Florida Senate - 2016                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS/CS/CS/HB 651, 1st Eng.
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì411956?Î411956                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                Floor: 1/AD/2R         .         Floor: SENAT/C         
             03/04/2016 12:58 PM       .      03/09/2016 02:47 PM       
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       Senator Hays moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 182 and 183
    4  insert:
    5         Section 5. Paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section
    6  215.555, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         215.555 Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.—
    8         (6) REVENUE BONDS.—
    9         (b) Emergency assessments.—
   10         1. If the board determines that the amount of revenue
   11  produced under subsection (5) is insufficient to fund the
   12  obligations, costs, and expenses of the fund and the
   13  corporation, including repayment of revenue bonds and that
   14  portion of the debt service coverage not met by reimbursement
   15  premiums, the board shall direct the Office of Insurance
   16  Regulation to levy, by order, an emergency assessment on direct
   17  premiums for all property and casualty lines of business in this
   18  state, including property and casualty business of surplus lines
   19  insurers regulated under part VIII of chapter 626, but not
   20  including any workers’ compensation premiums or medical
   21  malpractice premiums. As used in this subsection, the term
   22  “property and casualty business” includes all lines of business
   23  identified on Form 2, Exhibit of Premiums and Losses, in the
   24  annual statement required of authorized insurers by s. 624.424
   25  and any rule adopted under this section, except for those lines
   26  identified as accident and health insurance and except for
   27  policies written under the National Flood Insurance Program. The
   28  assessment shall be specified as a percentage of direct written
   29  premium and is subject to annual adjustments by the board in
   30  order to meet debt obligations. The same percentage applies to
   31  all policies in lines of business subject to the assessment
   32  issued or renewed during the 12-month period beginning on the
   33  effective date of the assessment.
   34         2. A premium is not subject to an annual assessment under
   35  this paragraph in excess of 6 percent of premium with respect to
   36  obligations arising out of losses attributable to any one
   37  contract year, and a premium is not subject to an aggregate
   38  annual assessment under this paragraph in excess of 10 percent
   39  of premium. An annual assessment under this paragraph continues
   40  as long as the revenue bonds issued with respect to which the
   41  assessment was imposed are outstanding, including any bonds the
   42  proceeds of which were used to refund the revenue bonds, unless
   43  adequate provision has been made for the payment of the bonds
   44  under the documents authorizing issuance of the bonds.
   45         3. Emergency assessments shall be collected from
   46  policyholders. Emergency assessments shall be remitted by
   47  insurers as a percentage of direct written premium for the
   48  preceding calendar quarter as specified in the order from the
   49  Office of Insurance Regulation. The office shall verify the
   50  accurate and timely collection and remittance of emergency
   51  assessments and shall report the information to the board in a
   52  form and at a time specified by the board. Each insurer
   53  collecting assessments shall provide the information with
   54  respect to premiums and collections as may be required by the
   55  office to enable the office to monitor and verify compliance
   56  with this paragraph.
   57         4. With respect to assessments of surplus lines premiums,
   58  each surplus lines agent shall collect the assessment at the
   59  same time as the agent collects the surplus lines tax required
   60  by s. 626.932, and the surplus lines agent shall remit the
   61  assessment to the Florida Surplus Lines Service Office created
   62  by s. 626.921 at the same time as the agent remits the surplus
   63  lines tax to the Florida Surplus Lines Service Office. The
   64  emergency assessment on each insured procuring coverage and
   65  filing under s. 626.938 shall be remitted by the insured to the
   66  Florida Surplus Lines Service Office at the time the insured
   67  pays the surplus lines tax to the Florida Surplus Lines Service
   68  Office. The Florida Surplus Lines Service Office shall remit the
   69  collected assessments to the fund or corporation as provided in
   70  the order levied by the Office of Insurance Regulation. The
   71  Florida Surplus Lines Service Office shall verify the proper
   72  application of such emergency assessments and shall assist the
   73  board in ensuring the accurate and timely collection and
   74  remittance of assessments as required by the board. The Florida
   75  Surplus Lines Service Office shall annually calculate the
   76  aggregate written premium on property and casualty business,
   77  other than workers’ compensation and medical malpractice,
   78  procured through surplus lines agents and insureds procuring
   79  coverage and filing under s. 626.938 and shall report the
   80  information to the board in a form and at a time specified by
   81  the board.
   82         5. Any assessment authority not used for a particular
   83  contract year may be used for a subsequent contract year. If,
   84  for a subsequent contract year, the board determines that the
   85  amount of revenue produced under subsection (5) is insufficient
   86  to fund the obligations, costs, and expenses of the fund and the
   87  corporation, including repayment of revenue bonds and that
   88  portion of the debt service coverage not met by reimbursement
   89  premiums, the board shall direct the Office of Insurance
   90  Regulation to levy an emergency assessment up to an amount not
   91  exceeding the amount of unused assessment authority from a
   92  previous contract year or years, plus an additional 4 percent
   93  provided that the assessments in the aggregate do not exceed the
   94  limits specified in subparagraph 2.
   95         6. The assessments otherwise payable to the corporation
   96  under this paragraph shall be paid to the fund unless the Office
   97  of Insurance Regulation and the Florida Surplus Lines Service
   98  Office received a notice from the corporation and the fund,
   99  which shall be conclusive and upon which they may rely without
  100  further inquiry, that the corporation has issued bonds and the
  101  fund has no agreements in effect with local governments under
  102  paragraph (c). On or after the date of the notice and until the
  103  date the corporation has no bonds outstanding, the fund shall
  104  have no right, title, or interest in or to the assessments,
  105  except as provided in the fund’s agreement with the corporation.
  106         7. Emergency assessments are not premium and are not
  107  subject to the premium tax, to the surplus lines tax, to any
  108  fees, or to any commissions. An insurer is liable for all
  109  assessments that it collects and must treat the failure of an
  110  insured to pay an assessment as a failure to pay the premium. An
  111  insurer is not liable for uncollectible assessments.
  112         8. If an insurer is required to return an unearned premium,
  113  it shall also return any collected assessment attributable to
  114  the unearned premium. A credit adjustment to the collected
  115  assessment may be made by the insurer with regard to future
  116  remittances that are payable to the fund or corporation, but the
  117  insurer is not entitled to a refund.
  118         9. If a surplus lines insured or an insured who has
  119  procured coverage and filed under s. 626.938 is entitled to the
  120  return of an unearned premium, the Florida Surplus Lines Service
  121  Office shall provide a credit or refund to the agent or such
  122  insured for the collected assessment attributable to the
  123  unearned premium before remitting the emergency assessment
  124  collected to the fund or corporation.
  125         10. The exemption of medical malpractice insurance premiums
  126  from emergency assessments under this paragraph is repealed May
  127  31, 2019 2016, and medical malpractice insurance premiums shall
  128  be subject to emergency assessments attributable to loss events
  129  occurring in the contract years commencing on June 1, 2019 2016.
  130  
  131  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  132  And the title is amended as follows:
  133         Between lines 16 and 17
  134  insert:
  135         amending s. 215.555, F.S.; extending the repeal date
  136         of an exemption for medical malpractice insurance
  137         premiums from certain emergency assessments levied by
  138         the Office of Insurance Regulation for the Florida
  139         Hurricane Catastrophe Fund; revising applicability;