Senate Bill sb1774

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                  SB 1774

    By Senator Brown-Waite





    10-827-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to motor vehicle service

  3         warranty contracts; amending s. 626.9541, F.S.,

  4         relating to unfair methods of competition and

  5         unfair or deceptive acts or practices;

  6         exempting motor vehicle service warranty

  7         contracts from a prohibition against providing

  8         free insurance; providing an effective date.

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

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12         Section 1.  Paragraph (n) of subsection (1) of section

13  626.9541, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

14         626.9541  Unfair methods of competition and unfair or

15  deceptive acts or practices defined.--

16         (1)  UNFAIR METHODS OF COMPETITION AND UNFAIR OR

17  DECEPTIVE ACTS.--The following are defined as unfair methods

18  of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices:

19         (n)  Free insurance prohibited.--

20         1.  Advertising, offering, or providing free insurance

21  as an inducement to the purchase or sale of real or personal

22  property or of services directly or indirectly connected with

23  such real or personal property.

24         2.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "free"

25  insurance is:

26         a.  Insurance for which no identifiable and additional

27  charge is made to the purchaser of such real property,

28  personal property, or services.

29         b.  Insurance for which an identifiable or additional

30  charge is made in an amount less than the cost of such

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                  SB 1774
    10-827-01




  1  insurance as to the seller or other person, other than the

  2  insurer, providing the same.

  3         3.  Subparagraphs 1. and 2. do not apply to:

  4         a.  Insurance of, loss of, or damage to the real or

  5  personal property involved in any such sale or services, under

  6  a policy covering the interests therein of the seller or

  7  vendor.

  8         b.  Blanket disability insurance as defined in s.

  9  627.659.

10         c.  Credit life insurance or credit disability

11  insurance.

12         d.  Any individual, isolated, nonrecurring unadvertised

13  transaction not in the regular course of business.

14         e.  Title insurance.

15         f.  Any purchase agreement involving the purchase of a

16  cemetery lot or lots in which, under stated conditions, any

17  balance due is forgiven upon the death of the purchaser.

18         g.  Life insurance, trip cancellation insurance, or

19  lost baggage insurance offered by a travel agency as part of a

20  travel package offered by and booked through the agency.

21         h.  Motor vehicle service warranty contracts.

22         4.  Using the word "free" or words which imply the

23  provision of insurance without a cost to describe life or

24  disability insurance, in connection with the advertising or

25  offering for sale of any kind of goods, merchandise, or

26  services.

27         Section 2.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2001.

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    Florida Senate - 2001                                  SB 1774
    10-827-01




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  2                          SENATE SUMMARY

  3    Exempts motor vehicle service warranty contracts from a
      prohibition against providing free insurance as an
  4    inducement to the purchase or sale of certain property or
      services.
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