| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to insurance representatives; amending s. |
| 3 | 626.221, F.S.; expanding the list of applicants eligible |
| 4 | for exemption from certain examination requirements; |
| 5 | amending s. 626.2815, F.S.; providing an exception to |
| 6 | certain examination monitoring requirements; providing |
| 7 | exception requirements; amending s. 626.311, F.S.; |
| 8 | authorizing agents qualifying as unaffiliated insurance |
| 9 | consultants to transact insurance business within the |
| 10 | scope of the agent's license; providing a definition; |
| 11 | specifying prohibited activities for unaffiliated |
| 12 | insurance consultants; providing effective dates. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Section 1. Effective January 1, 2009, paragraph (j) of |
| 17 | subsection (2) of section 626.221, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 18 | to read: |
| 19 | 626.221 Examination requirement; exemptions.-- |
| 20 | (2) However, no such examination shall be necessary in any |
| 21 | of the following cases: |
| 22 | (j) An applicant for license as a customer representative |
| 23 | who has earned the designation of Accredited Advisor in |
| 24 | Insurance (AAI) from the Insurance Institute of America, the |
| 25 | designation of Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) from the |
| 26 | Society of Certified Insurance Service Counselors, the |
| 27 | designation of Accredited Customer Service Representative (ACSR) |
| 28 | from the Independent Insurance Agents of America, the |
| 29 | designation of Certified Professional Service Representative |
| 30 | (CPSR) from the National Foundation for Certified Professional |
| 31 | Service Representatives, the designation of Certified Insurance |
| 32 | Service Representative (CISR) from the Society of Certified |
| 33 | Insurance Service Representatives. Also, an applicant for |
| 34 | license as a customer representative who has earned an |
| 35 | associate's degree or bachelor's degree from an accredited |
| 36 | college or university with at least 9 academic hours of property |
| 37 | and casualty insurance curriculum, or the equivalent, or has |
| 38 | earned the designation of Certified Customer Service |
| 39 | Representative (CCSR) from the Florida Association of Insurance |
| 40 | Agents, or the designation of Registered Customer Service |
| 41 | Representative (RCSR) from a regionally accredited postsecondary |
| 42 | institution in this state, or the designation of Professional |
| 43 | Customer Service Representative (PCSR) from the Professional |
| 44 | Career Institute, whose curriculum has been approved by the |
| 45 | department and whose curriculum includes comprehensive analysis |
| 46 | of basic property and casualty lines of insurance and testing at |
| 47 | least equal to that of standard department testing for the |
| 48 | customer representative license. The department shall adopt |
| 49 | rules establishing standards for the approval of curriculum. |
| 50 | Section 2. Paragraph (j) of subsection (4) of section |
| 51 | 626.2815, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 52 | 626.2815 Continuing education required; application; |
| 53 | exceptions; requirements; penalties.-- |
| 54 | (4) The following courses may be completed in order to |
| 55 | meet the continuing education course requirements: |
| 56 | (j) Any course, including courses relating to agency |
| 57 | management or errors and omissions, developed or sponsored by |
| 58 | any authorized insurer or recognized agents' association or |
| 59 | insurance trade association or any independent study program of |
| 60 | instruction, subject to approval by the department, qualifies |
| 61 | for the equivalency of the number of classroom hours assigned |
| 62 | thereto by the department. However, unless otherwise provided in |
| 63 | this section, continuing education hours may not be credited |
| 64 | toward meeting the requirements of this section unless the |
| 65 | course is provided by classroom instruction or results in a |
| 66 | monitored examination. A monitored examination is not required |
| 67 | for: |
| 68 | 1. An independent study program of instruction that is |
| 69 | presented through interactive, online technology that the |
| 70 | department determines has sufficient internal testing to |
| 71 | validate the student's full comprehension of the materials |
| 72 | presented; or |
| 73 | 2. An independent study program of instruction presented |
| 74 | on paper or in printed material that imposes a final closed book |
| 75 | examination that meets the requirements of the department's rule |
| 76 | for self-study courses. The examination may be taken without a |
| 77 | proctor provided the student presents to the provider a sworn |
| 78 | affidavit certifying that the student did not consult any |
| 79 | written materials or receive outside assistance of any kind or |
| 80 | from any person, directly or indirectly, while taking the |
| 81 | examination. If the student is an employee of an agency or |
| 82 | corporate entity, the student's supervisor or a manager or owner |
| 83 | of the agency or corporate entity must also sign the sworn |
| 84 | affidavit. If the student is self-employed, a sole proprietor, |
| 85 | or a partner, or if the examination is administered online, the |
| 86 | sworn affidavit must also be signed by a disinterested third |
| 87 | party. The sworn affidavit must be received by the approved |
| 88 | provider prior to reporting continuing education credits to the |
| 89 | department. |
| 90 | Section 3. Effective January 1, 2009, subsection (7) is |
| 91 | added to section 626.311, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 92 | 626.311 Scope of license.-- |
| 93 | (7) Subject to the limitations of paragraph (b) and |
| 94 | notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, an agent |
| 95 | who qualifies as an unaffiliated insurance consultant under |
| 96 | paragraph (a) shall be authorized to transact insurance within |
| 97 | the scope of his or her agent's license. |
| 98 | (a) For purposes of this subsection, the term |
| 99 | "unaffiliated insurance consultant" means a person who is not |
| 100 | affiliated with any insurer and chooses to practice as an |
| 101 | independent insurance consultant providing objective advice to |
| 102 | the buyers of insurance and who: |
| 103 | 1. Is licensed as an agent with respect to the type of |
| 104 | insurance for which he or she transacts the business of |
| 105 | insurance. |
| 106 | 2. Is not appointed or registered by an insurer or other |
| 107 | authorized appointing entity. |
| 108 | 3. Does not sell or service insurance on behalf of any |
| 109 | insurer, or sell or service insurance on behalf of any insurance |
| 110 | agent or insurance agency, in connection with the sale or |
| 111 | service on behalf of an insurer or by the insurance agent or |
| 112 | insurance agency. |
| 113 | 4. Does not receive any commission or any other form of |
| 114 | direct or indirect compensation from any insurer for the sale or |
| 115 | servicing of insurance on behalf of such insurer, or receive any |
| 116 | commission or any other form of direct or indirect compensation |
| 117 | from any insurance agent or insurance agency, in connection with |
| 118 | the sale or servicing of insurance on behalf of an insurer or by |
| 119 | the insurance agent or insurance agency. |
| 120 | 5. Is appointed by himself or herself with the department |
| 121 | and has paid the applicable fees pursuant to s. 624.501. |
| 122 | (b) An unaffiliated insurance consultant may not: |
| 123 | 1. Hold himself or herself out as acting as the agent for |
| 124 | an insurer; |
| 125 | 2. Act as a countersigning agent for an insurer; or |
| 126 | 3. Hold himself or herself out as replacing the need for |
| 127 | an appointed agent in the placement or sale of insurance. |
| 128 | Section 4. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this |
| 129 | act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |