| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to alien insurers; amending s. |
| 3 | 624.402, F.S.; revising a provision exempting alien |
| 4 | insurers from being required to obtain a certificate |
| 5 | of authority; specifying that an alien insurer is |
| 6 | exempt from having to obtain a certificate of |
| 7 | authority if such insurer only engages in specified |
| 8 | activities relating to the delivery of insurance |
| 9 | policies or contracts to nonresident policy owners; |
| 10 | revising the definition of the term "nonresident"; |
| 11 | 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. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (8) of |
| 16 | section 624.402, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 17 | 624.402 Exceptions, certificate of authority required.-A |
| 18 | certificate of authority shall not be required of an insurer |
| 19 | with respect to: |
| 20 | (8)(a) An insurer domiciled outside the United States |
| 21 | covering only persons who, at the time of issuance or renewal, |
| 22 | are nonresidents of the United States if: |
| 23 | 1. The insurer only solicits, sells, or accepts |
| 24 | applications for any insurance policies or contracts or any |
| 25 | affiliated person as defined in s. 624.04 under common ownership |
| 26 | or control with the insurer does not solicit, sell, or accept |
| 27 | application for any insurance policy or contract to be delivered |
| 28 | or issued for delivery to any nonresident policy owner person in |
| 29 | any state; |
| 30 | 2. The insurer registers with the office via a letter of |
| 31 | notification upon commencing business from this state; |
| 32 | 3. The insurer provides the following information, in |
| 33 | English, to the office annually by March 1: |
| 34 | a. The name of the insurer; the country of domicile; the |
| 35 | address of the insurer's principal office and office in this |
| 36 | state; the names of the owners of the insurer and their |
| 37 | percentage of ownership; the names of the officers and directors |
| 38 | of the insurer; the name, e-mail, and telephone number of a |
| 39 | contact person for the insurer; and the number of individuals |
| 40 | who are employed by the insurer or its affiliates in this state; |
| 41 | b. The lines of insurance and types of products offered by |
| 42 | the insurer; |
| 43 | c. A statement from the applicable regulatory body of the |
| 44 | insurer's domicile certifying that the insurer is licensed or |
| 45 | registered for those lines of insurance and types of products in |
| 46 | that domicile; and |
| 47 | d. A copy of the filings required by the applicable |
| 48 | regulatory body of the insurer's country of domicile in that |
| 49 | country's official language or in English, if available; |
| 50 | 4. All certificates, policies, or contracts issued in this |
| 51 | state showing coverage under the insurer's policy include the |
| 52 | following statement in a contrasting color and at least 10-point |
| 53 | type: "The policy providing your coverage and the insurer |
| 54 | providing this policy have not been approved by the Florida |
| 55 | Office of Insurance Regulation"; and |
| 56 | 5. In the event the insurer ceases to do business from |
| 57 | this state, the insurer will provide written notification to the |
| 58 | office within 30 days after cessation. |
| 59 | (b) For purposes of this subsection, the term |
| 60 | "nonresident" means either a trust or other entity organized and |
| 61 | domiciled under the laws of a country other than the United |
| 62 | States or a person who resides in and maintains a physical place |
| 63 | of domicile in a country other than the United States, which he |
| 64 | or she recognizes as and intends to maintain as his or her |
| 65 | permanent home. A nonresident does not include an unauthorized |
| 66 | immigrant present in the United States. Notwithstanding any |
| 67 | other provision of law, it is conclusively presumed, for |
| 68 | purposes of this subsection, that a person is a resident of the |
| 69 | United States if such person has: |
| 70 | 1. Had his or her principal place of domicile in the |
| 71 | United States for 180 days or more in the 365 days prior to |
| 72 | issuance or renewal of the policy; |
| 73 | 2. Registered to vote in any state; |
| 74 | 3. Made a statement of domicile in any state; or |
| 75 | 4. Filed for homestead tax exemption on property in any |
| 76 | state. |
| 77 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012. |