| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to insurance; amending ss. 626.9913, |
| 3 | 627.836, 651.026, and 651.0261, F.S., relating to viatical |
| 4 | settlement providers, premium finance companies, and |
| 5 | continuing care providers; authorizing the Financial |
| 6 | Services Commission to require by rule that certain |
| 7 | statements or filings be submitted by electronic means in |
| 8 | a certain format; amending s. 628.281, F.S.; authorizing |
| 9 | the Office of Insurance Regulation to require that certain |
| 10 | records or copies be submitted by remote electronic |
| 11 | access; providing an effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 626.9913, Florida |
| 16 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 17 | 626.9913 Viatical settlement provider license continuance; |
| 18 | annual report; fees; deposit.-- |
| 19 | (2) Annually, on or before March 1, the viatical |
| 20 | settlement provider licensee shall file a statement containing |
| 21 | information the commission requires and shall pay to the office |
| 22 | a license fee in the amount of $500. The annual statement shall |
| 23 | include audited financial statements prepared in accordance with |
| 24 | generally accepted accounting principles by an independent |
| 25 | certified public accountant as of the last day of the preceding |
| 26 | calendar year. If the audited financial statement has not been |
| 27 | completed, however, the licensee shall include in its annual |
| 28 | statement an unaudited financial statement and an affidavit from |
| 29 | an officer of the licensee stating that the audit has not been |
| 30 | completed. In this event, the licensee shall submit the audited |
| 31 | statement on or before June 1. The annual statement shall also |
| 32 | provide the office with a report of all life expectancy |
| 33 | providers who have provided life expectancies directly or |
| 34 | indirectly to the viatical settlement provider for use in |
| 35 | connection with a viatical settlement contract or a viatical |
| 36 | settlement investment. A viatical settlement provider shall |
| 37 | include in all statements filed with the office all information |
| 38 | requested by the office regarding a related provider trust |
| 39 | established by the viatical settlement provider. The office may |
| 40 | require more frequent reporting. Failure to timely file the |
| 41 | annual statement or to timely pay the license fee is grounds for |
| 42 | immediate suspension of the license. The commission may require |
| 43 | by rule all or part of the statements or filings required under |
| 44 | this section to be submitted by electronic means in a computer- |
| 45 | readable form compatible with the electronic data format |
| 46 | specified by the commission. |
| 47 | Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 627.836, Florida |
| 48 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 49 | 627.836 Licensee's books and records; reports.-- |
| 50 | (2) Each licensee shall annually, on or before March 1, |
| 51 | file a report with the office giving such information as the |
| 52 | office may require. The report shall be made under oath and in |
| 53 | the form prescribed by the commission and shall be accompanied |
| 54 | by the annual report filing fee specified in s. 627.849. The |
| 55 | office may make and publish annually an analysis and |
| 56 | recapitulation of such reports. In addition, the office may |
| 57 | require such additional regular or special reports as it deems |
| 58 | may deem necessary. The commission may require by rule all or |
| 59 | part of the statements or filings required under this section to |
| 60 | be submitted by electronic means in a computer-readable form |
| 61 | compatible with the electronic data format specified by the |
| 62 | commission. |
| 63 | Section 3. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section |
| 64 | 628.281, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 65 | 628.281 Exceptions to requirement that office, records, |
| 66 | and assets be maintained in this state.-- |
| 67 | (1) The provisions of s. 628.271 shall not be deemed to |
| 68 | prohibit or prevent an insurer from: |
| 69 | (c) Establishing and maintaining its principal operations |
| 70 | offices, its usual operations records, and such of its assets as |
| 71 | may be necessary or convenient for the purpose, in another state |
| 72 | in which the insurer is authorized to transact insurance in |
| 73 | order that general administration of its affairs may be combined |
| 74 | with that of an affiliated insurer or insurers, but subject to |
| 75 | the following conditions: |
| 76 | 1. That the office consent in writing to the such removal |
| 77 | of offices, records, and assets from this state upon evidence |
| 78 | satisfactory to it that the same will facilitate and make more |
| 79 | economical the operations of the insurer and will not |
| 80 | unreasonably diminish the service or protection thereafter to be |
| 81 | given the insurer's policyholders in this state and elsewhere; |
| 82 | 2. That the insurer will continue to maintain in this |
| 83 | state its principal corporate office or place of business, and |
| 84 | maintain therein available to the inspection of the office |
| 85 | complete records of its corporate proceedings and a copy of each |
| 86 | financial statement of the insurer current within the preceding |
| 87 | 5 years, including a copy of each interim financial statement |
| 88 | prepared for the information of the insurer's officers or |
| 89 | directors; |
| 90 | 3. That, upon the written request of the office, the |
| 91 | insurer will with reasonable promptness provide the office |
| 92 | remote electronic access to or produce at its principal |
| 93 | corporate offices in this state for examination or for subpoena |
| 94 | its records or copies thereof relative to a particular |
| 95 | transaction or transactions of the insurer as designated by the |
| 96 | office in its request; and |
| 97 | 4. That, if at any time the office finds that the |
| 98 | conditions justifying the maintenance of the such offices, |
| 99 | records, and assets outside this state no longer exist, or that |
| 100 | the insurer has willfully and knowingly violated any of the |
| 101 | conditions stated in subparagraphs 2. and 3., the office may |
| 102 | order the return of the such offices, records, and assets to |
| 103 | this state within such reasonable time, not less than 6 months, |
| 104 | as may be specified in the order; and that for failure to comply |
| 105 | with the such order, as thereafter modified or extended, if any, |
| 106 | the office shall suspend or revoke the insurer's certificate of |
| 107 | authority. |
| 108 | Section 4. Subsection (9) is added to section 651.026, |
| 109 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 110 | 651.026 Annual reports.-- |
| 111 | (9) The commission may require by rule all or part of the |
| 112 | statements or filings required under this section to be |
| 113 | submitted by electronic means in a computer-readable form |
| 114 | compatible with the electronic data format specified by the |
| 115 | commission. |
| 116 | Section 5. Section 651.0261, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 117 | to read: |
| 118 | 651.0261 Quarterly statements.--If the office finds, |
| 119 | pursuant to rules of the commission, that such information is |
| 120 | needed to properly monitor the financial condition of a provider |
| 121 | or facility or is otherwise needed to protect the public |
| 122 | interest, the office may require the provider to file, within 45 |
| 123 | days after the end of each fiscal quarter, a quarterly unaudited |
| 124 | financial statement of the provider or of the facility in the |
| 125 | form prescribed by the commission by rule. The commission may |
| 126 | require by rule all or part of the statements or filings |
| 127 | required under this section to be submitted by electronic means |
| 128 | in a computer-readable form compatible with the electronic data |
| 129 | format specified by the commission. |
| 130 | Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |