Florida Senate - 2011 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1836
Barcode 340560
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/13/2011 .
.
.
.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The Committee on Budget Subcommittee on General Government
Appropriations (Diaz de la Portilla) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 23 - 66
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Subsection (8) of section 624.402, Florida
6 Statutes, is amended to read:
7 624.402 Exceptions, certificate of authority required.—A
8 certificate of authority shall not be required of an insurer
9 with respect to:
10 (8) An insurer domiciled outside the United States covering
11 only persons who, at the time of issuance or renewal, are
12 nonresidents of the United States.
13 (a) In order to qualify for this exemption, the insurer:
14 1. Must register with the office via a letter of
15 notification upon commencing business from this state.
16 2. Must provide the following information to the office
17 annually by March 1:
18 a. The name of the insurer; the country of domicile; the
19 address of the insurer’s principal office and office in this
20 state; the names of the owners of the insurer and their
21 percentage of ownership; the names of the officers and directors
22 of the insurer; the name, e-mail, and telephone number of a
23 contact person for the insurer; and the number of individuals
24 who are employed by the insurer or its affiliates in this state;
25 b. The type of products offered by the insurer;
26 c. A statement from the applicable regulatory body of the
27 insurer’s domicile certifying that the insurer is licensed or
28 registered in that domicile; and
29 d. A copy of the filings required by the applicable
30 regulatory body of the insurer’s domicile.
31 3. Or any affiliated person as defined in s. 624.04 under
32 common ownership or control with the insurer, may not solicit,
33 sell, or accept an application for any insurance policy or
34 contract to be delivered or issued for delivery to any
35 individual other than a nonresident.
36 (b) All policies or certificates delivered to nonresidents
37 in this state must include the following statement in a
38 contrasting color and at least 10-point type: “The policy
39 providing your coverage and the insurer providing this policy
40 have not been approved by the Florida Office of Insurance
41 Regulation”.
42 (c) If the insurer ceases to do business from this state,
43 the insurer must agree to provide written notification to the
44 office within 30 days after cessation.
45 (d) Subject to the limitations contained in this
46 subsection, services, including those listed in s. 624.10, may
47 be provided by the insurer or an affiliated person as defined in
48 s. 624.04 under common ownership or control with the insurer.
49 (e) An alien insurer transacting insurance in this state
50 without complying with this subsection is in violation of this
51 chapter and subject to the penalties under s. 624.15.
52 (f) An insurer that holds a certificate of authority in
53 this state may issue and deliver policies to nonresidents at
54 temporary or secondary addresses in this state, along with a
55 notice that the policy form and rate is not subject to the
56 approval of the Office of Insurance Regulation.
57 (g) The term “nonresident” means an individual who resides
58 in and maintains a physical place of domicile in a country other
59 than the United States, which he or she recognizes as and
60 intends to maintain as his or her permanent home. The term does
61 not include an unauthorized immigrant present in the United
62 States. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it is
63 conclusively presumed that an individual is a resident of the
64 United States if such individual:
65 1. Has had his or her principal place of domicile in the
66 United States for 180 days or more in the 365 days before
67 issuance or renewal the policy;
68 2. Has registered to vote in any state;
69 3. Has made a statement of domicile in any state; or
70 4. Has filed for homestead tax exemption on property in any
71 state.
72 (a) Life insurance policies or annuity contracts issued by
73 an insurer domiciled outside the United States covering only
74 persons who, at the time of issuance, are not residents of the
75 United States and are not nonresidents illegally residing in the
76 United States, provided:
77 1. The insurer must currently be an authorized insurer in
78 its country of domicile as to the kind or kinds of insurance
79 proposed to be offered and must have been such an insurer for
80 not fewer than the immediately preceding 3 years, or must be the
81 wholly owned subsidiary of such authorized insurer or must be
82 the wholly owned subsidiary of an already eligible authorized
83 insurer as to the kind or kinds of insurance proposed for a
84 period of not fewer than the immediately preceding 3 years.
85 However, the office may waive the 3-year requirement if the
86 insurer has operated successfully for a period of at least the
87 immediately preceding year and has capital and surplus of not
88 less than $25 million.
89 2. Before the office may grant eligibility, the requesting
90 insurer shall furnish the office with a duly authenticated copy
91 of its current annual financial statement, in English, and with
92 all monetary values therein expressed in United States dollars,
93 at an exchange rate then-current and shown in the statement, in
94 the case of statements originally made in the currencies of
95 other countries, and with such additional information relative
96 to the insurer as the office may request.
97 3. The insurer must have and maintain surplus as to
98 policyholders of not less than $15 million. Any such surplus as
99 to policyholders shall be represented by investments consisting
100 of eligible investments for like funds of like domestic insurers
101 under part II of chapter 625; however, any such surplus as to
102 policyholders may be represented by investments permitted by the
103 domestic regulator of such alien insurance company if such
104 investments are substantially similar in terms of quality,
105 liquidity, and security to eligible investments for like funds
106 of like domestic insurers under part II of chapter 625.
107 4. The insurer must be of good reputation as to the
108 providing of service to its policyholders and the payment of
109 losses and claims.
110 5. To maintain eligibility, the insurer shall furnish the
111 office within the time period specified in s. 624.424(1)(a) a
112 duly authenticated copy of its current annual and quarterly
113 financial statements, in English, and with all monetary values
114 therein expressed in United States dollars, at an exchange rate
115 then-current and shown in the statement, in the case of
116 statements originally made in the currencies of other countries,
117 and with such additional information relative to the insurer as
118 the office may request.
119 6. An insurer receiving eligibility under this subsection
120 shall agree to make its books and records pertaining to its
121 operations in this state available for inspection during normal
122 business hours upon request of the office.
123 7. The insurer shall provide to the applicant for the
124 policy or contract a copy of the most recent quarterly financial
125 statements of the insurer providing, in clear and conspicuous
126 language:
127 a. The date of organization of the insurer.
128 b. The identity of and rating assigned by each recognized
129 insurance company rating organization that has rated the insurer
130 or, if applicable, that the insurer is unrated.
131 c. That the insurer does not hold a certificate of
132 authority issued in this state and that the office does not
133 exercise regulatory oversight over the insurer.
134 d. The identity and address of the regulatory authority
135 exercising oversight of the insurer.
136
137 This paragraph does not impose upon the office any duty or
138 responsibility to determine the actual financial condition or
139 claims practices of any unauthorized insurer, and the status of
140 eligibility, if granted by the office, indicates only that the
141 insurer appears to be financially sound and to have satisfactory
142 claims practices and that the office has no credible evidence to
143 the contrary.
144 (b) If at any time the office has reason to believe that an
145 insurer issuing policies or contracts pursuant to this
146 subsection is insolvent or is in unsound financial condition,
147 does not make reasonable prompt payment of benefits, or is no
148 longer eligible under the conditions specified in this
149 subsection, the office may conduct an examination or
150 investigation in accordance with s. 624.316, s. 624.3161, or s.
151 624.320 and, if the findings of such examination or
152 investigation warrant, may withdraw the eligibility of the
153 insurer to issue policies or contracts pursuant to this
154 subsection without having a certificate of authority issued by
155 the office.
156 (c) This subsection does not provide an exception to the
157 agent licensure requirements of chapter 626. Any insurer issuing
158 policies or contracts pursuant to this subsection shall appoint
159 the agents that the insurer uses to sell such policies or
160 contracts as provided in chapter 626.
161 (d) An insurer issuing policies or contracts pursuant to
162 this subsection is subject to part IX of chapter 626, Unfair
163 Insurance Trade Practices, and the office may take such actions
164 against the insurer for a violation as are provided in that
165 part.
166 (e) Policies and contracts issued pursuant to this
167 subsection are not subject to the premium tax specified in s.
168 624.509.
169 (f) Applications for life insurance coverage offered under
170 this subsection must contain, in contrasting color and not less
171 than 12-point type, the following statement on the same page as
172 the applicant’s signature:
173
174 This policy is primarily governed by the laws of a
175 foreign country. As a result, all of the rating and
176 underwriting laws applicable to policies filed in this
177 state do not apply to this coverage, which may result
178 in your premiums being higher than would be
179 permissible under a Florida-approved policy. Any
180 purchase of individual life insurance should be
181 considered carefully, as future medical conditions may
182 make it impossible to qualify for another individual
183 life policy. If the insurer issuing your policy
184 becomes insolvent, this policy is not covered by the
185 Florida Life and Health Insurance Guaranty
186 Association. For information concerning individual
187 life coverage under a Florida-approved policy, consult
188 your agent or the Florida Department of Financial
189 Services.
190
191 (g) All life insurance policies and annuity contracts
192 issued pursuant to this subsection must contain on the first
193 page of the policy or contract, in contrasting color and not
194 less than 10-point type, the following statement:
195
196 The benefits of the policy providing your coverage are
197 governed primarily by the law of a country other than
198 the United States.
199
200 (h) All single-premium life insurance policies and single
201 premium annuity contracts issued to persons who are not
202 residents of the United States and are not nonresidents
203 illegally residing in the United States pursuant to this
204 subsection shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 896.
205
206 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
207 And the title is amended as follows:
208 Delete lines 2 - 5
209 and insert:
210 An act relating to insurance; amending s. 624.402,
211 F.S.; revising provisions relating to certain insurers
212 serving nonresidents domiciled outside the United
213 States who are exempt from requirements to obtain a
214 certificate of authority; amending s. 628.901, F.S.;