Florida Senate - 2017                      CS for CS for SB 1316
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Transportation; and Banking and Insurance;
       and Senator Bracy
       
       
       
       
       596-04106-17                                          20171316c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to preinsurance inspection; amending
    3         s. 627.744, F.S.; revising construction; authorizing
    4         insurers to opt out of preinsurance inspections of
    5         private passenger motor vehicles; requiring insurers
    6         opting out to file a certain manual rule with the
    7         Office of Insurance Regulation; authorizing such
    8         insurers to establish their own preinsurance
    9         inspection requirements, which must be included in the
   10         filed manual rule; prohibiting such insurers from
   11         requiring applicants to pay for the cost of
   12         inspections; deleting an obsolete provision; providing
   13         an effective date.
   14          
   15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   16  
   17         Section 1. Subsections (3) and (8) of section 627.744,
   18  Florida Statutes, are amended, present subsections (4) through
   19  (7) of that section are redesignated as subsections (3) through
   20  (6), and a new subsection (7) is added to that section, to read:
   21         627.744 Required preinsurance inspection of private
   22  passenger motor vehicles.—
   23         (3) This subsection does not prohibit an insurer from
   24  requiring a preinsurance inspection of any motor vehicle as a
   25  condition of issuance of physical damage coverage.
   26         (7) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an
   27  insurer may opt out of the inspection requirements of this
   28  section. An insurer opting out of the inspection must file a
   29  manual rule with the office indicating that the insurer will not
   30  participate in the inspection program under this section. An
   31  insurer that files such a manual rule with the office may
   32  establish its own preinsurance inspection requirements as a
   33  condition to issuing a private passenger motor vehicle insurance
   34  policy. The insurer’s preinsurance inspection requirements must
   35  be included in the manual rule filed with the office. An insurer
   36  opting out of the inspection requirements of this section may
   37  not require an applicant to pay for the cost of an inspection.
   38         (8) The Division of Insurance Fraud of the Department of
   39  Financial Services shall provide a report of data from the
   40  required preinsurance inspection of motor vehicles to the
   41  Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
   42  House of Representatives by December 1, 2016.
   43         (a) The data must include, but need not be limited to:
   44         1. A written estimate of the total cost incurred by
   45  insurers and policyholders in order to comply with the
   46  inspections.
   47         2. A written estimate of the total cost incurred by
   48  insurers to have their motor vehicles inspected.
   49         3. Documentation regarding the total premium savings for
   50  policyholders as a result of the inspections.
   51         4. Documentation of the total number of inspected motor
   52  vehicles that had a preexisting condition.
   53         5. Documentation regarding the potential fraud in motor
   54  vehicle claims incurred within the first 125 days after issuance
   55  of a new policy.
   56         6. Documentation of the total number of referrals of
   57  fraudulent acts to the National Insurance Crime Bureau by
   58  preinsurance inspectors during the past 5 years.
   59         (b) The Legislature may use the report data in determining
   60  the future public necessity for this section.
   61         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.