HB 565

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to insurance; requiring a specified amount
3of contributions paid to the Florida Retirement System to
4be distributed to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund
5for certain purposes; providing criteria for the
6reimbursement of such distributions; amending s. 626.221,
7F.S.; expanding list of applicants eligible for exemption
8from certain examination requirements; amending s.
9626.2815, F.S.; revising certain continuing education
10applicability requirements; prohibiting certain entities
11from imposing certain continuing education requirements;
12providing exceptions and limitations; providing an
13exception to certain examination monitoring requirements;
14providing exception requirements; revising duties of a
15continuing education advisory board; amending s. 626.311,
16F.S.; authorizing agents qualifying as unaffiliated
17insurance consultants to transact insurance business
18within the scope of the agent's license; providing a
19definition; providing requirements for qualifying or
20continuing to qualify as an unaffiliated insurance
21consultant; specifying prohibited activities for
22unaffiliated insurance consultants; amending s. 626.381,
23F.S.; authorizing appointing entities to impose certain
24training program requirements; providing a limitation;
25limiting appointment authority of appointing entities to
26persons meeting continuing education requirements;
27prohibiting appointments contingent upon certain
28continuing education course attendance; providing an
29effective date.
30
31Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
32
33     Section 1.  Effective June 1, 2008, an amount equal to the
34lesser of 5 percent of the annual accumulated employee
35contributions paid to the Florida Retirement System or 10
36percent of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund exposure shall
37be deducted from the annual accumulated employee contributions
38of the Florida Retirement System and distributed to the Florida
39Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. Underwriting profits from the
40Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund shall be used to make annual
41interest payments to the Florida Retirement System at the 1-year
42London Interbank Offered Rate. In a year in which the Florida
43Hurricane Catastrophe Fund experiences a loss, interest shall
44accrue on the Florida Retirement System investment, and the
45Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund shall pay back this interest
46to the Florida Retirement System in the next year that the
47Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund experiences a profit.
48     Section 2.  Paragraph (j) of subsection (2) of section
49626.221, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
50     626.221  Examination requirement; exemptions.--
51     (2)  However, no such examination shall be necessary in any
52of the following cases:
53     (j)  An applicant for license as a customer representative
54who has earned the designation of Accredited Advisor in
55Insurance (AAI) from the Insurance Institute of America, the
56designation of Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) from the
57Society of Certified Insurance Service Counselors, the
58designation of Accredited Customer Service Representative (ACSR)
59from the Independent Insurance Agents of America, the
60designation of Certified Professional Service Representative
61(CPSR) from the National Foundation for Certified Professional
62Service Representatives, the designation of Certified Insurance
63Service Representative (CISR) from the Society of Certified
64Insurance Service Representatives. Also, an applicant for
65license as a customer representative who has earned an Associate
66of Arts degree, Associate of Science degree, or Associate of
67Applied Science degree in insurance from an accredited college
68or university with at least 9 academic hours of property and
69casualty insurance curriculum, or has earned the designation of
70Certified Customer Service Representative (CCSR) from the
71Florida Association of Insurance Agents, or the designation of
72Registered Customer Service Representative (RCSR) from a
73regionally accredited postsecondary institution in this state,
74or the designation of Professional Customer Service
75Representative (PCSR) from the Professional Career Institute,
76whose curriculum has been approved by the department and whose
77curriculum includes comprehensive analysis of basic property and
78casualty lines of insurance and testing at least equal to that
79of standard department testing for the customer representative
80license. The department shall adopt rules establishing standards
81for the approval of curriculum.
82     Section 3.  Subsection (2), paragraph (f) of subsection
83(3), paragraph (j) of subsection (4), and paragraph (a) of
84subsection (6) of section 626.2815, Florida Statutes, are
85amended to read:
86     626.2815  Continuing education required; application;
87exceptions; requirements; penalties.--
88     (2)  Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
89provisions of this section apply to persons licensed to engage
90in the sale of insurance in this state for all lines of
91insurance for which an examination is required for licensing and
92to any insurer, employer, or appointing entity, including those
93created or existing pursuant to s. 627.351. The provisions of
94this section shall not apply to any person holding a license for
95the sale of any line of insurance for which an examination is
96not required by the laws of this state, nor shall the provisions
97of this section apply to any limited license as the department
98may exempt by rule.
99     (3)
100     (f)  Compliance with continuing education requirements is a
101condition precedent to the issuance, continuation,
102reinstatement, or renewal of any appointment subject to this
103section.
104     1.  An appointing entity, except those that appoint
105individuals who are employees or exclusive independent
106contractors of the appointing entity, may not require, directly
107or indirectly, as a condition of such appointment or the
108continuation of such appointment, the taking of an approved
109course or program by any appointee or potential appointee that
110is not of the appointee's choosing.
111     2.  Any entity created or existing pursuant to s. 627.351
112may require employees to take training of any type relevant to
113their employment but may not require appointees who are not also
114employees to take any approved course or program unless the
115course or program deals solely with the appointing entity's
116internal procedures or products or subjects substantially unique
117to the appointing entity.
118     (4)  The following courses may be completed in order to
119meet the continuing education course requirements:
120     (j)  Any course, including courses relating to agency
121management or errors and omissions, developed or sponsored by
122any authorized insurer or recognized agents' association or
123insurance trade association or any independent study program of
124instruction, subject to approval by the department, qualifies
125for the equivalency of the number of classroom hours assigned
126thereto by the department. However, unless otherwise provided in
127this section, continuing education hours may not be credited
128toward meeting the requirements of this section unless the
129course is provided by classroom instruction or results in a
130monitored examination. A monitored examination is not required
131for:
132     1.  An independent study program of instruction that is
133presented through interactive, online technology that the
134department determines has sufficient internal testing to
135validate the student's full comprehension of the materials
136presented; or
137     2.  An independent study program of instruction presented
138by correspondence for insurance agents and adjusters that
139imposes a final closed book examination that meets the
140requirements of the department's rule for self-study courses.
141The examination may be taken without a proctor provided the
142student presents to the department a sworn affidavit certifying
143that the student did not consult any written materials or
144receive outside assistance of any kind or from any person,
145directly or indirectly, while taking the examination. If the
146student is an employee of an agency or corporate entity, the
147student's supervisor or a manager or owner of the agency or
148corporate entity must also sign the sworn affidavit. If the
149student is self-employed, a sole proprietor, or a partner, or if
150the examination is administered online, the sworn affidavit must
151also be signed by a disinterested third party. The sworn
152affidavit must be received by the approved provider prior to
153reporting continuing education credits to the department.
154     (6)(a)  There is created an 11-member continuing education
155advisory board to be appointed by the Chief Financial Officer.
156Appointments shall be for terms of 4 years. The purpose of the
157board is to advise the department in determining standards by
158which courses may be evaluated and categorized as basic,
159intermediate, or advanced, and to advise on issues related to
160appointments based upon appointees meeting continuing education
161requirements. The board shall submit recommendations to the
162department of changes needed in such criteria not less
163frequently than every 2 years. The department shall require all
164approved course providers to submit courses for approval to the
165department using the criteria. All materials, brochures, and
166advertisements related to the approved courses must specify the
167level assigned to the course.
168     Section 4.  Subsection (7) is added to section 626.311,
169Florida Statutes, to read:
170     626.311  Scope of license.--
171     (7)  Subject to the limitations of paragraph (c) and
172notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, an agent
173who qualifies as an unaffiliated insurance consultant pursuant
174to paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be authorized to transact
175insurance within the scope of his or her agent's license.
176     (a)  For purposes of this subsection, the term
177"unaffiliated insurance consultant" means a person who is not
178affiliated with any insurer and chooses to practice as an
179independent insurance consultant providing objective advice to
180the buyers of insurance and who:
181     1.  Is licensed as an agent with respect to the type of
182insurance for which he or she transacts the business of
183insurance.
184     2.  Is not appointed by an insurer or other authorized
185appointing authority.
186     3.  Does not sell or service insurance on behalf of any
187insurer, or sell or service insurance on behalf of any insurance
188agent or insurance agency, in connection with the sale or
189service on behalf of an insurer or by the insurance agent or
190insurance agency.
191     4.  Does not receive any commission or any other form of
192direct or indirect compensation from any insurer for the sale or
193servicing of insurance on behalf of such insurer, or receive any
194commission or any other form of direct or indirect compensation
195from any insurance agent or insurance agency, in connection with
196the sale or servicing of insurance on behalf of an insurer or by
197the insurance agent or insurance agency.
198     5.  Has provided the department with evidence that he or
199she:
200     a.  Has been licensed as an agent for a minimum of 2 years
201with respect to the type of insurance for which he or she will
202transact;
203     b.  With respect to a general lines agent, holds a
204Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in
205Risk Management (ARM), Accredited Advisor in Insurance (AAI), or
206Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation;
207     c.  With respect to a life or health agent, holds a
208Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) or Certified Employee Benefit
209Specialist (CEBS) designation;
210     d.  Has earned a bachelor's or graduate degree in risk
211management or insurance from an accredited college or
212university;
213     e.  Has taught a course in risk management or insurance as
214a professor at an accredited college or university;
215     f.  Is a member of The Florida Bar; or
216     g.  Meets any other requirements the department may deem
217proper to enable the department to determine the character,
218experience, ability, and other qualifications of the person to
219hold himself or herself out to the public as an unaffiliated
220insurance consultant.
221     (b)1.  A person may not initially qualify as an
222unaffiliated insurance consultant:
223     a.  Except upon written request for such qualification made
224in a form acceptable to the department under the oath of, and
225signed by, him or her, submitted to and filed with the
226department certifying that he or she meets the definition of an
227unaffiliated insurance consultant pursuant to paragraph (a).
228     b.  Except upon payment in advance by such person of all
229applicable fees. For the purposes of this provision, the
230applicable fee shall be twice the amount of the fee that would
231apply to an insurer for an agent's original appointment. If the
232applicant has more than one agent's license, a separate fee
233shall be paid for each license for which the person seeks to
234qualify as an unaffiliated insurance consultant.
235     2.  As a condition to continued qualification as an
236unaffiliated insurance consultant, the person shall:
237     a.  On a biennial basis submit a request for the
238continuation of such qualification in a form acceptable to the
239department under the oath of, and signed by, him or her,
240submitted to and filed with the department certifying that he or
241she meets the definition of an unaffiliated insurance consultant
242under paragraph (a).
243     b.  Shall pay all applicable fees. For the purposes of this
244provision, the applicable fee shall be twice the amount of the
245fee that would apply to an insurer for the continuation of an
246agent's original appointment. If the unaffiliated insurance
247consultant has more than one license, a separate fee shall be
248paid for each license for which the person seeks to continue to
249qualify as an unaffiliated insurance consultant.
250     (c)  An unaffiliated insurance consultant may not:
251     1.  Hold himself or herself out as acting as the agent for
252an insurer;
253     2.  Act as a countersigning agent for an insurer; or
254     3.  Hold himself or herself out as replacing the need for
255an appointed agent in the placement or sale of insurance.
256     Section 5.  Subsections (6) and (7) of section 626.381,
257Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (8) and (9),
258respectively, and new subsections (6) and (7) are added to that
259section to read:
260     626.381  Renewal, continuation, reinstatement, or
261termination of appointment.--
262     (6)  An appointing entity may require any appointee to
263attend training programs exclusively on the internal procedures
264of the appointing entity or exclusively on products
265substantially unique to the appointing entity, in order for the
266appointee to receive a new appointment or maintain an existing
267appointment. However, an appointing entity may not require,
268directly or indirectly, any appointee to attend any training
269programs that are wholly or partially approved for general
270continuing education credit as described in s. 626.2815.
271     (7)  Each appointing entity may appoint only those persons
272who have met the continuing education requirements of the
273license necessary for such appointment as described in s.
274626.2815. However, an appointing entity may not make or allow,
275directly or indirectly, any appointment of any appointee or
276potential appointee to be contingent, in whole or in part, on
277any appointee's attendance at any course that is approved, in
278whole or in part, for continuing education credit pursuant to s.
279626.2815.
280     Section 6.  This act shall take effect June 1, 2008.


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