House Bill 4009c1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.







    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 4009

        By the Committees on Insurance, Rules & Calendar and
    Representative Bitner





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Florida Statutes;

  3         repealing or deleting various statutory

  4         provisions that have become obsolete, have had

  5         their effect, have served their purpose, or

  6         have been impliedly repealed or superseded;

  7         amending s. 624.408, F.S.; deleting an obsolete

  8         schedule provision relating to the surplus

  9         required to be maintained by certain property

10         and casualty insurers; amending s. 627.0628,

11         F.S.; deleting obsolete provisions relating to

12         adoption and revision of hurricane loss

13         projection standards and guidelines; amending

14         s. 627.215, F.S.; deleting an obsolete

15         reporting requirement on the excess profits

16         law; amending s. 627.3511, F.S.; deleting

17         findings relating to the need to reduce the

18         number of Residential Property and Casualty

19         Joint Underwriting Association policies;

20         amending s. 629.520, F.S.; deleting obsolete

21         provisions relating to the authority of limited

22         reciprocal insurers; amending s. 633.41, F.S.;

23         deleting an obsolete provision relating to

24         firefighter certificates of tenure; repealing

25         s. 624.515(2)(b), F.S., relating to

26         applicability of the surcharge on policies of

27         fire, allied lines, or multiperil insurance

28         insuring commercial property; repealing s.

29         626.9929, F.S., relating to a grace period

30         under the Viatical Settlement Act; repealing s.

31         627.072(4)(c), F.S., relating to a directive to

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 4009

    200-538-00






  1         the Insurance Commissioner on the use of a

  2         methodology for establishing rates for workers'

  3         compensation and employer's liability

  4         insurance; repealing s. 627.706(5), F.S.,

  5         relating to applicability of sinkhole insurance

  6         requirements; repealing pt. XXII, ch. 627,

  7         F.S., relating to the Workers' Compensation

  8         Insurance Purchasing Alliance; providing an

  9         effective date.

10

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

12

13         Section 1.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section

14  624.408, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

15         624.408  Surplus as to policyholders required; new and

16  existing insurers.--

17         (1)

18         (b)  For any property and casualty insurer holding a

19  certificate of authority on December 1, 1993, the following

20  amounts apply instead of the $4 million required by

21  subparagraph (a)5.:

22         1.  On December 31, 1998, and until December 30, 1999,

23  $2.25 million.

24         1.2.  On December 31, 1999, and until December 30,

25  2000, $2.5 million.

26         2.3.  On December 31, 2000, and until December 30,

27  2001, $2.75 million.

28         3.4.  On December 31, 2001, and until December 30,

29  2002, $3 million.

30         4.5.  On December 31, 2002, and until December 30,

31  2003, $3.25 million.

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 4009

    200-538-00






  1         5.6.  On December 31, 2003, and until December 30,

  2  2004, $3.6 million.

  3         6.7.  On December 31, 2004, and thereafter, $4 million.

  4         Section 2.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section

  5  627.0628, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

  6         627.0628  Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss

  7  Projection Methodology.--

  8         (3)  ADOPTION AND EFFECT OF STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES.--

  9         (d)  The commission shall adopt initial actuarial

10  methods, principles, standards, models, or output ranges no

11  later than December 31, 1995. The commission shall adopt

12  revisions to such actuarial methods, principles, standards,

13  models, or output ranges at least annually thereafter.  As

14  soon as possible, but no later than July 1, 1996, the

15  commission shall adopt revised actuarial methods, principles,

16  standards, models, or output ranges which include

17  specification of acceptable computer models or output ranges

18  derived from computer models.

19         Section 3.  Subsection (14) of section 627.215, Florida

20  Statutes, is amended to read:

21         627.215  Excessive profits for workers' compensation,

22  employer's liability, commercial property, and commercial

23  casualty insurance prohibited.--

24         (14)  The application of this law to commercial

25  property and commercial casualty insurance, which includes

26  commercial umbrella liability insurance, ceases on January 1,

27  1997.  The Department of Insurance shall, no later than

28  October 1, 1995, provide a report on this law to the President

29  of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives,

30  which report includes a history of the excess profits law and

31

                                  3

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 4009

    200-538-00






  1  a year-by-year listing of excess profits returned to

  2  policyholders as refunds or credits.

  3         Section 4.  Subsection (1) of section 627.3511, Florida

  4  Statutes, is amended to read:

  5         627.3511  Depopulation of Residential Property and

  6  Casualty Joint Underwriting Association.--

  7         (1)  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.--The Legislature

  8  finds and declares that the Residential Property and Casualty

  9  Joint Underwriting Association has written an amount of

10  policies beyond legislative expectations and has become, by

11  virtue of its size, a significant impediment to the

12  restoration of a stable and competitive residential property

13  insurance market in this state; that the public policy of this

14  state requires the maintenance of a residual market for

15  residential property insurance; and that extraordinary

16  measures, beyond implementation of eligibility criteria and

17  noncompetitive rates, are required to reduce the number of

18  policies written by the Residential Property and Casualty

19  Joint Underwriting Association to a reasonable level. It is

20  the intent of the Legislature to provide a variety of

21  financial incentives to encourage the replacement of the

22  highest possible number of Residential Property and Casualty

23  Joint Underwriting Association policies with policies written

24  by admitted insurers at approved rates.

25         Section 5.  Section 629.520, Florida Statutes, is

26  amended to read:

27         629.520  Abolition of existing Authority of the

28  department to issue a certificate of authority as a limited

29  reciprocal insurer.--On October 1, 1991, the existing

30  authority of the department to issue a certificate of

31  authority as a limited reciprocal insurer pursuant to this

                                  4

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 4009

    200-538-00






  1  chapter is abolished.  Existing limited reciprocal insurers

  2  which continue to hold a certificate of authority after this

  3  date shall have until October 1, 1992, to convert their

  4  certificate of authority by meeting the requirements for a

  5  certificate of authority as another type of insurer authorized

  6  under this code.  All existing certificates of authority as a

  7  limited reciprocal insurer not so converted shall

  8  automatically terminate on October 1, 1992.  The authority of

  9  any limited reciprocal insurer to accept new business or

10  renewals shall not continue beyond October 1, 1992; however,

11  such limited reciprocal insurer shall continue to service its

12  obligations previously incurred or with the approval of the

13  department, arrange for the transfer of these obligations to

14  an authorized insurer. All power of the department with

15  respect to limited reciprocal insurers shall continue

16  undiminished.  This section does not affect any other power of

17  the department or any other function of the department.

18         Section 6.  Section 633.41, Florida Statutes, is

19  amended to read:

20         633.41  Saving clause.--Firefighters employed on July

21  5, 1969, are not required to meet the provisions of ss. 633.34

22  and 633.35 as a condition of tenure or continued employment;

23  nor shall their failure to fulfill such requirements make them

24  ineligible for any promotional examination for which they are

25  otherwise eligible or affect in any way any pension rights to

26  which they may be entitled on July 5, 1969. Firefighters

27  employed on July 5, 1969, who have not yet been issued a

28  certificate of tenure shall make application to the Florida

29  State Fire College for such certificate no later than June 30,

30  1990, after which date no certificates of tenure will be

31  issued.

                                  5

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 2000             CS/HB 4009

    200-538-00






  1         Section 7.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section

  2  624.515, section 626.9929, paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of

  3  section 627.072, subsection (5) of section 627.706, and

  4  sections 627.990, 627.991, and 627.992, Florida Statutes, are

  5  repealed.

  6         Section 8.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

  7  law.

  8

  9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  6