Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 158
By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Jones
597-02496-26 2026158c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to pet insurance; amending s.
3 627.71545, F.S.; revising requirements for disclosures
4 from a pet insurer to a policyholder; prohibiting
5 agents from soliciting the sale of pet insurance
6 policies or pet wellness products under certain
7 circumstances; authorizing agents to rely on certain
8 standards and materials; specifying that certain
9 training standards are not part of certain continuing
10 education requirements; providing that certain courses
11 are eligible for certain continuing education credit;
12 deleting a requirement that insurers ensure their
13 agents are trained in a specified manner; requiring
14 pet insurers to file annually a specified report with
15 the Office of Insurance Regulation; specifying the
16 requirements of such report; providing an effective
17 date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Present subsection (11) of section 627.71545,
22 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (12), a new
23 subsection (11) is added to that section, and paragraph (e) of
24 subsection (6) and paragraph (a) of subsection (10) of that
25 section are amended, to read:
26 627.71545 Pet insurance; noninsurance wellness programs.—
27 (6)
28 (e) At the time a pet insurance policy is issued or
29 delivered to a policyholder, the pet insurer shall provide the
30 policyholder with a copy of the Insurer Disclosure of Important
31 Policy Provisions document required under paragraph (d), in at
32 least 12-point type. At such time, the pet insurer shall also
33 include a written disclosure with all of the following:
34 1. Contact information for the Division of Consumer
35 Services of the department, including a link and toll-free
36 telephone number, for consumers to submit inquiries and
37 complaints relating to pet insurance products regulated by the
38 department or office.
39 2. The address and customer service telephone number of the
40 pet insurance agent.
41 3. A summary of the key policy features, written in plain
42 language and on a form adopted by the commission by rule,
43 including, at a minimum, coverage limits and deductibles,
44 waiting periods, exclusions, preexisting condition rules, and
45 whether the policy includes wellness benefits.
46 (10)(a)1. An agent may not solicit the sale of a pet
47 insurance policy or a pet wellness product unless the agent has
48 adequate knowledge of the policy or product, is in compliance
49 with the insurer’s standards applicable to the sale of the
50 policy or product, and completes a biennial 2-hour training
51 course on the topics specified in paragraph (b). An agent may
52 rely on insurer-provided, policy, or product-specific training
53 standards and materials to comply with this subsection.
54 2. The insurer-provided, policy, or product-provided
55 training standards specified in subparagraph 1. are not part of
56 an agent’s continuing education requirement in s. 626.2815;
57 however, if a course provider submits and receives approval from
58 the department, the course is eligible for continuing education
59 credit pursuant to s. 626.2815 A pet insurer must ensure that
60 its agents are trained on the topics specified in paragraph (b)
61 and that its agents have been appropriately trained on the
62 coverages and conditions of its pet insurance products.
63 (11) Each pet insurer authorized to transact pet insurance
64 under this section shall file with the office by March 1 of each
65 year a report containing all of the following information for
66 the preceding calendar year:
67 (a) The number of pet insurance policies issued, renewed,
68 and canceled.
69 (b) Aggregate premium and claims data.
70 (c) Data on policy denials and rescissions, including the
71 reason for each denial or rescission.
72 (d) Information on waiting periods, exclusions, and
73 wellness program offerings.
74 (e) Any other information required by rule of the
75 commission.
76 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.