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



                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for SB 1822

    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 600808

                            CHAMBER ACTION
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11  Senator Holzendorf moved the following amendment:

12

13         Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 

14         Delete everything after the enacting clause

15

16  and insert:

17         Section 1.  Subsection (2) of section 631.904, Florida

18  Statutes, is amended to read:

19         631.904  Definitions.--As used in this part, the term:

20         (2)  "Covered claim" means an unpaid claim, including a

21  claim for return of unearned premiums, which arises out of, is

22  within the coverage of, and is not in excess of the applicable

23  limits of, an insurance policy to which this part applies,

24  which policy was issued by an insurer and which claim is made

25  on behalf of a claimant or insured who was a resident of this

26  state at the time of the injury. The term "covered claim" does

27  not include any amount sought as a return of premium under any

28  retrospective rating plan; any amount due any reinsurer,

29  insurer, insurance pool, or underwriting association, as

30  subrogation recoveries or otherwise; or any return of premium

31  resulting from a policy that was not in force on the date of

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for SB 1822

    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 600808





  1  the final order of liquidation. Member insurers have no right

  2  of subrogation against the insured of any insolvent insurer.

  3  This provision shall be applied retroactively to cover claims

  4  of an insolvent self-insurance fund resulting from accidents

  5  or losses incurred prior to January 1, 1994, regardless of the

  6  date the Department of Insurance filed a petition in circuit

  7  court alleging insolvency and the date the court entered an

  8  order appointing a receiver.

  9         Section 2.  Effective upon becoming a law and operating

10  retroactively to January 1, 2002, subsection (5) is added to

11  section 625.041, Florida Statutes, to read:

12         625.041  Liabilities, in general.--In any determination

13  of the financial condition of an insurer, liabilities to be

14  charged against its assets shall include:

15         (5)  Any insurer in this state which writes workers'

16  compensation insurance shall accrue a liability on its

17  financial statements for all Special Disability Trust Fund

18  assessments that are due within the current calendar year. In

19  addition, such insurers shall also disclose in the notes to

20  the financial statements required to be filed pursuant to s.

21  624.424 an estimate of future Special Disability Trust Fund

22  assessments, if such assessments are likely to occur and can

23  be estimated with reasonable certainty.

24         Section 3.  Subsection (15) of section 641.35, Florida

25  Statutes, is amended to read:

26         641.35  Assets, liabilities, and investments.--

27         (15)  SPECIAL CONSENT INVESTMENT OF EXCESS FUNDS.--

28         (a)  After satisfying the requirements of this part,

29  any funds of a health maintenance organization in excess of

30  its statutorily required reserves and surplus may be invested:

31         1.  Without limitation in any investments otherwise

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for SB 1822

    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 600808





  1  authorized by this part; or

  2         2.  In such other investments not specifically

  3  authorized by this part provided such investments do not

  4  exceed the lesser 5 percent of the health maintenance

  5  organization's admitted assets or 25 percent of the amount by

  6  which a health maintenance organization's surplus exceeds its

  7  statutorily required minimum surplus. A health maintenance

  8  organization may exceed the limitations of this subparagraph

  9  only with the prior written approval of the department.

10         (b)  Nothing in this subsection authorizes a health

11  maintenance organization to:

12         1.  Invest any funds in excess of the amount by which

13  its actual surplus exceeds its statutorily required minimum

14  surplus; or

15         2.  Make any investment prohibited by this code Any

16  investment of the health maintenance organization's funds not

17  enumerated in this part requires the prior approval of the

18  department.

19         Section 4.  Section 624.4072, Florida Statutes, is

20  amended to read:

21         624.4072  Minority-owned property and casualty

22  insurers; limited exemption for taxation and assessments.--

23         (1)  A minority business that is at least 51 percent

24  owned by minority persons, as defined in s. 288.703(3),

25  initially issued a certificate of authority in this state as

26  an authorized insurer after May 1, 1998, and before January 1,

27  2002, to write property and casualty insurance shall be

28  exempt, for a period not to exceed 10 5 years from the date of

29  receiving its certificate of authority, from the following

30  taxes and assessments:

31         (a)  Taxes imposed under ss. 175.101, 185.08, and

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for SB 1822

    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 600808





  1  624.509;

  2         (b)  Assessments by the Florida Residential Property

  3  and Casualty Joint Underwriting Association or by the Florida

  4  Windstorm Underwriting Association, as provided under s.

  5  627.351, except for emergency assessments collected from

  6  policyholders pursuant to s. 627.351(2)(b)2.d.(III) and

  7  (6)(b)3.d. Any such insurer shall be a member insurer of the

  8  Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association and the Florida

  9  Residential Property and Casualty Joint Underwriting

10  Association. The premiums of such insurer shall be included in

11  determining, for the Florida Windstorm Underwriting

12  Association, the aggregate statewide direct written premium

13  for property insurance and in determining, for the Florida

14  Residential Property and Casualty Joint Underwriting

15  Association, the aggregate statewide direct written premium

16  for the subject lines of business for all member insurers.

17         (2)  Subsection (1) applies only to personal lines and

18  commercial lines residential property insurance policies as

19  defined in s. 627.4025, and applies only to an insurer that

20  has employees in this state and has a home office or a

21  regional office in this state.  With respect to any tax year

22  or assessment year, the exemptions provided by subsection (1)

23  apply only if during the year an average of at least 10

24  percent of the insurer's Florida residential property policies

25  in force covered properties located in enterprise zones

26  designated pursuant to s. 290.0065.

27         (3)  The provision of the definition of "minority

28  person" in s. 288.703(3) that requires residency in Florida

29  shall not apply to the term "minority person" as used in this

30  section or s. 627.3511.

31         (4)  This section is repealed effective December 31,

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for SB 1822

    Amendment No. ___   Barcode 600808





  1  2010 July 1, 2003, and the tax and assessment exemptions

  2  authorized by this section shall terminate on such date.

  3         Section 5.  Except as otherwise expressly provided in

  4  this act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

  5

  6

  7  ================ T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T ===============

  8  And the title is amended as follows:

  9         Delete everything before the enacting clause

10

11  and insert:

12                      A bill to be entitled

13         An act relating to insurance; amending s.

14         631.904, F.S.; redefining the term "covered

15         claim"; amending s. 625.041, F.S.; revising the

16         liabilities that a workers' compensation

17         insurer must include on its financial

18         statements; providing retroactive application;

19         amending s. 641.35, F.S.; authorizing

20         investment of funds of a health maintenance

21         organization in excess of certain reserves and

22         surplus under certain circumstances; providing

23         a limitation; amending s. 624.4072, F.S.;

24         extending the term of the exemption from taxes

25         and assessments on minority-owned property and

26         casualty insurers; postponing the scheduled

27         repeal of the law; providing effective dates.

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