Florida Senate - 2016 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 966 Ì332402gÎ332402 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RCS . 01/19/2016 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Committee on Banking and Insurance (Benacquisto) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Delete lines 112 - 157 4 and insert: 5 insurer shall compare the records of its insureds’ life or 6 endowment insurance policies, annuity contracts that provide a 7 death benefit, and retained asset accounts that were in force at 8 any time on or after January 1, 1992, against the United States 9 Social Security Administration Death Master File to determine if 10 the death of an insured, an annuitant, or a retained asset 11 account holder is indicated. The comparison must use the name 12 and social security number or date of birth of the insured, 13 annuitant, or retained asset account holder. The comparison must 14 be made on at least an annual basis before August 31 of each 15 year. If an insurer performs such a comparison regarding its 16 annuities or other books of business more frequently than once a 17 year, the insurer must also make a comparison regarding its life 18 insurance policies, annuity contracts that provide a death 19 benefit, and retained asset accounts at the same frequency as is 20 made regarding its annuities or other books or lines of 21 business. An insurer may perform the comparison required by this 22 paragraph using any database or service that the department 23 determines is at least as comprehensive as the United States 24 Social Security Administration Death Master File for the purpose 25 of indicating that a person has died. 26 (b) An insured, an annuitant, or a retained asset account 27 holder is presumed deceased if the date of his or her death is 28 indicated by the comparison required under paragraph (a), unless 29 the insurer has in its records competent and substantial 30 evidence that the person is living, including, but not limited 31 to, a contact made by the insurer with such person or his or her 32 legal representative. The insurer shall account for common 33 variations in data and for any partial names, social security 34 numbers, dates of birth, and addresses of the insured, the 35 annuitant, or the retained asset account holder which would 36 otherwise preclude an exact match. 37 (c) For purposes of this section, a policy, an annuity 38 contract, or a retained asset account is deemed to be in force 39 if it has not lapsed, has not been cancelled, or has not been 40 terminated at the time of death of the insured, the annuitant, 41 or the retained asset account holder. 42 (d) This subsection does not apply to an insurer with 43 respect to benefits payable under: 44 1. An annuity that is issued in connection with an 45 employment-based plan subject to the Employee Retirement Income 46 Security Act of 1974 or that is issued to fund an employment 47 based retirement plan, including any deferred compensation plan. 48 2. A policy of credit life or accidental death insurance. 49 3. A joint and survivor annuity contract, if an annuitant 50 is still living. 51 4. A policy issued to a group master policy owner for which 52 the insurer does not perform recordkeeping functions. As used in 53 this subparagraph, the term “recordkeeping” means those 54 circumstances under which the insurer has agreed through a group 55 policyholder to be responsible for obtaining, maintaining, and 56 administering, in its own or its agents’ systems, information 57 about each individual insured under a group insurance policy or 58 a line of coverage thereunder, including at least the following: 59 a. The social security number, or name and date of birth; 60 b. Beneficiary designation information; 61 c. Coverage eligibility; 62 d. The benefit amount; and 63 e. Premium payment status. 64 (9) No later than 120 days after learning of the death of 65 an insured, an annuitant, or a retained asset account holder 66 through a comparison under subsection (8), an insurer shall: 67 (a) Complete and document an effort to confirm the death of 68 the insured, annuitant, or retained asset account holder against 69 other available records and information. 70 (b) Review its records to determine whether the insured, 71 annuitant, or retained asset account holder purchased other 72 products from the insurer. 73 (c) Determine whether benefits may be due under a policy, 74 an annuity, or a retained asset account. 75 (d) Complete and document an effort to locate and contact 76 the beneficiary or authorized representative under a policy, an 77 annuity, or a retained asset account, if such person has not 78 communicated with the insurer before the expiration of the 120 79 day period. The effort must include: 80 1. Sending to the beneficiary or authorized representative 81 information concerning the claim process of the insurer. 82 2. Notice of any requirement to provide a certified 83 original or copy of the death certificate, if applicable under 84 the policy, annuity, or retained asset account. 85 (10) An insurer may, to the extent permitted by law, 86 disclose the minimum necessary personal information about an 87 insured, an annuitant, a retained asset account owner, or a 88 beneficiary to an individual or entity reasonably believed by 89 the insurer to possess the ability to assist the insurer in 90 locating the beneficiary or another individual or entity that is 91 entitled to payment of the claim proceeds. 92 (11) An insurer, or any agent or third party that it 93 engages or that works on its behalf, may not charge insureds, 94 annuitants, retained asset account holders, beneficiaries, or 95 the estates of insureds, annuitants, retained asset 96 97 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 98 And the title is amended as follows: 99 Delete lines 9 - 19 100 and insert: 101 requiring an insurer to compare records of certain 102 insurance policies, annuity contracts, and retained 103 asset accounts of its insureds against the United 104 States Social Security Administration Death Master 105 File or a certain database or service to determine if 106 a death is indicated; providing requirements for the 107 comparison; providing for a presumption of death for 108 certain individuals; providing an exception; requiring 109 an insurer to account for certain variations in data 110 and partial information; providing the circumstances 111 under which a policy, a contract, or an account is 112 deemed to be in force; providing applicability; 113 defining a term; requiring an insurer to follow 114 certain procedures after learning of a death through a 115 specified comparison; authorizing an insurer to 116 disclose certain personal information to specified 117 persons for certain purposes; prohibiting an insurer 118 and