Florida Senate - 2012 CS for CS for SB 1428
By the Committees on Budget Subcommittee on General Government
Appropriations; and Banking and Insurance; and Senator Smith
601-04293-12 20121428c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to insurance; amending s. 624.307,
3 F.S.; authorizing the Office of Insurance Regulation
4 to expend funds for the professional development of
5 its employees; amending s. 627.4133, F.S.; providing
6 that the transfer of a policy to certain other
7 insurers is considered a renewal of the policy rather
8 than a cancellation or nonrenewal; requiring notice of
9 such transfer; specifying which types of policies such
10 transfer provisions apply to; amending s. 627.442,
11 F.S.; exempting certain insurers from performing
12 onsite premium audits for workers’ compensation
13 insurance; providing an effective date.
14
15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17 Section 1. Subsections (7) and (8) of section 624.307,
18 Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (8) and (9),
19 respectively, and a new subsection (7) is added to that section,
20 to read:
21 624.307 General powers; duties.—
22 (7) The office, within existing resources, may expend funds
23 for the professional development of its employees, including,
24 but not limited to, professional dues for employees who are
25 required to be members of professional organizations;
26 examinations leading to professional designations required for
27 employment with the office; training courses and examinations
28 provided through, and to ensure compliance with, the National
29 Association of Insurance Commissioners; or other training
30 courses related to the regulation of insurance.
31 Section 2. Subsection (8) is added to section 627.4133,
32 Florida Statutes, to read:
33 627.4133 Notice of cancellation, nonrenewal, or renewal
34 premium.—
35 (8) Upon expiration of the policy term, an insurer may
36 transfer a commercial lines policy to another authorized insurer
37 that is a member of the same group or owned by the same holding
38 company as the transferring insurer. The transfer constitutes a
39 renewal of the policy and may not be treated as a cancellation
40 or a nonrenewal of the policy. The insurer must provide notice
41 of its intent to transfer the policy at least 45 days before the
42 effective date of the transfer along with the financial rating
43 of the authorized insurer to which the policy is being
44 transferred. Such notice may be provided in the notice of
45 renewal premium. This subsection does not apply to a policy
46 providing residential property insurance coverage, except for
47 farmowners insurance and commercial general liability policies
48 providing farm coverage or commercial property policies
49 providing farm coverage.
50 Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 627.442, Florida
51 Statutes, is amended to read:
52 627.442 Insurance contracts.—
53 (2) Notwithstanding s. 440.381(3), an insurer having at
54 least $200 million in surplus, or an insurer within an insurer
55 group that has at least $400 million in surplus, as reflected in
56 the combined annual statement filed by the insurer group with
57 the office, is not required to perform physical onsite premium
58 audits are not required for workers’ compensation coverage,
59 other than an audit required by the insurance policy or an order
60 of the office, or at least once each policy period, if requested
61 by the insured.
62 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.