| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to insurance field representatives and |
| 3 | operations; amending s. 626.321, F.S.; including service |
| 4 | warranty agreement sales covering communications equipment |
| 5 | under certain limited licensing provisions; limiting a |
| 6 | licensing requirement for a communications equipment |
| 7 | retail vendor license; revising certain application and |
| 8 | licensing requirements for certain entities; requiring |
| 9 | certain fees; providing construction relating to criminal |
| 10 | liability or disciplinary proceedings; amending s. |
| 11 | 626.471, F.S.; increasing a period of notification of |
| 12 | intent to terminate an appointment; amending s. 626.731, |
| 13 | F.S.; revising a qualification for licensure as a general |
| 14 | lines agent; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) and paragraph |
| 19 | (c) of subsection (2) of section 626.321, Florida Statutes, are |
| 20 | amended to read: |
| 21 | 626.321 Limited licenses.-- |
| 22 | (1) The department shall issue to a qualified individual, |
| 23 | or a qualified individual or entity under paragraphs (c), (d), |
| 24 | (e), and (i), a license as agent authorized to transact a |
| 25 | limited class of business in any of the following categories: |
| 26 | (i) In-transit and storage personal property insurance; |
| 27 | communications equipment property insurance, or communications |
| 28 | equipment inland marine insurance, and communications equipment |
| 29 | service warranty agreement sales.-- |
| 30 | 1. A license covering only the insurance of personal |
| 31 | property not held for resale, covering the risks of |
| 32 | transportation or storage in rented or leased motor vehicles, |
| 33 | trailers, or self-service storage facilities, as the latter are |
| 34 | defined in s. 83.803, may be issued, without examination, only |
| 35 | to employees or authorized representatives of lessors who rent |
| 36 | or lease motor vehicles, trailers, or self-service storage |
| 37 | facilities and who are authorized by an insurer to issue |
| 38 | certificates or other evidences of insurance to lessees of such |
| 39 | motor vehicles, trailers, or self-service storage facilities |
| 40 | under an insurance policy issued to the lessor. A person |
| 41 | licensed under this paragraph shall give a prospective purchaser |
| 42 | of in-transit or storage personal property insurance written |
| 43 | notice that his or her homeowner's policy may provide coverage |
| 44 | for the loss of personal property and that the purchase of such |
| 45 | insurance is not required under the lease terms. |
| 46 | 2. A license covering only communications equipment, for |
| 47 | the loss, theft, mechanical failure, malfunction of or damage |
| 48 | to, communications equipment. The license may be issued only to: |
| 49 | a. Employees or authorized representatives of a licensed |
| 50 | general lines agent; |
| 51 | b. The primary Each business location of a retail vendor |
| 52 | of communications equipment; or |
| 53 | c. Employees, agents, or authorized representatives of a |
| 54 | retail vendor of communications equipment. |
| 55 |
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| 56 | The license authorizes the sale of such policies, or |
| 57 | certificates under a group master policy, only with respect to |
| 58 | the sale of, or provision of communications service for, |
| 59 | communications equipment. A general lines agent is not required |
| 60 | to obtain a license under this subparagraph to offer or sell |
| 61 | communications equipment property insurance or communication |
| 62 | equipment inland marine insurance. The license also authorizes |
| 63 | sales of service warranty agreements covering only |
| 64 | communications equipment to the same extent as if licensed under |
| 65 | s. 634.419 or s. 634.420. The provisions of this chapter |
| 66 | requiring submission of fingerprints do not apply to |
| 67 | communications equipment licenses issued to qualified entities |
| 68 | under this subparagraph. Licensees offering policies under this |
| 69 | subparagraph must receive initial training from, and have a |
| 70 | contractual relationship with, a general lines agent. An entity |
| 71 | seeking a license under this subparagraph and applying for a |
| 72 | license pursuant to paragraph (2)(a) may, in lieu of |
| 73 | individually licensing each location as provided in paragraph |
| 74 | (2)(b), provide a list of each office, branch office, or place |
| 75 | of business making use of the entity's business name and |
| 76 | transacting business under the entity's license by submitting to |
| 77 | the department, in connection with the entity's license |
| 78 | application, a list containing the physical address of each such |
| 79 | location and an initial $55 fee for each location. Such list |
| 80 | shall be submitted annually to the department together with an |
| 81 | initial $55 fee for any new branch location which was not |
| 82 | previously identified as transacting business under such a |
| 83 | license and a $5 transfer fee for each branch location |
| 84 | previously identified as transacting business under another such |
| 85 | license. Any branch location individually licensed under |
| 86 | paragraph (2)(b) prior to January 1, 2006, may surrender its |
| 87 | license and be transferred to a list of branch locations for a |
| 88 | licensed entity under this subparagraph at no charge. A licensed |
| 89 | and appointed entity authorizing transactions under its license |
| 90 | at such branch locations shall be directly responsible and |
| 91 | accountable for the acts of the listed branch locations under |
| 92 | the license. Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to |
| 93 | render a person criminally liable or subject to any disciplinary |
| 94 | proceedings for any act unless such person personally committed |
| 95 | or knew or should have known of such act and of the facts |
| 96 | constituting a violation of this chapter. For the purposes of |
| 97 | this subparagraph, the term "communications equipment" means |
| 98 | handsets, pagers, personal digital assistants, portable |
| 99 | computers, automatic answering devices, and other devices or |
| 100 | accessories used to originate or receive communications signals |
| 101 | or service, and includes services related to the use of such |
| 102 | devices, such as consumer access to a wireless network; however, |
| 103 | the term does not include telecommunications switching |
| 104 | equipment, transmission wires, cell site transceiver equipment, |
| 105 | or other equipment and systems used by telecommunications |
| 106 | companies to provide telecommunications service to consumers. |
| 107 | (2) An entity applying for a license under this section is |
| 108 | required to: |
| 109 | (c) Pay the applicable fees for the a license as |
| 110 | prescribed in s. 624.501, be appointed under s. 626.112, and pay |
| 111 | the prescribed appointment fee under s. 624.501. A licensed and |
| 112 | appointed entity shall be directly responsible and accountable |
| 113 | for all acts of the licensee's employees. |
| 114 | Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 626.471, Florida |
| 115 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 116 | 626.471 Termination of appointment.-- |
| 117 | (1) Subject to an appointee's contract rights, an |
| 118 | appointing entity may terminate its appointment of any appointee |
| 119 | at any time. Except when termination is upon a ground which |
| 120 | would subject the appointee to suspension or revocation of his |
| 121 | or her license and appointment under s. 626.611 or s. 626.621, |
| 122 | and except as provided by contract between the appointing entity |
| 123 | and the appointee, the appointing entity shall give at least 120 |
| 124 | 60 days' advance written notice of its intention to terminate |
| 125 | such appointment to the appointee, either by delivery thereof to |
| 126 | the appointee in person or by mailing it, postage prepaid, |
| 127 | addressed to the appointee at his or her last address of record |
| 128 | with the appointing entity. Notice so mailed shall be deemed to |
| 129 | have been given when deposited in a United States Postal Service |
| 130 | mail depository. |
| 131 | Section 3. Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section |
| 132 | 626.731, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 133 | 626.731 Qualifications for general lines agent's |
| 134 | license.-- |
| 135 | (1) The department shall not grant or issue a license as |
| 136 | general lines agent to any individual found by it to be |
| 137 | untrustworthy or incompetent or who does not meet each of the |
| 138 | following qualifications: |
| 139 | (f) The applicant is not a service representative, a |
| 140 | managing general agent, or a special agent or similar service |
| 141 | representative of a health insurer which also transacts |
| 142 | property, casualty, or surety insurance; except that the |
| 143 | president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer, including a |
| 144 | member of the board of directors, of a corporate insurer, if |
| 145 | otherwise qualified under and meeting the requirements of this |
| 146 | part, may be licensed and appointed as a local resident agent. |
| 147 | Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |