Florida Senate - 2012 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1844
Barcode 425232
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
02/02/2012 .
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The Committee on Banking and Insurance (Hays) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Subsection (8) of section 624.402, Florida
6 Statutes, is amended, and subsection (9) is added to that
7 section, to read:
8 624.402 Exceptions, certificate of authority required.—A
9 certificate of authority shall not be required of an insurer
10 with respect to:
11 (8)(a) An insurer domiciled outside the United States
12 covering only persons who, at the time of issuance or renewal,
13 are nonresidents of the United States if:
14 1. The insurer or any affiliated person as defined in s.
15 624.04 under common ownership or control with the insurer does
16 not solicit, sell, or accept application for any insurance
17 policy or contract to be delivered or issued for delivery to any
18 person in any state;
19 2. The insurer registers with the office via a letter of
20 notification upon commencing business from this state;
21 3. The insurer provides the following information, in
22 English, to the office annually by March 1:
23 a. The name of the insurer; the country of domicile; the
24 address of the insurer’s principal office and office in this
25 state; the names of the owners of the insurer and their
26 percentage of ownership; the names of the officers and directors
27 of the insurer; the name, e-mail, and telephone number of a
28 contact person for the insurer; and the number of individuals
29 who are employed by the insurer or its affiliates in this state;
30 b. The lines of insurance and types of products offered by
31 the insurer;
32 c. A statement from the applicable regulatory body of the
33 insurer’s domicile certifying that the insurer is licensed or
34 registered for those lines of insurance and types of products in
35 that domicile; and
36 d. A copy of the filings required by the applicable
37 regulatory body of the insurer’s country of domicile in that
38 country’s official language or in English, if available;
39 4. All certificates, policies, or contracts issued in this
40 state showing coverage under the insurer’s policy include the
41 following statement in a contrasting color and at least 10-point
42 type: “The policy providing your coverage and the insurer
43 providing this policy have not been approved by the Florida
44 Office of Insurance Regulation”; and
45 5. If In the event the insurer ceases to do business from
46 this state, the insurer will provide written notification to the
47 office within 30 days after cessation.
48 (b) For purposes of this subsection, “nonresident” means a
49 trust or other entity organized and domiciled under the laws of
50 a country other than the United States or a person who resides
51 in and maintains a physical place of domicile in a country other
52 than the United States, which he or she recognizes as and
53 intends to maintain as his or her permanent home. A nonresident
54 does not include an unauthorized immigrant present in the United
55 States. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it is
56 conclusively presumed, for purposes of this subsection, that a
57 person is a resident of the United States if the such person
58 has:
59 1. Had his or her principal place of domicile in the United
60 States for 180 days or more in the 365 days before prior to
61 issuance or renewal of the policy;
62 2. Registered to vote in any state;
63 3. Made a statement of domicile in any state; or
64 4. Filed for homestead tax exemption on property in any
65 state.
66 (c) Subject to the limitations provided in this subsection,
67 services, including those listed in s. 624.10, may be provided
68 by the insurer or an affiliated person as defined in s. 624.04
69 under common ownership or control with the insurer.
70 (d) An alien insurer transacting insurance in this state
71 without complying with this subsection is shall be in violation
72 of this chapter and subject to the penalties provided in s.
73 624.15.
74 (9)(a) Life insurance policies or annuity contracts may be
75 solicited, sold, or issued in this state by an insurer domiciled
76 outside the United States, covering only persons who, at the
77 time of issuance are nonresidents of the United States, provided
78 that:
79 1. The insurer is currently an authorized insurer in his or
80 her country of domicile as to the kind or kinds of insurance
81 proposed to be offered and must have been such an insurer for
82 not fewer than the immediately preceding 3 years, or must be the
83 wholly owned subsidiary of such authorized insurer or must be
84 the wholly owned subsidiary of an already eligible authorized
85 insurer as to the kind or kinds of insurance proposed for a
86 period of not fewer than the immediately preceding 3 years.
87 However, the office may waive the 3-year requirement if the
88 insurer has operated successfully for a period of at least the
89 immediately preceding year and has capital and surplus of not
90 less than $25 million.
91 2. Before the office may grant eligibility, the requesting
92 insurer furnishes the office with a duly authenticated copy of
93 its current annual financial statement, in English, and with all
94 monetary values therein expressed in United States dollars, at
95 an exchange rate then-current and shown in the statement, in the
96 case of statements originally made in the currencies of other
97 countries, and with such additional information relative to the
98 insurer as the office may request.
99 3. The insurer has and maintains surplus as to
100 policyholders of not less than $15 million. Any such surplus as
101 to policyholders shall be represented by investments consisting
102 of eligible investments for like funds of like domestic insurers
103 under part II of chapter 625; however, any such surplus as to
104 policyholders may be represented by investments permitted by the
105 domestic regulator of such alien insurance company if such
106 investments are substantially similar in terms of quality,
107 liquidity, and security to eligible investments for like funds
108 of like domestic insurers under part II of chapter 625.
109 4. The insurer has of good reputation as to providing
110 service to its policyholders and the payment of losses and
111 claims.
112 5. To maintain eligibility, the insurer furnishes the
113 office within the time period specified in s. 624.424(1), a duly
114 authenticated copy of its current annual and quarterly financial
115 statements, in English, and with all monetary values therein
116 expressed in United States dollars, at an exchange rate then
117 current and shown in the statement, in the case of statements
118 originally made in the currencies of other countries, and with
119 such additional information relative to the insurer as the
120 office may request.
121 6. An insurer receiving eligibility under this subsection
122 agrees to make its books and records pertaining to its
123 operations in this state available for inspection during normal
124 business hours upon request of the office.
125 7. The insurer notifies the applicant in clear and
126 conspicuous 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. This paragraph does not
136 impose upon the office any duty or responsibility to determine
137 the actual financial condition or claims practices of any
138 unauthorized insurer, and the status of eligibility, if granted
139 by the office, indicates only that the insurer appears to be
140 financially sound and to have satisfactory claims practices and
141 that the office has no credible evidence to the contrary.
142 (b) If the office has reason to believe that an insurer
143 issuing policies or contracts pursuant to this subsection is
144 insolvent or is in unsound financial condition, does not make
145 reasonable prompt payment of benefits, or is no longer eligible
146 under the conditions specified in this subsection, the office
147 may conduct an examination or investigation in accordance with
148 s. 624.316, s. 624.3161, or s. 624.320 and, if the findings of
149 the examination or investigation warrant, may withdraw the
150 eligibility of the insurer to issue policies or contracts
151 pursuant to this subsection without having a certificate of
152 authority issued by the office.
153 (c) This subsection does not provide an exception to the
154 agent licensure requirements of chapter 626. A insurer issuing
155 policies or contracts pursuant to this subsection shall appoint
156 the agents that the insurer uses to sell such policies or
157 contracts as provided in chapter 626.
158 (d) An insurer issuing policies or contracts pursuant to
159 this subsection is subject to part IX of chapter 626, Unfair
160 Insurance Trade Practices Act, and the office may take such
161 actions against the insurer for a violation as are provided in
162 that part.
163 (e) Policies and contracts issued pursuant to this
164 subsection are not subject to the premium tax specified in s.
165 624.509.
166 (f) Applications for life insurance coverage offered under
167 this subsection must contain, in contrasting color and not less
168 than 12-point type, the following statement on the same page as
169 the applicant’s signature:
170
171 This policy is primarily governed by the laws of a
172 foreign country. As a result, all of the rating and
173 underwriting laws applicable to policies filed in this
174 state do not apply to this coverage, which may result
175 in your premiums being higher than would be
176 permissible under a Florida-approved policy. A
177 purchase of individual life insurance should be
178 considered carefully, as future medical conditions may
179 make it impossible to qualify for another individual
180 life policy. If the insurer issuing your policy
181 becomes insolvent, this policy is not covered by the
182 Florida Life and Health Insurance Guaranty
183 Association. For information concerning individual
184 life coverage under a Florida-approved policy, consult
185 your agent or the Florida Department of Financial
186 Services.
187
188 (g) All life insurance policies and annuity contracts
189 issued pursuant to this subsection must contain on the first
190 page of the policy or contract, in contrasting color and not
191 less than 10-point type, the following statement:
192
193 The benefits of the policy providing your coverage are
194 governed primarily by the law of a country other than
195 the United States.
196
197 (h) All single-premium life insurance policies and single
198 premium annuity contracts issued to persons who are not
199 residents of the United States and are not nonresidents
200 illegally residing in the United States pursuant to this
201 subsection are subject to chapter 896.
202 (i) For purposes of this subsection, the term “nonresident”
203 means a trust or other entity or person as defined in subsection
204 624.402(8).
205 (j) An alien insurer transacting insurance in this state
206 without complying with this subsection is in violation of this
207 chapter and subject to the penalties provided in s. 624.15, and
208 must also pay the fine required for each violation as prescribed
209 by s. 626.10.
210 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
211
212 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
213 And the title is amended as follows:
214 Delete everything before the enacting clause
215 and insert:
216 A bill to be entitled
217 An act relating to alien insurers; amending s.
218 624.402, F.S.; revising a provision exempting alien
219 insurers from the requirement to obtain a certificate
220 of authority; revising the definition of the term
221 “nonresident”; providing that a life insurance policy
222 and annuity contract may be issued by an insurer
223 domiciled outside the United States under certain
224 conditions; specifying the terms and conditions that
225 must be satisfied before an alien insured may issue a
226 policy or contract; authorizing the Office of
227 Insurance Regulation to conduct an examination of an
228 alien insurer if the office has reason to believe that
229 the insurer is insolvent or is in unsound financial
230 condition; providing that an alien insurer issuing
231 policies or contracts in this state is subject to part
232 IX of ch. 626, F.S., relating to unfair insurance
233 trade practices; authorizing the office to enforce
234 part IX of ch. 626, F.S.; providing that policies and
235 contracts issued pursuant to the act are not subject
236 to the premium tax; requiring that an application for
237 a life insurance policy or an annuity contract contain
238 certain specified statements to protect consumers;
239 providing an effective date.