| 1 | The Commerce Council recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to insurance field representatives and |
| 7 | operations; amending s. 626.321, F.S.; including service |
| 8 | warranty agreement sales covering communications equipment |
| 9 | under certain limited licensing provisions; providing for |
| 10 | additional appointment authority for certain licensed |
| 11 | branch locations of a communications equipment retail |
| 12 | vendor; revising certain application, appointment, and |
| 13 | licensing requirements for certain entities; providing for |
| 14 | payment of appointment fees; providing an exception; |
| 15 | requiring renewals of appointments; providing for a |
| 16 | renewal fee; amending s. 626.731, F.S.; revising a |
| 17 | qualification for licensure as a general lines agent; |
| 18 | amending s. 627.7295, F.S.; deleting a requirement for |
| 19 | inclusion of an agent fee in a rate filing; providing an |
| 20 | effective date. |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Section 1. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section |
| 25 | 626.321, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 26 | 626.321 Limited licenses.-- |
| 27 | (1) The department shall issue to a qualified individual, |
| 28 | or a qualified individual or entity under paragraphs (c), (d), |
| 29 | (e), and (i), a license as agent authorized to transact a |
| 30 | limited class of business in any of the following categories: |
| 31 | (i) In-transit and storage personal property insurance; |
| 32 | communications equipment property insurance, or communications |
| 33 | equipment inland marine insurance, and communications equipment |
| 34 | service warranty agreement sales.-- |
| 35 | 1. A license covering only the insurance of personal |
| 36 | property not held for resale, covering the risks of |
| 37 | transportation or storage in rented or leased motor vehicles, |
| 38 | trailers, or self-service storage facilities, as the latter are |
| 39 | defined in s. 83.803, may be issued, without examination, only |
| 40 | to employees or authorized representatives of lessors who rent |
| 41 | or lease motor vehicles, trailers, or self-service storage |
| 42 | facilities and who are authorized by an insurer to issue |
| 43 | certificates or other evidences of insurance to lessees of such |
| 44 | motor vehicles, trailers, or self-service storage facilities |
| 45 | under an insurance policy issued to the lessor. A person |
| 46 | licensed under this paragraph shall give a prospective purchaser |
| 47 | of in-transit or storage personal property insurance written |
| 48 | notice that his or her homeowner's policy may provide coverage |
| 49 | for the loss of personal property and that the purchase of such |
| 50 | insurance is not required under the lease terms. |
| 51 | 2. A license covering only communications equipment, for |
| 52 | the loss, theft, mechanical failure, malfunction of or damage |
| 53 | to, communications equipment. The license may be issued only to: |
| 54 | a. Employees or authorized representatives of a licensed |
| 55 | general lines agent; |
| 56 | b. The lead Each business location of a retail vendor of |
| 57 | communications equipment and its branch locations; or |
| 58 | c. Employees, agents, or authorized representatives of a |
| 59 | retail vendor of communications equipment. |
| 60 |
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| 61 | The license authorizes the sale of such policies, or |
| 62 | certificates under a group master policy, only with respect to |
| 63 | the sale of, or provision of communications service for, |
| 64 | communications equipment. A general lines agent is not required |
| 65 | to obtain a license under this subparagraph to offer or sell |
| 66 | communications equipment property insurance or communication |
| 67 | equipment inland marine insurance. The license also authorizes |
| 68 | sales of service warranty agreements covering only |
| 69 | communications equipment to the same extent as if licensed under |
| 70 | s. 634.419 or s. 634.420. The provisions of this chapter |
| 71 | requiring submission of fingerprints do not apply to |
| 72 | communications equipment licenses issued to qualified entities |
| 73 | under this subparagraph. Licensees offering policies under this |
| 74 | subparagraph must receive initial training from, and have a |
| 75 | contractual relationship with, a general lines agent. For the |
| 76 | purposes of this subparagraph, the term "communications |
| 77 | equipment" means handsets, pagers, personal digital assistants, |
| 78 | portable computers, automatic answering devices, and other |
| 79 | devices or accessories used to originate or receive |
| 80 | communications signals or service, and includes services related |
| 81 | to the use of such devices, such as consumer access to a |
| 82 | wireless network; however, the term does not include |
| 83 | telecommunications switching equipment, transmission wires, cell |
| 84 | site transceiver equipment, or other equipment and systems used |
| 85 | by telecommunications companies to provide telecommunications |
| 86 | service to consumers. A branch location of a retail vendor of |
| 87 | communications equipment licensed pursuant to paragraph (2)(b) |
| 88 | may, in lieu of obtaining an appointment from an insurer or |
| 89 | warranty association as provided in paragraph (2)(c), obtain a |
| 90 | single appointment from the associated lead business location |
| 91 | licensee licensed under paragraph (2)(a) and pay the prescribed |
| 92 | appointment fee under s. 624.501 provided the lead business |
| 93 | location has a single appointment from each insurer or warranty |
| 94 | association represented and such appointment provides that it |
| 95 | applies to the lead business location and all of its branch |
| 96 | locations. Any branch location individually appointed by an |
| 97 | insurer under paragraph (2)(c) prior to January 1, 2006, may |
| 98 | replace its appointments with an appointment from its lead |
| 99 | location at no charge. Branch location appointments shall be |
| 100 | renewed on the first annual anniversary of licensure of the lead |
| 101 | business location occurring more than 24 months after the |
| 102 | initial appointment date and every 24 months thereafter. |
| 103 | Notwithstanding s. 624.501, after July 1, 2006, the renewal fee |
| 104 | applicable to such branch location appointments shall be $30 per |
| 105 | appointment. |
| 106 | Section 2. Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section |
| 107 | 626.731, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 108 | 626.731 Qualifications for general lines agent's |
| 109 | license.-- |
| 110 | (1) The department shall not grant or issue a license as |
| 111 | general lines agent to any individual found by it to be |
| 112 | untrustworthy or incompetent or who does not meet each of the |
| 113 | following qualifications: |
| 114 | (f) The applicant is not a service representative, a |
| 115 | managing general agent in this state, or a special agent or |
| 116 | similar service representative of a health insurer which also |
| 117 | transacts property, casualty, or surety insurance; except that |
| 118 | the president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer, |
| 119 | including a member of the board of directors, of a corporate |
| 120 | insurer, if otherwise qualified under and meeting the |
| 121 | requirements of this part, may be licensed and appointed as a |
| 122 | local resident agent. |
| 123 | Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section |
| 124 | 627.7295, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 125 | 627.7295 Motor vehicle insurance contracts.-- |
| 126 | (5)(a) A licensed general lines agent may charge a |
| 127 | per-policy fee not to exceed $10 to cover the administrative |
| 128 | costs of the agent associated with selling the motor vehicle |
| 129 | insurance policy if the policy covers only personal injury |
| 130 | protection coverage as provided by s. 627.736 and property |
| 131 | damage liability coverage as provided by s. 627.7275 and if no |
| 132 | other insurance is sold or issued in conjunction with or |
| 133 | collateral to the policy. The per-policy fee must be a component |
| 134 | of the insurer's rate filing and may not be charged by an agent |
| 135 | unless the fee is included in the filing. The fee is not |
| 136 | considered part of the premium except for purposes of the |
| 137 | office's review of expense factors in a filing made pursuant to |
| 138 | s. 627.062. |
| 139 | Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |