Florida Senate - 2009                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1372
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 484590                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  03/10/2009           .                                
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       The Committee on Banking and Insurance (Bennett) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 235 - 254
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) and paragraph
    6  (b) of subsection (7) of section 627.4554, Florida Statutes, as
    7  amended by section 9 of chapter 2008-237, Laws of Florida, are
    8  amended, and subsection (10) is added to that section, to read:
    9         627.4554 Annuity investments by seniors.—
   10         (5) MITIGATION OF RESPONSIBILITY.—
   11         (b) The department may order:
   12         1. An insurance agent to take reasonably appropriate
   13  corrective action for any senior consumer harmed by a violation
   14  of this section by the insurance agent, including, but not
   15  limited to, monetary restitution.
   16         2. A managing general agency or insurance agency that
   17  employs or contracts with an insurance agent to sell or solicit
   18  the sale of annuities to senior consumers to take reasonably
   19  appropriate corrective action for any senior consumer harmed by
   20  a violation of this section by the insurance agent.
   21         (7) EXEMPTIONS.—Unless otherwise specifically included,
   22  this section does not apply to recommendations involving:
   23         (b) Contracts issued used to fund:
   24         1. An employee pension or welfare benefit plan that is
   25  covered by the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act;
   26         2. A plan described by s. 401(a), s. 401(k), s. 403(b), s.
   27  408(k), or s. 408(p) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
   28  amended, if established or maintained by an employer;
   29         3. A government or church plan defined in s. 414 of the
   30  Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, a government or
   31  church welfare benefit plan, or a deferred compensation plan of
   32  a state or local government or tax-exempt organization under s.
   33  457 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;
   34         4. A nonqualified deferred compensation arrangement
   35  established or maintained by an employer or plan sponsor;
   36         5. Settlements of or assumptions of liabilities associated
   37  with personal injury litigation or any dispute or claim
   38  resolution process; or
   39         6. Prepaid funeral contracts.
   40         (10) An annuity contract issued to an annuitant 65 years of
   41  age or older may not contain a deferred sales charge exceeding 5
   42  percent, and such charge shall be reduced to zero percent by the
   43  end of the fifth policy year. This subsection does not apply to
   44  those annuity contracts specified in paragraph (7)(b).
   45  
   46  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   47         And the title is amended as follows:
   48         Delete lines 36 - 40
   49  and insert:
   50  exempting certain types of contracts from certain provisions of
   51  state law; prohibiting an annuity contract issued to a person 65
   52  years of age or older from containing a deferred sales charge in
   53  excess of a specified percentage; requiring that such charge be
   54  reduced to zero within a specified period; exempting certain
   55  contracts from such prohibition and requirement; providing an
   56  effective date.