The Florida Senate

No person in this state shall provide or offer to provide service warranties unless authorized therefor under a subsisting license issued by the office. The service warranty association shall pay to the office a license fee of $200 for such license for each license year, or part thereof, the license is in force.

An insurer, while authorized to transact property or casualty insurance in this state, may also transact a service warranty business without additional qualifications or authority, but shall be otherwise subject to the applicable provisions of this part.

The office may, pursuant to s. 120.569, in its discretion and without advance notice and hearing, issue an immediate final order to cease and desist to any person or entity which violates this section. The Legislature finds that a violation of this section constitutes an imminent and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare of the residents of this state.

Any person that is an affiliate of a domestic insurer as defined in chapter 624 is exempt from application of this part if the person does not issue, or market or cause to be marketed, service warranties to residents of this state and does not administer service warranties that were originally issued to residents of this state. The domestic insurer or its wholly owned Florida licensed insurer must be the direct obligor of all service warranties issued by such affiliate or must issue a contractual liability insurance policy to such affiliate that meets the conditions described in s. 634.406(3). If the Office of Insurance Regulation determines, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, that a person’s intentional business practices do not comply with any of the exemption requirements of this subsection, the person shall be subject to this part.

Any person who provides, offers to provide, or holds oneself out as providing or offering to provide a service warranty in this state or from this state without holding a subsisting license commits, in addition to any other violation, a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.