Florida Senate - 2014                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for HB 375
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì538116%Î538116                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                  Floor: WD            .                                
             05/02/2014 03:27 PM       .                                
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       Senator Montford moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to House Amendment (309029) to Senate
    2  Amendment (with title amendment)
    3  
    4         Delete lines 5 - 9
    5  and insert:
    6         Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section
    7  215.555, Florida Statutes, is amending, paragraphs (d), (e), and
    8  (f) of subsection (7) are redesignated as paragraphs (e), (f),
    9  and (g), respectively, and a new paragraph (d) is added to that
   10  subsection, to read:
   11         215.555 Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.—
   12         (6) REVENUE BONDS.—
   13         (b) Emergency assessments.—
   14         1. If the board determines that the amount of revenue
   15  produced under subsection (5) is insufficient to fund the
   16  obligations, costs, and expenses of the fund and the
   17  corporation, including repayment of revenue bonds and that
   18  portion of the debt service coverage not met by reimbursement
   19  premiums, the board shall direct the Office of Insurance
   20  Regulation to levy, by order, an emergency assessment on direct
   21  premiums for all property and casualty lines of business in this
   22  state, including property and casualty business of surplus lines
   23  insurers regulated under part VIII of chapter 626, but not
   24  including any workers’ compensation premiums or medical
   25  malpractice premiums. As used in this subsection, the term
   26  “property and casualty business” includes all lines of business
   27  identified on Form 2, Exhibit of Premiums and Losses, in the
   28  annual statement required of authorized insurers by s. 624.424
   29  and any rule adopted under this section, except for those lines
   30  identified as accident and health insurance and except for
   31  policies written under the National Flood Insurance Program. The
   32  assessment shall be specified as a percentage of direct written
   33  premium and is subject to annual adjustments by the board in
   34  order to meet debt obligations. The same percentage applies to
   35  all policies in lines of business subject to the assessment
   36  issued or renewed during the 12-month period beginning on the
   37  effective date of the assessment.
   38         2. A premium is not subject to an annual assessment under
   39  this paragraph in excess of 6 percent of premium with respect to
   40  obligations arising out of losses attributable to any one
   41  contract year, and a premium is not subject to an aggregate
   42  annual assessment under this paragraph in excess of 10 percent
   43  of premium. An annual assessment under this paragraph continues
   44  as long as the revenue bonds issued with respect to which the
   45  assessment was imposed are outstanding, including any bonds the
   46  proceeds of which were used to refund the revenue bonds, unless
   47  adequate provision has been made for the payment of the bonds
   48  under the documents authorizing issuance of the bonds.
   49         3. Emergency assessments shall be collected from
   50  policyholders. Emergency assessments shall be remitted by
   51  insurers as a percentage of direct written premium for the
   52  preceding calendar quarter as specified in the order from the
   53  Office of Insurance Regulation. The office shall verify the
   54  accurate and timely collection and remittance of emergency
   55  assessments and shall report the information to the board in a
   56  form and at a time specified by the board. Each insurer
   57  collecting assessments shall provide the information with
   58  respect to premiums and collections as may be required by the
   59  office to enable the office to monitor and verify compliance
   60  with this paragraph.
   61         4. With respect to assessments of surplus lines premiums,
   62  each surplus lines agent shall collect the assessment at the
   63  same time as the agent collects the surplus lines tax required
   64  by s. 626.932, and the surplus lines agent shall remit the
   65  assessment to the Florida Surplus Lines Service Office created
   66  by s. 626.921 at the same time as the agent remits the surplus
   67  lines tax to the Florida Surplus Lines Service Office. The
   68  emergency assessment on each insured procuring coverage and
   69  filing under s. 626.938 shall be remitted by the insured to the
   70  Florida Surplus Lines Service Office at the time the insured
   71  pays the surplus lines tax to the Florida Surplus Lines Service
   72  Office. The Florida Surplus Lines Service Office shall remit the
   73  collected assessments to the fund or corporation as provided in
   74  the order levied by the Office of Insurance Regulation. The
   75  Florida Surplus Lines Service Office shall verify the proper
   76  application of such emergency assessments and shall assist the
   77  board in ensuring the accurate and timely collection and
   78  remittance of assessments as required by the board. The Florida
   79  Surplus Lines Service Office shall annually calculate the
   80  aggregate written premium on property and casualty business,
   81  other than workers’ compensation and medical malpractice,
   82  procured through surplus lines agents and insureds procuring
   83  coverage and filing under s. 626.938 and shall report the
   84  information to the board in a form and at a time specified by
   85  the board.
   86         5. Any assessment authority not used for a particular
   87  contract year may be used for a subsequent contract year. If,
   88  for a subsequent contract year, the board determines that the
   89  amount of revenue produced under subsection (5) is insufficient
   90  to fund the obligations, costs, and expenses of the fund and the
   91  corporation, including repayment of revenue bonds and that
   92  portion of the debt service coverage not met by reimbursement
   93  premiums, the board shall direct the Office of Insurance
   94  Regulation to levy an emergency assessment up to an amount not
   95  exceeding the amount of unused assessment authority from a
   96  previous contract year or years, plus an additional 4 percent
   97  provided that the assessments in the aggregate do not exceed the
   98  limits specified in subparagraph 2.
   99         6. The assessments otherwise payable to the corporation
  100  under this paragraph shall be paid to the fund unless the Office
  101  of Insurance Regulation and the Florida Surplus Lines Service
  102  Office received a notice from the corporation and the fund,
  103  which shall be conclusive and upon which they may rely without
  104  further inquiry, that the corporation has issued bonds and the
  105  fund has no agreements in effect with local governments under
  106  paragraph (c). On or after the date of the notice and until the
  107  date the corporation has no bonds outstanding, the fund shall
  108  have no right, title, or interest in or to the assessments,
  109  except as provided in the fund’s agreement with the corporation.
  110         7. Emergency assessments are not premium and are not
  111  subject to the premium tax, to the surplus lines tax, to any
  112  fees, or to any commissions. An insurer is liable for all
  113  assessments that it collects and must treat the failure of an
  114  insured to pay an assessment as a failure to pay the premium. An
  115  insurer is not liable for uncollectible assessments.
  116         8. If an insurer is required to return an unearned premium,
  117  it shall also return any collected assessment attributable to
  118  the unearned premium. A credit adjustment to the collected
  119  assessment may be made by the insurer with regard to future
  120  remittances that are payable to the fund or corporation, but the
  121  insurer is not entitled to a refund.
  122         9. If a surplus lines insured or an insured who has
  123  procured coverage and filed under s. 626.938 is entitled to the
  124  return of an unearned premium, the Florida Surplus Lines Service
  125  Office shall provide a credit or refund to the agent or such
  126  insured for the collected assessment attributable to the
  127  unearned premium before remitting the emergency assessment
  128  collected to the fund or corporation.
  129         10. The exemption of medical malpractice insurance premiums
  130  from emergency assessments under this paragraph is repealed May
  131  31, 2016, and medical malpractice insurance premiums shall be
  132  subject to emergency assessments attributable to loss events
  133  occurring in the contract years commencing on June 1, 2016.
  134  
  135  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  136  And the title is amended as follows:
  137         Delete line 30
  138  and insert:
  139