department of Banking and Finance.

19         2.  Is not required to obtain a license or appointment

20  for each office, branch office, or place of business making

21  use of the entity's business name by applying to the

22  department for the license on a simplified form developed by

23  rule of the department for this purpose. However, the licensed

24  entity shall file with the department the address and

25  telephone number of each place of business at which credit

26  insurance is being marketed or sold. This information must be

27  filed annually by January 1 in an electronic format as

28  specified by the department by rule. The licensee is required

29  to file with the department, in the same specified electronic

30  format, any changes, additions, or deletions regarding each

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    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 1612
    311-1799-00




  1  place of business marketing or selling credit insurance within

  2  30 days after such change.

  3         3.  Is not required to pay any additional application

  4  fees for a license issued to the offices or places of business

  5  referenced in subsection (2), but is required to pay the

  6  license fee as prescribed in s. 624.501, be appointed under s.

  7  626.112, and pay the prescribed appointment fee under s.

  8  624.501. A copy of the license obtained under this paragraph

  9  shall be posted at each the business location at for which

10  employees are selling insurance authorized under the entity

11  license it was issued so as to be readily visible to

12  prospective purchasers of such coverage.

13         Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 627.679, Florida

14  Statutes, is amended to read:

15         627.679  Amount of insurance; disclosure.--

16         (1)(a)  The amount of credit life insurance written

17  under one or more policies shall not exceed by more than $5

18  the total of the payments of the specific contracts of

19  indebtedness in connection with which it is written, when the

20  indebtedness is repayable in substantially equal installments

21  or in one installment or a single payment.

22         (b)  The total amount of credit life insurance on the

23  life of any debtor with respect to any loan or loans covered

24  in one or more insurance policies shall at no time exceed

25  $50,000 with any one creditor, except that loans not exceeding

26  1 year's duration shall not be subject to such limits, and on

27  such loans not exceeding 1 year's duration, the limits of

28  coverage shall not exceed $50,000 with any one insurer.

29         (c)  Before any credit life insurance may be sold, the

30  creditor agent or agent shall obtain a separate written

31  acknowledgment with respect to each of the following:

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    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 1612
    311-1799-00




  1         1.  That the borrower understands that he or she has

  2  the option of assigning any other policy or policies the

  3  borrower owns or may procure for the purpose of covering such

  4  loan and that the policy need not be purchased from the

  5  creditor agent in order to obtain the loan.

  6         2.  That the borrower understands that the credit life

  7  coverage may be deferred if, at the time of application, the

  8  borrower is unable to engage in employment or unable to

  9  perform normal activities of a person of like age and sex, if

10  the proposed credit life insurance policy contains this

11  restriction.

12         3.  That the borrower understands that the benefits

13  under the policy will terminate when the borrower reaches a

14  certain age and that the borrower's age is accurately

15  represented on the application or policy.

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17  Notwithstanding the required disclosures set forth in this

18  paragraph, if the sale of credit life insurance is solicited

19  or consummated telephonically, the creditor or agent shall

20  provide the foregoing disclosures to the borrower within 30

21  days from the date the coverage takes effect. The borrower

22  shall be notified that he or she has 30 days from the date the

23  disclosures are received to rescind the credit life insurance

24  coverage.

25         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 1612
    311-1799-00




  1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  2                         Senate Bill 1612

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  4  1.    Provides that officers of an entity applying for credit
          insurance licensure with the Department of Insurance do
  5        not have to submit fingerprints with an application, if
          the entity is regulated by specified state or federal
  6        agencies.

  7  2.    Requires that a licensed entity must annually file
          certain information in an electronic format with the
  8        Department of Insurance.

  9  3.    Provides that if the sale of credit life insurance is
          solicited telephonically, the consumer has 30 days
10        rather than 15 days from the date the disclosures are
          received to rescind the credit life insurance coverage.
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