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2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXXVII INSURANCE
Chapter 626 INSURANCE FIELD REPRESENTATIVES AND OPERATIONS Entire Chapter
SECTION 916
Eligibility for export.
F.S. 626.916
626.916 Eligibility for export.—
(1) No insurance coverage shall be eligible for export unless it meets all of the following conditions:
(a) The premium rate at which the coverage is exported shall not be lower than that rate applicable, if any, in actual and current use by a majority of the authorized insurers for the same coverage on a similar risk.
(b) The policy or contract form under which the insurance is exported shall not be more favorable to the insured as to the coverage or rate than under similar contracts on file and in actual current use in this state by the majority of authorized insurers actually writing similar coverages on similar risks; except that a coverage may be exported under a unique form of policy designed for use with respect to a particular subject of insurance if a copy of such form is filed with the office by the surplus lines agent desiring to use the same and is subject to the disapproval of the office within 10 days of filing such form exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays if it finds that the use of such special form is not reasonably necessary for the principal purposes of the coverage or that its use would be contrary to the purposes of this Surplus Lines Law with respect to the reasonable protection of authorized insurers from unwarranted competition by unauthorized insurers.
(c) Except as to extended coverage in connection with fire insurance policies and except as to windstorm insurance, the policy or contract under which the insurance is exported shall not provide for deductible amounts, in determining the existence or extent of the insurer’s liability, other than those available under similar policies or contracts in actual and current use by one or more authorized insurers.
(d) The insured has signed or otherwise provided documented acknowledgment of a disclosure in substantially the following form: “You are agreeing to place coverage in the surplus lines market. Coverage may be available in the admitted market. Persons insured by surplus lines carriers are not protected under the Florida Insurance Guaranty Act with respect to any right of recovery for the obligation of an insolvent unlicensed insurer. Additionally, surplus lines insurers’ policy rates and forms are not approved by any Florida regulatory agency.” If the acknowledgment of the disclosure is signed by the insured, the insured is presumed to have been informed and to know that other coverage may be available.
(2) A reasonable per-policy fee may be charged by the filing surplus lines agent for each policy certified for export. This per-policy fee must be itemized separately to the customer before purchase and enumerated in the policy.
(3) A retail agent may charge a reasonable per-policy fee for placement of a surplus lines policy under this section. This per-policy fee must be itemized separately to the customer before purchase.
History.—s. 355, ch. 59-205; s. 1, ch. 63-86; s. 1, ch. 67-380; ss. 13, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 91, ch. 79-40; s. 2, ch. 81-318; ss. 300, 318, 807, ch. 82-243; ss. 164, 206, 207, ch. 90-363; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 29, ch. 92-146; s. 1, ch. 2001-213; s. 1016, ch. 2003-261; s. 6, ch. 2007-90; s. 17, ch. 2011-174; s. 10, ch. 2019-108; s. 11, ch. 2021-104; s. 20, ch. 2021-113; s. 3, ch. 2025-145.