The Florida Senate

628.511  Book entry accounting system.--

(1)  The purpose of this section is to authorize domestic insurers to utilize modern systems for holding and transferring securities without physical delivery of securities certificates, subject to appropriate rules of the commission.

(2)  The following terms are defined for use in this section:

(a)  "Securities" means instruments as defined in s. 678.1021

(b)  "Clearing corporation" means a clearing corporation as defined in s. 678.1021

(c)  "Direct participant" means a national bank, state bank or trust company which maintains an account in its name in a clearing corporation and through which an insurance company participates in a clearing corporation.

(d)  "Federal Reserve book-entry system" means the computerized systems sponsored by the United States Department of the Treasury and agencies and instrumentalities of the United States for holding and transferring securities of the United States Government and such agencies and instrumentalities, respectively, in Federal Reserve banks through banks which are members of the Federal Reserve System or which otherwise have access to such computerized systems.

(e)  "Member bank" means a national bank, state bank or trust company which is a member of the Federal Reserve System and through which an insurer participates in the Federal Reserve book-entry system.

(3)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a domestic insurer may deposit or arrange for the deposit of securities held in or purchased for its general account and its separate accounts in a clearing corporation or in the Federal Reserve book-entry system. When securities are deposited with a clearing corporation, certificates representing securities of the same class of the same issuer may be merged and held in bulk in the name of the nominee of such clearing corporation with any other securities deposited with such clearing corporation by any person, regardless of the ownership of such securities, and certificates representing securities of small denominations may be merged into one or more certificates of larger denominations. The records of any bank through which an insurer holds securities in the Federal Reserve book-entry system, and the records of any custodian banks through which an insurer holds securities in a clearing corporation, shall at all times show that such securities are held for such insurer and for which accounts thereof. Ownership of, and other interests in, such securities may be transferred by bookkeeping entry on the books of such clearing corporation or in the Federal Reserve book-entry system without, in either case, physical delivery of certificates representing such securities.

(4)  The commission may adopt rules governing the deposit by insurers of securities with clearing corporations and in the Federal Reserve book-entry system.

History.--ss. 663, 809(1st), ch. 82-243; s. 72, ch. 82-386; ss. 187, 188, ch. 91-108; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 1289, ch. 2003-261.