Bill Text: FL S0938 | 2012 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Insurance Agents and Adjusters
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-07 - Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/CS/HB 725 -SJ 918 [S0938 Detail]
Download: Florida-2012-S0938-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2012 CS for SB 938 By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Richter 597-01751-12 2012938c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to insurance agents and adjusters; 3 amending s. 624.501, F.S.; deleting a title insurer 4 administrative surcharge for a licensed title 5 insurance agency; amending s. 624.505, F.S.; deleting 6 a requirement that an insurer pay an agent tax for 7 each county in which an agent represents the insurer 8 and has a place of business; amending s. 626.015, 9 F.S.; revising the definitions of “adjuster” and “home 10 state”; amending s. 626.0428, F.S.; revising 11 provisions relating to who may bind insurance 12 coverage; amending s. 626.171, F.S.; providing that an 13 applicant is responsible for the information in an 14 application even if completed by a third party; 15 requiring an application to include a statement about 16 the method used to meet certain requirements; amending 17 s. 626.191, F.S.; revising provisions relating to when 18 an applicant may apply for a license after an initial 19 application is denied by the Department of Financial 20 Services; amending s. 626.221, F.S.; revising 21 provisions relating to license examinations; 22 conforming provisions relating to all-lines adjusters; 23 deleting an exemption from examination for certain 24 adjusters; amending s. 626.231, F.S.; providing for 25 submitting an application for examination on a 26 designee’s website; requiring the applicant’s e-mail 27 address; amending s. 626.241, F.S.; revising the scope 28 of the examination for an all-lines adjuster; amending 29 s. 626.251, F.S.; providing for e-mailing notices of 30 examinations; amending s. 626.281, F.S.; specifying 31 how many times an applicant may take an examination 32 during a year; amending s. 626.2815, F.S.; revising 33 provisions relating to continuing education 34 requirements; providing that persons on active 35 military duty may seek a waiver; providing for an 36 update course and the contents of such course; 37 deleting requirements relating specifically to certain 38 types of insurance; providing education requirements 39 for bail bond agents and public adjusters; eliminating 40 the continuing education advisory board; amending s. 41 626.292, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made 42 by the act relating to all-lines adjusters; amending 43 s. 626.311, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes 44 made by the act relating to limited licenses; amending 45 s. 626.321, F.S.; revising provisions relating to 46 limited licenses; prohibiting the future issuance of 47 new limited licenses for motor vehicle physical damage 48 and mechanical breakdown insurance; combining limited 49 licenses relating to credit insurance; specifying 50 events covered by crop hail and multiple-peril crop 51 insurance; revising in-transit and storage personal 52 property insurance to create a limited license for 53 portable electronics insurance; amending s. 626.342, 54 F.S.; clarifying that the prohibition relating to the 55 furnishing of supplies to unlicensed agents applies to 56 all unlicensed agents; amending s. 626.381, F.S.; 57 revising provisions relating to the reporting of 58 administrative actions; amending s. 626.536, F.S.; 59 clarifying requirements for reporting administrative 60 actions taken against a licensee; amending s. 626.551, 61 F.S.; shortening the time within which a licensee must 62 report to the department a change in certain 63 information; authorizing the Department of Financial 64 Services to adopt rules relating to notification of a 65 change of address; amending s. 626.621, F.S.; adding 66 failure to comply with child support requirements as 67 grounds for action against a license; amending s. 68 626.641, F.S.; clarifying provisions relating to the 69 suspension or revocation of a license or appointment; 70 amending s. 626.651, F.S.; revising provisions 71 relating to the suspension or revocation of licenses; 72 amending ss. 626.730 and 626.732, F.S.; revising 73 provisions relating to the purpose of the general 74 lines and personal lines license and certain 75 requirements related to general lines and personal 76 lines agents; conforming provisions to changes made by 77 the act relating to limited licenses; amending s. 78 626.8411, F.S.; revising requirements and exemptions 79 relating to title insurance agents or agencies; 80 amending s. 626.8418, F.S.; deleting the requirement 81 that a title insurance agency deposit certain 82 securities with the department; creating s. 626.8548, 83 F.S.; defining the term “all-lines adjuster”; amending 84 s. 626.855, F.S.; revising the definition of 85 “independent adjuster”; amending s. 626.856, F.S.; 86 revising the definition of “company employee 87 adjuster”; repealing s. 626.858, F.S., relating to 88 defining “nonresident company employee adjuster”; 89 amending s. 626.8584, F.S.; revising the definition of 90 “nonresident all-lines adjuster”; amending s. 626.863, 91 F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the act 92 relating to all-lines adjusters; amending s. 626.864, 93 F.S.; revising provisions relating to adjuster license 94 types; amending s. 626.865, F.S.; requiring an 95 applicant for public adjuster to be licensed as a 96 public adjuster apprentice; amending s. 626.866, F.S.; 97 conforming provisions to changes made by the act 98 relating to all-lines adjusters; repealing s. 626.867, 99 F.S., relating to qualifications for company employee 100 adjusters; amending s. 626.869, F.S.; revising 101 provisions relating to an all-lines adjuster license; 102 ceasing the issuance of certain adjuster licenses; 103 revising continuing education requirements; amending 104 s. 626.8697, F.S.; revising provisions relating to the 105 violation of rules resulting in the suspension or 106 revocation of an adjuster’s license; amending s. 107 626.872, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made 108 by the act relating to all-lines adjusters; repealing 109 s. 626.873, F.S., relating to licensure for 110 nonresident company employee adjusters; amending s. 111 626.8734, F.S.; amending provisions relating to 112 nonresident all-lines adjusters; providing for 113 verifying an applicant’s status through the National 114 Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Producer 115 Database; amending ss. 626.8736, 626.874, 626.875, and 116 626.876, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made 117 by the act relating to all-lines adjusters; amending 118 s. 626.927, F.S.; deleting a requirement that a 119 licensed surplus lines agent maintain a bond; 120 repealing s. 626.928, F.S., relating to a surplus 121 lines agent’s bond; amending ss. 626.933, 626.935, and 122 627.952, F.S.; conforming cross-references; amending 123 s. 635.051, F.S.; requiring persons transacting 124 mortgage guaranty insurance to be licensed and 125 appointed as a credit insurance agent; amending s. 126 648.34, F.S.; revising the licensure application for 127 bail bond agents to include certain information; 128 amending s. 648.38, F.S.; revising the notice of 129 examination requirements for bail bond agents; 130 amending s. 648.385, F.S.; revising continuing 131 education courses for bail bond agents, to conform to 132 changes made by the act; amending s. 648.421, F.S.; 133 revising the notice of change of address or telephone 134 number for bail bond agents to include the agent’s e 135 mail address; amending s. 903.27, F.S.; revising 136 provisions relating to the provision of forfeiture 137 documents and notification of certain actions; 138 providing effective dates. 139 140 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 141 142 Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subsection (27) of section 143 624.501, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 144 624.501 Filing, license, appointment, and miscellaneous 145 fees.—The department, commission, or office, as appropriate, 146 shall collect in advance, and persons so served shall pay to it 147 in advance, fees, licenses, and miscellaneous charges as 148 follows: 149 (27) Title insurance agents: 150 (e) Title insurer and title insurance agency administrative 151 surcharge: 1521.On or before January 30 of each calendar year, each 153 title insurer shall pay an administrative surcharge of $200.00 154 to the office for each licensed title insurance agency appointed 155 by the title insurer and for each retail office of the insurer 156 on January 1 of that calendar yearan administrative surcharge157of $200.00. 1582. On or before January 30 of each calendar year, each159licensed title insurance agency shall remit to the department an160administrative surcharge of $200.00.Theadministrative161 surcharge may be used solely to defray the costs to the 162department andoffice for gathering and evaluatingin their163examination or audit of title insurance agencies and retail164offices of title insurers and to gathertitle insurance data 165 from title insurance agencies and insurers for statistical 166 purposes, which shalltobe furnished to and used by the office 167 in its regulation of title insurance. 168 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 624.505, Florida 169 Statutes, is amended to read: 170 624.505 County tax; determination;additional offices;171 nonresident agents.— 172 (1) The county tax imposedprovided forunder s. 624.501 173 foras toan agent shall be paid by each insurer for each agent 174 only for the county where the agent resides, or if thesuch175 agent’s place of business is not located in theacounty where 176 the agent residesother than that of her or his residence,then177 for the county in which the agent’swherein is located such178 place of business is located.If an agent maintains an office or179place of business in more than one county, the tax shall be paid180for her or him by each such insurer for each county wherein the181agent represents such insurer and has a place of business.If 182When under this subsectionan insurer is paying therequired to183paycounty taxfor an agentfor a countyor countiesother than 184 the agent’s county of residence, the insurer mustshall185 designate the countyor countiesfor which the taxes are paid. 186 Section 3. Subsections (1) and (7) of section 626.015, 187 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 188 626.015 Definitions.—As used in this part: 189 (1) “Adjuster” means a public adjuster as defined in s. 190 626.854, a public adjuster apprentice as defined in s. 626.8541, 191 or an all-lines adjuster as defined in s. 626.8548independent192adjuster as defined in s.626.855, or company employee adjuster193as defined in s.626.856. 194 (7) “Home state” means the District of Columbia and any 195 state or territory of the United States in which aninsurance196 agent or adjuster maintains his or her principal place of 197 residence or principal place of business and is licensed to act 198 as an insurance agent or adjuster. 199 Section 4. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 626.0428, 200 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 201 626.0428 Agency personnel powers, duties, and limitations.— 202 (2) AnNoemployee of an agent or agency may not bind 203 insurance coverage unless licensed and appointed as ana general204linesagent or customer representative. 205 (3) AnNoemployee of an agent or agency may not initiate 206 contact with any person for the purpose of soliciting insurance 207 unless licensed and appointed as ana general linesagent or 208 customer representative. 209 Section 5. Subsection (1) and paragraph (b) of subsection 210 (2) of section 626.171, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 211 626.171 Application for license as an agent, customer 212 representative, adjuster, service representative, managing 213 general agent, or reinsurance intermediary.— 214 (1) The department mayshallnot issue a license as agent, 215 customer representative, adjuster, service representative, 216 managing general agent, or reinsurance intermediary to any 217 person except upon written applicationthereforfiled with the 218 departmentit, meeting the qualifications for the license 219 applied for as determined by the departmentqualification220therefor, and payment in advance of all applicable fees. TheAny221suchapplication mustshallbe made under the oath of the 222 applicant and be signed by the applicant. An applicant may 223 permit a third party to complete, submit, and sign an 224 application on the applicant’s behalf, but is responsible for 225 ensuring that the information on the application is true and 226 correct and is accountable for any misstatements or 227 misrepresentations. The department shall accept the uniform 228 application for nonresident agent licensing. The department may 229 adopt revised versions of the uniform application by rule. 230 (2) In the application, the applicant shall set forth: 231 (b) A statement indicating the method the applicant used or 232 is using to meet any required prelicensing education, knowledge, 233 experience, or instructional requirements for the type of 234 license applied for.Proof that he or she has completed or is in235the process of completing any required prelicensing course.236 237 However, the application must contain a statement that an 238 applicant is not required to disclose his or her race or 239 ethnicity, gender, or native language, that he or she will not 240 be penalized for not doing so, and that the department will use 241 this information exclusively for research and statistical 242 purposes and to improve the quality and fairness of the 243 examinations. 244 Section 6. Section 626.191, Florida Statutes, is amended to 245 read: 246 626.191 Repeated applications.—The failure of an applicant 247 to secure a license uponanapplication doesshallnot preclude 248 the applicant from applying again. Howeveras many times as249desired,butthe department mayshallnot considergive250consideration toor accept any further application by the same 251 applicantindividualfor a similar license dated or filed within 252 30 days aftersubsequent tothe date the department denied the 253 last application, except as provided underins. 626.281. 254 Section 7. Subsection (2) of section 626.221, Florida 255 Statutes, is amended to read: 256 626.221 Examination requirement; exemptions.— 257 (2) However, anno suchexamination is notshall be258 necessary forinany of the followingcases: 259 (a) An applicant for renewal of appointment as an agent, 260 customer representative, or adjuster, unless the department 261 determines that an examination is necessary to establish the 262 competence or trustworthiness of thesuchapplicant. 263 (b) An applicant for a limited license as agent for travel 264 insurance, motor vehicle rentalpersonal accident insurance,265baggage and motor vehicle excess liability insurance, credit266life or disabilityinsurance, credit insurance,credit property267insurance,in-transit and storage personal property insurance, 268 or portable electronicscommunications equipment property269insurance or communication equipment inland marineinsurance 270 under s. 626.321. 271 (c) In the discretion of the department, an applicant for 272 reinstatement of license or appointment as an agent, customer 273 representative,company employee adjuster,or all-lines 274independentadjuster whose license has been suspended within the 275 4 years beforeprior tothe date of application or written 276 request for reinstatement. 277 (d) An applicant who, within the 4 years beforeprior to278 application for license and appointment as an agent, customer 279 representative, or adjuster, was a full-time salaried employee 280 of the department whoandhadcontinuously been such an employee281withresponsible insurance duties for at leastnot less than2 282 continuous years and who had been a licensee within the 4 years 283 beforeprior toemployment by the department with the same class 284 of license as that being applied for. 285 (e) An applicantA personwho has been licensed as an all 286 lines adjuster and appointed as an independent adjuster or 287 company employee adjusteras to all property, casualty, and288surety insurances may be licensed and appointed as a company289employee adjuster or independent adjuster, as to these kinds of290insurance, without additional written examinationif an 291 application for licensure is filed with the department within 48 292 months following the date of cancellation or expiration of the 293 prior appointment. 294(f) A person who has been licensed as a company employee295adjuster or independent adjuster for motor vehicle, property and296casualty, workers’ compensation, and health insurance may be297licensed as such an adjuster without additional written298examination if his or her application for licensure is filed299with the department within 48 months after cancellation or300expiration of the prior license.301 (f)(g)An applicant for a temporary license, except as 302 otherwise provided in this code. 303 (g)(h)An applicant for a license as a life or health agent 304licensewho has received the designation of chartered life 305 underwriter (CLU) from the American College of Life Underwriters 306 andwhohas been engaged in the insurance business within the 307 past 4 years, except that the applicantsuch an individualmay 308 be examined on pertinent provisions of this code. 309 (h)(i)An applicant for license as a general lines agent, 310 customer representative, or adjuster who has received the 311 designation of chartered property and casualty underwriter 312 (CPCU) from the American Institute for Property and Liability 313 Underwriters andwhohas been engaged in the insurance business 314 within the past 4 years, except that the applicantsuch an315individualmay be examined on pertinent provisions of this code. 316 (i)(j)An applicant for license as a customer 317 representative who has earned the designation of Accredited 318 Advisor in Insurance (AAI) from the Insurance Institute of 319 America, the designation of Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) 320 from the Society of Certified Insurance Service Counselors, the 321 designation of Accredited Customer Service Representative (ACSR) 322 from the Independent Insurance Agents of America, the 323 designation of Certified Professional Service Representative 324 (CPSR) from the National Foundation for Certified Professional 325 Service Representatives, the designation of Certified Insurance 326 Service Representative (CISR) from the Society of Certified 327 Insurance Service Representatives, or the designation of 328 Certified Insurance Representative (CIR) from the National 329 Association of Christian Catastrophe Insurance Adjusters. Also, 330 an applicant for license as a customer representative who has 331 earned an associate degree or bachelor’s degree from an 332 accredited college or university and has completedwithat least 333 9 academic hours of property and casualty insurance curriculum, 334 or the equivalent, or has earned the designation of Certified 335 Customer Service Representative (CCSR) from the Florida 336 Association of Insurance Agents, or the designation of 337 Registered Customer Service Representative (RCSR) from a 338 regionally accredited postsecondary institution in this state, 339 or the designation of Professional Customer Service 340 Representative (PCSR) from the Professional Career Institute, 341 whose curriculum has been approved by the department and which 342whose curriculumincludes comprehensive analysis of basic 343 property and casualty lines of insurance and testing at least 344 equal to that of standard department testing for the customer 345 representative license. The department shall adopt rules 346 establishing standards for the approval of curriculum. 347 (j)(k)An applicant for license as a resident or 348 nonresident all-linesan independent or company employee349 adjuster who has the designation of Accredited Claims Adjuster 350 (ACA) from a regionally accredited postsecondary institution in 351 this state, Professional Claims Adjuster (PCA) from the 352 Professional Career Institute, Professional Property Insurance 353 Adjuster (PPIA) from the HurriClaim Training Academy, Certified 354 Adjuster (CA) from ALL LINES Training, or Certified Claims 355 Adjuster (CCA) from the Association of Property and Casualty 356 Claims Professionals whose curriculum has been approved by the 357 department and whichwhose curriculumincludes comprehensive 358 analysis of basic property and casualty lines of insurance and 359 testing at least equal to that of standard department testing 360 for the all-lines adjuster license. The department shall adopt 361 rules establishing standards for the approval of curriculum. 362 (k)(l)An applicant qualifying for a license transfer under 363 s. 626.292,if the applicant: 364 1. Has successfully completed the prelicensing examination 365 requirements in the applicant’s previous home state which are 366 substantially equivalent to the examination requirements in this 367 state, as determined by the department; 368 2. Has received the designation of chartered property and 369 casualty underwriter (CPCU) from the American Institute for 370 Property and Liability Underwriters andhasbeen engaged in the 371 insurance business within the past 4 years if applying to 372 transfer a general lines agent license; or 373 3. Has received the designation of chartered life 374 underwriter (CLU) from the American College of Life Underwriters 375 andhasbeen engaged in the insurance business within the past 4 376 years,if applying to transfer a life or health agent license. 377 (l)(m)An applicant for a license as a nonresident agent 378license,if the applicant: 379 1. Has successfully completed prelicensing examination 380 requirements in the applicant’s home state which are 381 substantially equivalent to the examination requirements in this 382 state, as determined by the department, as a requirement for 383 obtaining a resident license in his or her home state; 384 2. Held a general lines agent license, life agent license, 385 or health agent license beforeprior to the timea written 386 examination was required; 387 3. Has received the designation of chartered property and 388 casualty underwriter (CPCU) from the American Institute for 389 Property and Liability Underwriters and has been engaged in the 390 insurance business within the past 4 years, if an applicant for 391 a nonresident license as a general lines agent; or 392 4. Has received the designation of chartered life 393 underwriter (CLU) from the American College of Life Underwriters 394 andhasbeen in the insurance business within the past 4 years, 395 if an applicant for a nonresident license as a life agent or 396 health agent. 397 Section 8. Subsection (2) of section 626.231, Florida 398 Statutes, is amended to read: 399 626.231 Eligibility; application for examination.— 400 (2) A person required to take an examination for a license 401 maybe permitted totake an examination beforeprior to402 submitting an application for licensure pursuant to s. 626.171 403 by submitting an application for examination through the 404 department’s Internet website or the website of a person 405 designated by the department to administer the examination. The 406 department may requireIn the application,the applicant to 407 provide the following information as part of the application 408shall set forth: 409 (a) His or her full name, date of birthage, social 410 security number, residence address, business address,and411 mailing address, and e-mail address. 412 (b) The type of license whichthatthe applicant intends to 413 apply for. 414 (c) The name of any required prelicensing course he or she 415 has completed or is in the process of completing. 416 (d) The method by which the applicant intends to qualify 417 for the type of license if other than by completing a 418 prelicensing course. 419 (e) The applicant’s gender(male or female). 420 (f) The applicant’s native language. 421 (g) The highest level of education achieved by the 422 applicant. 423 (h) The applicant’s race or ethnicity(African American,424white, American Indian, Asian, Hispanic, or other). 425 426 However, the application form must contain a statement that an 427 applicant is not required to disclose his or her race or 428 ethnicity, gender, or native language, that he or she will not 429 be penalized for not doing so, and that the department will use 430 this information exclusively for research and statistical 431 purposes and to improve the quality and fairness of the 432 examinations. 433 Section 9. Subsection (6) of section 626.241, Florida 434 Statutes, is amended to read: 435 626.241 Scope of examination.— 436 (6) In order to reflect the differences between adjusting 437 claims for an insurer and adjusting claims for an insured, the 438 department shall create an examination for applicants seeking 439 licensure as a public adjuster and a separate examination for 440 applicants seeking licensure as an all-linesa company employee441adjuster or independentadjuster. 442 (a) Examinationsgiven applicantsfor a license as an all 443 lines adjuster mustshallcover adjusting in all lines of 444 insurance, other than life and annuity; or, in accordance with445the application for the license, the examination may be limited446to adjusting in:447(a) Automobile physical damage insurance;448(b) Property and casualty insurance;449(c) Workers’ compensation insurance; or450(d) Health insurance. 451 (b) AnNoexamination foronworker’s compensation 452 insurance or health insurance is notshall berequired for 453 public adjusters. 454 Section 10. Subsection (1) of section 626.251, Florida 455 Statutes, is amended to read: 456 626.251 Time and place of examination; notice.— 457 (1) The department, or a person designated by the 458 department, shall providemail writtennotice of the time and 459 place of the examination to each applicant for examination and 460 each applicant for license required to take an examination who 461 will be eligible to take the examination as of the examination 462 date. The notice shall be e-mailedso mailed, postage prepaid,463and addressedto the applicant at the e-mailhis or heraddress 464 shown on the application for license or examinationat such465other address as requested by the applicant in writing filed466with the department prior to the mailing of the notice. Notice 467 isshall bedeemed given when so mailed. 468 Section 11. Section 626.281, Florida Statutes, is amended 469 to read: 470 626.281 Reexamination.— 471 (1) AnAnyapplicant for license orapplicant for472 examination who haseither: 473 (a) Taken an examination and failed to make a passing 474 grade, or 475 (b) Failed to appear for the examination or to take or 476 complete the examination at the time and place specified in the 477 notice of the department, 478 479 may take additional examinations, after filing with the 480 department or its designee an application for reexamination 481 together with applicable fees. The failure of an applicant to 482 pass an examination,or the failureto appear for the 483 examination, or to take or complete the examination does not 484 preclude the applicant from taking subsequent examinations. 485 (2) Applicants may take an examination for a license type 486 up to five times in a 12-month period. 487 (3)(2)The department may require ananyindividual whose 488 license as an agent, customer representative, or adjuster has 489 expired orhasbeen suspended to pass an examination before 490prior toreinstating or relicensing the individual as to any 491 class of license. The examination fee mustshallbe paid foras492toeach examination. 493 Section 12. Section 626.2815, Florida Statutes, is amended 494 to read: 495 626.2815 Continuing educationrequired; application;496exceptions;requirements; penalties.— 497 (1) The purpose of this section is to establish 498 requirements and standards for continuing education courses for 499 individualspersonslicensed to solicit,orsell, or adjust 500 insurance in the state. 501 (2) Except as otherwise provided in this section,the502provisions ofthis section appliesapplyto individualspersons503 licensed to engage in the sale of insurance or adjustment of 504 insurance claims in this state for all lines of insurance for 505 which an examination is required for licensing and to each 506 insurer, employer, or appointing entity, including, but not 507 limited to, those created or existing pursuant to s. 627.351. 508The provisions ofThis section doesshallnot apply to anany509 individual who holdsperson holdinga license for the sale of 510 any line of insurance for which an examination is not required 511 by the laws of this state or who holds a, nor shall the512provisions of this section apply to any limitedlicense as a 513 crop or hail and multiple-peril crop insurance agentthe514department may exempt by rule. Licensees who are unable to 515 comply with the continuing education requirements due to active 516 duty in the military may submit a written request to the 517 department for a waiver. 518 (3)(a)Each licenseepersonsubject tothe provisions of519 this section must, except as set forth in paragraphs (b), (c), 520and(d), and (g), complete a minimum of 24 hours of continuing 521 education courses every 2 years in basic or higher-level courses 522 prescribed by this section or in other courses approved by the 523 department. 524 (a) Each licenseeperson subject to the provisions of this525sectionmust complete, as part of his or her required number of526continuing education hours,3 hours of continuing education, 527 approved by the department, every 2 years on the subject matter 528 of ethics. Each licensed general lines agent and customer 529 representativesubject to this sectionmust complete, as part of530his or her required number of continuing education hours,1 hour 531 of continuing education, approved by the department, every 2 532 years on the subject matter of premium discounts available on 533 property insurance policies based on various hurricane 534 mitigation options and the means for obtaining the discounts. 535 (b) A licenseepersonwho has been licensed fora period of536 6 or more years must complete 20 hours of continuing education 537 every 2 years in intermediate or advanced-level courses 538 prescribed by this section or in other courses approved by the 539 department. 540 (c) A licensee who has been licensed for 25 years or more 541 and is a CLU or a CPCU or has a Bachelor of Science degree in 542 risk management or insurance with evidence of 18 or more 543 semester hours in upper-level insurance-related courses must 544 complete 10 hours of continuing education courses every 2 years 545 in courses prescribed by this section or in other courses 546 approved by the department. 547 (d) An individualAny personwho holds a license as a 548 customer representative, limited customer representative, title 549 agent, motor vehicle physical damage and mechanical breakdown 550 insurance agent,crop or hail and multiple-peril crop insurance551agent,orasan industrial fire insurance or burglary insurance 552 agent and who is not a licensed life or healthinsuranceagent, 553 mustshall be required tocomplete 10 hours of continuing 554 education courses every 2 years. 555 (e) An individualAny personwho holds a license to solicit 556 or sell life or health insurance and a license to solicit or 557 sell property, casualty, surety, or surplus lines insurance must 558 completethe continuing education requirements by completing559 courses in life or health insurance for one-half of the total 560 hours required and courses in property, casualty, surety, or 561 surplus lines insurance for one-half of the total hours 562 required. However, a licensee who holds an industrial fire or 563 burglary insurance license and who is a licensed life or health 564 agent mustshall be required tocomplete 4 hours of continuing 565 education courses every 2 years related to industrial fire or 566 burglary insurance and the remaining number of hours of 567 continuing education coursesrequiredrelated to life or health 568 insurance. 569 (f) An individual who holds a license to solicit or sell 570 life insurance must complete a minimum of 3 hours in continuing 571 education on suitability in annuity and life insurance 572 transactions. This requirement does not apply to an agent who 573 does not have any active life insurance or annuity contracts. In 574 applying this exemption, the department may require the agent to 575 file a certification attesting that the agent has not sold life 576 insurance or annuities during the continuing education 577 compliance cycle in question and does not have any active life 578 insurance or annuity contracts. A licensee may use the hours 579 obtained under this paragraph to satisfy the requirement for 580 continuing education in ethics under paragraph (a). 581 (g) An individual subject to chapter 648 must complete a 582 minimum of 14 hours of continuing education courses every 2 583 years. 584 (h) Excess hours accumulated during any 2-year compliance 585 period may be carried forward to the next compliance period. 586 (i) An individual teaching an approved course of 587 instruction or lecturing at an approved seminar and attending 588 the entire course or seminar qualifies for the same number of 589 classroom hours as would be granted to a person taking and 590 successfully completing such course or seminar. Credit is 591 limited to the number of hours actually taught unless a person 592 attends the entire course or seminar. An individual who is an 593 official of or employed by a governmental entity in this state 594 and serves as a professor, instructor, or other position or 595 office, the duties and responsibilities of which are determined 596 by the department to require monitoring and review of insurance 597 laws or insurance regulations and practices, is exempt from this 598 section. 599 (4)(f)1.Except as provided in subparagraph 2.,Compliance 600 with continuing education requirements is a condition precedent 601 to the issuance, continuation, reinstatement, or renewal of any 602 appointment subject to this section. However: 603 (a)2.a.An appointing entity, except one that appoints 604 individuals who are employees or exclusive independent 605 contractors of the appointing entity, may not require, directly 606 or indirectly, as a condition of such appointment or the 607 continuation of such appointment, the taking of an approved 608 course or program by any appointee or potential appointee which 609thatis not of the appointee’s choosing. 610 (b)b.Any entity created or existing pursuant to s. 627.351 611 may require employees to take training of any type relevant to 612 their employment but may not require appointees who are not 613 employees to take any approved course or program unless the 614 course or program deals solely with the appointing entity’s 615 internal procedures or products or with subjects substantially 616 unique to the appointing entity. 617(g) A person teaching any approved course of instruction or618lecturing at any approved seminar and attending the entire619course or seminar shall qualify for the same number of classroom620hours as would be granted to a person taking and successfully621completing such course, seminar, or program. Credit shall be622limited to the number of hours actually taught unless a person623attends the entire course or seminar. Any person who is an624official of or employed by any governmental entity in this state625and serves as a professor, instructor, or in any other position626or office the duties and responsibilities of which are627determined by the department to require monitoring and review of628insurance laws or insurance regulations and practices shall be629exempt from this section.630(h) Excess classroom hours accumulated during any631compliance period may be carried forward to the next compliance632period.633 (5)(i)For good cause shown, the department may grant an 634 extension of time during which the requirements ofimposed by635 this section may be completed, but such extensionof timemay 636 not exceed 1 year. 637 (6)(j)A nonresident licensee who must complete continuing 638 education requirements in his or her home state may use the home 639 state requirements to also meet this state’s continuing 640 education requirementsas well,if the licensee’sresident’s641 home state recognizes reciprocity with this state’s continuing 642 education requirements. A nonresident licensee whose home state 643 does not have a continuing education requirement but is licensed 644 for the same class of business in another state that haswhich645does havea continuing education requirement may comply with 646 this section by furnishing proof of compliance with the other 647 state’s requirement if that state has a reciprocal agreement 648 with this state relative to continuing education. A nonresident 649 licensee whose home state does not have such continuing 650 education requirements, and who is not licensed as a nonresident 651 licenseeagentin a state that has continuing education 652 requirements and reciprocates with this state, must meet the 653 continuing education requirements of this state. 654(k) Any person who holds a license to solicit or sell life655insurance in this state must complete a minimum of 3 hours in656continuing education, approved by the department, on the subject657of suitability in annuity and life insurance transactions. This658requirement does not apply to an agent who does not have any659active life insurance or annuity contracts. In applying this660exemption, the department may require the filing of a661certification attesting that the agent has not sold life662insurance or annuities during the continuing education663compliance cycle in question and does not have any active life664insurance or annuity contracts. A licensee may use the hours665obtained under this paragraph to satisfy the requirement for666continuing education in ethics under paragraph (a).667 (7)(4)The following courses may be completed in order to 668 meet the elective continuing education course requirements: 669 (a) Any part of the Life Underwriter Training Council Life 670 Course Curriculum: 24 hours; Health Course: 12 hours. 671 (b) Any part of the American College “CLU” diploma 672 curriculum: 24 hours. 673 (c) Any part of the Insurance Institute of America’s 674 program in general insurance: 12 hours. 675 (d) Any part of the American Institute for Property and 676 Liability Underwriters’ Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter 677 (CPCU) professional designation program: 24 hours. 678 (e) Any part of the Certified Insurance Counselor program: 679 21 hours. 680 (f) Any part of the Accredited Advisor in Insurance: 21 681 hours. 682 (g) In the case of title agents, completion of the 683 Certified Land Closer (CLC) professional designation program and 684 receipt of the designation: 24 hours. 685 (h) In the case of title agents, completion of the 686 Certified Land Searcher (CLS) professional designation program 687 and receipt of the designation: 24 hours. 688 (i) Any insurance-related course thatwhichis approved by 689 the department and taught by an accredited college or university 690 per credit hour granted: 12 hours. 691 (j) Any course, including courses relating to agency 692 management or errors and omissions, developed or sponsored by an 693anyauthorized insurer or recognized agents’ association or 694 insurance trade association or ananyindependent study program 695 of instruction, subject to approval by the department, qualifies 696 for the equivalency of the number of classroom hours assigned 697theretoby the department. However, unless otherwise provided in 698 this section, continuing education hours may not be credited 699 toward meeting the requirements of this section unless the 700 course is provided by classroom instruction or results in a 701 monitored examination. A monitored examination is not required 702 for: 703 1. An independent study program of instruction presented 704 through interactive, online technology that the department 705 determines has sufficient internal testing to validate the 706 student’s full comprehension of the materials presented; or 707 2. An independent study program of instruction presented on 708 paper or in printed material whichthatimposes a final closed 709 book examination that meets the requirements of the department’s 710 rule for self-study courses. The examination may be taken 711 without a proctor ifprovidedthe student presents to the 712 provider a sworn affidavit certifying that the student did not 713 consult any written materials or receive outside assistance of 714 any kind or from any person, directly or indirectly, while 715 taking the examination. If the student is an employee of an 716 agency or corporate entity, the student’s supervisor or a 717 manager or owner of the agency or corporate entity must also 718 sign the sworn affidavit. If the student is self-employed, a 719 sole proprietor, or a partner, or if the examination is 720 administered online, the sworn affidavit must also be signed by 721 a disinterested third party. The sworn affidavit must be 722 received by the approved provider beforeprior toreporting 723 continuing education credits to the department. 724 (8)(k)Each person or entity sponsoring a course for 725 continuing education credit must furnish, within 1530days 726 after completion of the course, in a form satisfactory to the 727 department or its designee, awritten and certifiedroster 728 showing the name and license number of all persons successfully 729 completing such course and requesting credit, accompanied by the730required fee. 731 (9)(5)The department may immediately terminate orshall732 refuse to renew the appointment of ananyagent or adjuster who 733 has been notified by the department thatwho has not hadhis or 734 her continuing education requirements have not been certified, 735 unless the agent or adjuster has been granted an extension or 736 waiver by the department. The department may not issue a new 737 appointment of the same or similar type, with any insurer,to a 738 licenseean agentwho was denied a renewal appointment for 739 failingfailureto complete continuing education as required 740 until the licenseeagentcompletes his or her continuing 741 education requirement. 742(6)(a) There is created an 11-member continuing education743advisory board to be appointed by the Chief Financial Officer.744Appointments shall be for terms of 4 years. The purpose of the745board is to advise the department in determining standards by746which courses may be evaluated and categorized as basic,747intermediate, or advanced. The board shall submit748recommendations to the department of changes needed in such749criteria not less frequently than every 2 years. The department750shall require all approved course providers to submit courses751for approval to the department using the criteria. All752materials, brochures, and advertisements related to the approved753courses must specify the level assigned to the course.754(b) The board members shall be appointed as follows:7551. Seven members representing agents of which at least one756must be a representative from each of the following757organizations: the Florida Association of Insurance Agents; the758Florida Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors; the759Professional Insurance Agents of Florida, Inc.; the Florida760Association of Health Underwriters; the Specialty Agents’761Association; the Latin American Agents’ Association; and the762National Association of Insurance Women. Such board members must763possess at least a bachelor’s degree or higher from an764accredited college or university with major coursework in765insurance, risk management, or education or possess the766designation of CLU, CPCU, CHFC, CFP, AAI, or CIC. In addition,767each member must possess 5 years of classroom instruction768experience or 5 years of experience in the development or design769of educational programs or 10 years of experience as a licensed770resident agent. Each organization may submit to the department a771list of recommendations for appointment. If one organization772does not submit a list of recommendations, the Chief Financial773Officer may select more than one recommended person from a list774submitted by other eligible organizations.7752. Two members representing insurance companies at least776one of whom must represent a Florida Domestic Company and one of777whom must represent the Florida Insurance Council. Such board778members must be employed within the training department of the779insurance company. At least one such member must be a member of780the Society of Insurance Trainers and Educators.7813. One member representing the general public who is not782directly employed in the insurance industry. Such board member783must possess a minimum of a bachelor’s degree or higher from an784accredited college or university with major coursework in785insurance, risk management, training, or education.7864. One member, appointed by the Chief Financial Officer,787who represents the department.788(c) The members of the board shall serve at the pleasure of789the Chief Financial Officer. Each board member shall be entitled790to reimbursement for expenses pursuant to s.112.061. The board791shall designate one member as chair. The board shall meet at the792call of the chair or the Chief Financial Officer.793 (10)(7)The department may contract services relative to 794 the administration of the continuing education program to a 795 private entity. The contract shall be procured as acontract for796acontractual service pursuant to s. 287.057. 797 Section 13. Effective October 1, 2014, subsection (3) of 798 section 626.2815, Florida Statutes, as amended by this act, is 799 amended to read: 800 626.2815 Continuing education requirements.— 801 (3) Each licenseesubject tothis sectionmust, except as802set forth in paragraphs (b), (c),(d),and (g),complete a 7 803 hour update course every 2 years which is specific to the 804 license held by the licensee. The course must be developed and 805 offered by providers and approved by the department. The content 806 of the course must address all lines of insurance for which 807 examination and license is required and include the following 808 subject areas: insurance law updates, ethics for insurance 809 professionals, disciplinary trends and case studies, industry 810 trends, premium discounts, determining suitability of products 811 and services, and other similar insurance-related topics the 812 department determines are relevant to legally and ethically 813 carrying out the responsibilities of the license granted. A 814 licensee who holds multiple insurance licenses must complete an 815 update course that is specific to at least one of the licenses 816 held. Except as otherwise specified, any remaining required 817 hours of continuing education are elective and may consist of 818 any continuing education course approved by the department or 819 under this sectionminimum of 24 hours of continuing education820courses every 2 years in basic or higher-level courses821prescribed by this section or in other courses approved by the822department. 823 (a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b), (c), (d), and 824 (e), each licensee must also complete 173hours of elective 825 continuing education courses, approved by the department,every 826 2 yearson the subject matter of ethics.Each licensed general827lines agent and customer representativemust complete1 hour of828continuing education, approved by the department, every 2 years829on the subject matter of premium discounts available on property830insurance policies based on various hurricane mitigation options831and the means for obtaining the discounts.832 (b) A licensee who has been licensed for 6 or more years 833 must also complete a minimum of 1320hours of elective 834 continuing education every 2 yearsin intermediate or advanced835level courses prescribed by this section or in other courses836approved by the department. 837 (c) A licensee who has been licensed for 25 years or more 838 and is a CLU or a CPCU or has a Bachelor of Science degree in 839 risk management or insurance with evidence of 18 or more 840 semester hours inupper-levelinsurance-related courses must 841 also complete a minimum of 310hours of elective continuing 842 education courses every 2 yearsin courses prescribed by this843section or in other courses approved by the department. 844 (d) An individual who holds a license as a customer 845 representative, limited customer representative, title agent, 846 motor vehicle physical damage and mechanical breakdown insurance 847 agent, or an industrial fire insurance or burglary insurance 848 agent and who is not a licensed life or health agent, must also 849 complete a minimum of 310hours of continuing education courses 850 every two years. 851(e)An individualwho holds a license to solicit or sell852life or health insurance and a license to solicit or sell853property, casualty, surety, or surplus lines insurance must854completecourses in life or health insurance for one-half of the855total hours required and courses in property, casualty, surety,856or surplus lines insurance for one-half of the total hours857required. However, a licensee who holds an industrial fire or858burglary insurance license and who is a licensed life or health859agentmustcomplete 4 hours of continuing education courses860every 2 years related to industrial fire or burglary insurance861and the remaining number of hours of continuing education862coursesrelated to life or health insurance.863(f)An individual who holdsalicensetosolicitor sell864life insurance must complete a minimum of 3 hours in continuing865education on suitability in annuity and life insurance866transactions. This requirement does not apply toanagentwho867does not have any active life insuranceor annuity contracts. In868applying this exemption, thedepartmentmayrequire the agent to869file a certification attesting that the agent has not sold life870insurance orannuities duringthe continuing education871compliance cycle in question and does not have any active life872insurance orannuity contracts. A licensee may usethe hours873obtained under this paragraph to satisfy the requirement for874continuing education in ethics under paragraph (a).875 (e)(g)An individual subject to chapter 648 must complete 876 the 7-hour update course and a minimum of 714hours of 877 continuing education courses every 2 years. 878 (f) Elective continuing education courses for public 879 adjusters must be specifically designed for public adjusters and 880 approved by the department. Notwithstanding this subsection, 881 public adjusters for workers’ compensation insurance or health 882 insurance are not required to take continuing education courses 883 pursuant to this section. 884 (g)(h)Excess hours accumulated during any 2-year 885 compliance period may be carried forward to the next compliance 886 period. 887 (h)(i)An individual teaching an approved course of 888 instruction or lecturing at an approved seminar and attending 889 the entire course or seminar qualifies for the same number of 890 classroom hours as would be granted to a person taking and 891 successfully completing such course or seminar. Credit is 892 limited to the number of hours actually taught unless a person 893 attends the entire course or seminar. An individual who is an 894 official of or employed by a governmental entity in this state 895 and serves as a professor, instructor, or other position or 896 office, the duties and responsibilities of which are determined 897 by the department to require monitoring and review of insurance 898 laws or insurance regulations and practices, is exempt from this 899 section. 900 Section 14. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 626.292, 901 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 902 626.292 Transfer of license from another state.— 903 (1) AnAnyindividual licensed in good standing in another 904 state may apply to the department to have the license 905 transferred to this state to obtain aFloridaresident agent or 906 all-lines adjuster license for the same lines of authority 907 covered by the license in the other state. 908 (2) To qualify for a license transfer, an individual 909 applicant must meet the following requirements: 910 (a) The individual mustshallbecome a resident of this 911 state. 912 (b) The individual mustshallhave been licensed in another 913 state for a minimum of 1 year immediately preceding the date the 914 individual became a resident of this state. 915 (c) The individual mustshallsubmit a completed 916 application for this state which is received by the department 917 within 90 days after the date the individual became a resident 918 of this state, along with payment of the applicable fees set 919 forth in s. 624.501 and submission of the following documents: 920 1. A certification issued by the appropriate official of 921 the applicant’s home state identifying the type of license and 922 lines of authority under the license and stating that, at the 923 time the license from the home state was canceled, the applicant 924 was in good standing in that state or that the state’s Producer 925 Database records, maintained by the National Association of 926 Insurance Commissioners, its affiliates, or subsidiaries, 927 indicate that the agent or all-lines adjuster is or was licensed 928 in good standing for the line of authority requested. 929 2. A set of theindividualapplicant’s fingerprints in 930 accordance with s. 626.171(4). 931 (d) The individual mustshallsatisfy prelicensing 932 education requirements in this state, unless the completion of 933 prelicensing education requirements was a prerequisite for 934 licensure in the other state and the prelicensing education 935 requirements in the other state are substantially equivalent to 936 the prelicensing requirements of this state as determined by the 937 department. This paragraph does not apply to all-lines 938 adjusters. 939 (e) The individual mustshallsatisfy the examination 940 requirement under s. 626.221, unless exemptedexempt thereunder. 941 Section 15. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 626.311, 942 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 943 626.311 Scope of license.— 944 (2) Except with respectasto a limited license as a credit 945life or disabilityinsurance agent, the license of a life agent 946 coversshall coverall classes of life insurance business. 947 (3) Except with respectasto a limited license as a travel 948personal accidentinsurance agent, the license of a health agent 949 coversshall coverall kinds of health insurance;and suchno950 license may notshallbeissuedlimited to a particular class of 951 health insurance. 952 Section 16. Subsections (1) and (4) of section 626.321, 953 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 954 626.321 Limited licenses.— 955 (1) The department shall issue to a qualified applicant 956individual, or a qualified individual or entity under paragraphs957(c), (d), (e), and (i),a license as agent authorized to 958 transact a limited class of business in any of the following 959 categories of limited lines insurance: 960 (a) Motor vehicle physical damage and mechanical breakdown 961 insurance.—License covering insurance against only the loss of 962 or damage to aanymotor vehicle thatwhichis designed for use 963 upon a highway, including trailers and semitrailers designed for 964 use with such vehicles. Such license also covers insurance 965 against the failure of an original or replacement part to 966 perform any function for which it was designed. A licensee under 967 this paragraph may notThe applicant for such a license shall968pass a written examination covering motor vehicle physical969damage insurance and mechanical breakdown insurance. No970individual while so licensed shallhold a license as an agent 971 foras toany other or additional kind or class of insurance 972 coverage exceptas toa limited license for credit insurance 973life and disability insurancesas provided in paragraph (e). 974 Effective October 1, 2012, all licensees holding such limited 975 license and appointment may renew the license and appointment, 976 but no new or additional licenses may be issued pursuant to this 977 paragraph, and a licensee whose limited license under this 978 paragraph has been terminated, suspended, or revoked may not 979 have such license reinstated. 980 (b) Industrial fire insurance or burglary insurance. 981 License covering only industrial fire insurance or burglary 982 insurance. The applicant for such a license mustshallpass a 983 written examination covering such insurance. A licensee under 984 this paragraph may notNo individual while so licensed shall985 hold a license as an agent foras toany other or additional 986 kind or class of insurance coverage except foras tolife 987 insurance and health insuranceinsurances. 988 (c) Travel insurance.—License covering only policies and 989 certificates of travel insurance,which are subject to review by 990 the office under s. 624.605(1)(q). Policies and certificates of 991 travel insurance may provide coverage for risks incidental to 992 travel, planned travel, or accommodations while traveling, 993 including, but not limited to, accidental death and 994 dismemberment of a traveler; trip cancellation, interruption, or 995 delay; loss of or damage to personal effects or travel 996 documents; baggage delay; emergency medical travel or evacuation 997 of a traveler; or medical, surgical, and hospital expenses 998 related to an illness or emergency of a traveler.AnySuch 999 policy or certificate may be issued for terms longer than 60 1000 days, buteach policy or certificate, other than a policy or 1001 certificate providing coverage for air ambulatory services only, 1002 each policy or certificate must be limited to coverage for 1003 travel or use of accommodations of no longer than 60 days. The 1004 license may be issued only: 1005 1. To a full-time salaried employee of a common carrier or 1006 a full-time salaried employee or owner of a transportation 1007 ticket agency and may authorize the sale of such ticket policies 1008 only in connection with the sale of transportation tickets, or 1009 to the full-time salaried employee of such an agent.NoSuch 1010 policy may notshallbe fora duration ofmore than 48 hours or 1011 more thanforthe duration of a specified one-way trip or round 1012 trip. 1013 2. To an entity or individual that is: 1014 a. The developer of a timeshare plan that is the subject of 1015 an approved public offering statement under chapter 721; 1016 b. An exchange company operating an exchange program 1017 approved under chapter 721; 1018 c. A managing entity operating a timeshare plan approved 1019 under chapter 721; 1020 d. A seller of travel as defined in chapter 559; or 1021 e. A subsidiary or affiliate of any of the entities 1022 described in sub-subparagraphs a.-d. 1023 1024 A licensee shall require each employee who offers policies or 1025 certificates under this subparagraph to receive initial training 1026 from a general lines agent or an insurer authorized under 1027 chapter 624 to transact insurance within this state. For an 1028 entity applying for a license as a travel insurance agent, the 1029 fingerprinting requirement of this section applies only to the 1030 president, secretary, and treasurer and to any other officer or 1031 person who directs or controls the travel insurance operations 1032 of the entity. 1033 (d) Motor vehicle rental insurance.— 1034 1. License covering only insurance of the risks set forth 1035 in this paragraph when offered, sold, or solicited with and 1036 incidental to the rental or lease of a motor vehicle and which 1037 applies only to the motor vehicle that is the subject of the 1038 lease or rental agreement and the occupants of the motor 1039 vehicle: 1040 a. Excess motor vehicle liability insurance providing 1041 coverage in excess of the standard liability limits provided by 1042 the lessor in the lessor’s lease to a person renting or leasing 1043 a motor vehicle from the licensee’s employer for liability 1044 arising in connection with the negligent operation of the leased 1045 or rented motor vehicle. 1046 b. Insurance covering the liability of the lessee to the 1047 lessor for damage to the leased or rented motor vehicle. 1048 c. Insurance covering the loss of or damage to baggage, 1049 personal effects, or travel documents of a person renting or 1050 leasing a motor vehicle. 1051 d. Insurance covering accidental personal injury or death 1052 of the lessee and any passenger who is riding or driving with 1053 the covered lessee in the leased or rented motor vehicle. 1054 2. Insurance under a motor vehicle rental insurance license 1055 may be issued only if the lease or rental agreement is for no 1056 more than 60 days, the lessee is not provided coverage for more 1057 than 60 consecutive days per lease period, and the lessee is 1058 given written notice that his or her personal insurance policy 1059 providing coverage on an owned motor vehicle may provide 1060 coverage of such risks and that the purchase of the insurance is 1061 not required in connection with the lease or rental of a motor 1062 vehicle. If the lease is extended beyond 60 days, the coverage 1063 may be extended one time only for a period not to exceed an 1064 additional 60 days. Insurance may be provided to the lessee as 1065 an additional insured on a policy issued to the licensee’s 1066 employer. 1067 3. The license may be issued only to the full-time salaried 1068 employee of a licensed general lines agent or to a business 1069 entity that offers motor vehicles for rent or lease if insurance 1070 sales activities authorized by the license are in connection 1071 with and incidental to the rental or lease of a motor vehicle. 1072 a. A license issued to a business entity that offers motor 1073 vehicles for rent or lease encompassesshall encompasseach 1074 office, branch office, or place of business making use of the 1075 entity’s business name in order to offer, solicit, and sell 1076 insurance pursuant to this paragraph. 1077 b. The application for licensure must list the name, 1078 address, and phone number for each office, branch office, or 1079 place of business that is to be covered by the license. The 1080 licensee shall notify the department of the name, address, and 1081 phone number of any new location that is to be covered by the 1082 license before the new office, branch office, or place of 1083 business engages in the sale of insurance pursuant to this 1084 paragraph. The licensee mustshallnotify the department within 1085 30 days after closing or terminating an office, branch office, 1086 or place of business. Upon receipt of the notice, the department 1087 shall delete the office, branch office, or place of business 1088 from the license. 1089 c. A licensed and appointed entity is directly responsible 1090 and accountable for all acts of the licensee’s employees. 1091 (e) Creditlife or disabilityinsurance.—License covering 1092onlycredit life, creditordisabilityinsurance, credit 1093 property, credit unemployment, involuntary unemployment, 1094 mortgage life, mortgage guaranty, mortgage disability, 1095 guaranteed automobile protection (GAP) insurance, and any other 1096 form of insurance offered in connection with an extension of 1097 credit which is limited to partially or wholly extinguishing a 1098 credit obligation that the department determines should be 1099 designated a form of limited line credit insurance. The license 1100 may be issued only to an individual employed by a life or health 1101 insurer as an officer or other salaried or commissioned 1102 representative, to an individual employed by or associated with 1103 a lending or financial institution or creditor, or to a lending 1104 or financial institution or creditor, and may authorize the sale 1105 of such insurance only with respect to borrowers or debtors of 1106 such lending or financing institution or creditor. However, only 1107 the individual or entity whose tax identification number is used 1108 in receiving or is credited with receiving the commission from 1109 the sale of such insurance shall be the licensed agent of the 1110 insurer. AnNoindividualwhileso licensed may notshallhold a 1111 license as an agent as to any other or additional kind or class 1112 of life or health insurance coverage. Effective October 1, 2012, 1113 all valid licenses held by persons for any of the lines of 1114 insurance listed in this paragraph shall be converted to a 1115 credit insurance license. Licensees who wish to obtain a new 1116 license reflecting such change must request a duplicate license 1117 and pay a $5 fee as specified in s. 624.501(15).An entity1118holding a limited license under this paragraph is also1119authorized to sell credit insurance and credit property1120insurance.1121(f)Credit insurance.—License covering only credit1122insurance, as such insurance is defined in s.624.605(1)(i), and1123no individual or entity so licensed shall, during the same1124period, hold a license as an agent as to any other or additional1125kind of life or health insurance with the exception of credit1126life or disability insurance as defined in paragraph (e). The1127same licensing provisions as outlined in paragraph (e) apply to1128entities licensed as credit insurance agents under this1129paragraph.1130(g)Credit property insurance.—A license covering only1131credit property insurance may be issued to any individual except1132an individual employed by or associated with a financial1133institution as defined in s.655.005and authorized to sell such1134insurance only with respect to a borrower or debtor, not to1135exceed the amount of the loan.1136 (f)(h)Crop hail and multiple-peril crop insurance.—License 1137 for insurance covering crops subject to unfavorable weather 1138 conditions, fire or lightening, flood, hail, insect infestation, 1139 disease, or other yield-reducing conditions or perils which is 1140 provided by the private insurance market, or which is subsidized 1141 by the Federal Group Insurance Corporation including multi-peril 1142 crop insuranceonly crop hail and multiple-peril crop insurance. 1143 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the limited license 1144 may be issued to a bona fide salaried employee of an association 1145 chartered under the Farm Credit Act of 1971, 12 U.S.C. ss. 2001 1146 et seq., who satisfactorily completes the examination prescribed 1147 by the department pursuant to s. 626.241(5). Thelimitedagent 1148 must be appointed by, and his or her limited license requested 1149 by, a licensed general lines agent. All business transacted by 1150 thelimitedagent must be onshall be inbehalf of, in the name 1151 of, and countersigned by the agent by whom he or she is 1152 appointed. Sections 626.561 and 626.748, relating to records, 1153 apply to all business written pursuant to this section. The 1154limitedlicensee may be appointed by and licensed for only one 1155 general lines agent or agency. 1156 (g)(i)In-transit and storage personal property insurance;1157communications equipment property insurance, communications1158equipment inland marine insurance, and communications equipment1159service warranty agreement sales.— 11601. ALicense for insurance covering onlythe insurance of1161 personal property not held for resale, covering the risks of 1162 transportation or storage in rented or leased motor vehicles, 1163 trailers, or self-service storage facilities,asthe latter are1164 defined in s. 83.803. Such license,may be issued, without 1165 examination, only to employees or authorized representatives of 1166 lessors who rent or lease motor vehicles, trailers, or self 1167 service storage facilities and who are authorized by an insurer 1168 to issue certificates or other evidences of insurance to lessees 1169 of such motor vehicles, trailers, or self-service storage 1170 facilities under an insurance policy issued to the lessor. A 1171 person licensed under this paragraph mustshallgive a 1172 prospective purchaser of in-transit or storage personal property 1173 insurance written notice that his or her homeowner’s policy may 1174 provide coverage for the loss of personal property and that the 1175 purchase of such insurance is not required under the lease 1176 terms. 11772. A license covering only communications equipment, for1178the loss, theft, mechanical failure, malfunction of or damage1179to, communications equipment. The license may be issued only to:1180a. Employees or authorized representatives of a licensed1181general lines agent;1182b. The lead business location of a retail vendor of1183communications equipment and its branch locations; or1184c. Employees, agents, or authorized representatives of a1185retail vendor of communications equipment.1186 1187The license authorizes the sale of such policies, or1188certificates under a group master policy, only with respect to1189the sale of, or provision of communications service for,1190communications equipment. A general lines agent is not required1191to obtain a license under this subparagraph to offer or sell1192communications equipment property insurance or communication1193equipment inland marine insurance. The license also authorizes1194sales of service warranty agreements covering only1195communications equipment to the same extent as if licensed under1196s.634.419or s.634.420. The provisions of this chapter1197requiring submission of fingerprints do not apply to1198communications equipment licenses issued to qualified entities1199under this subparagraph. Licensees offering policies under this1200subparagraph must receive initial training from, and have a1201contractual relationship with, a general lines agent. For the1202purposes of this subparagraph, the term “communications1203equipment” means handsets, pagers, personal digital assistants,1204portable computers, automatic answering devices, and other1205devices or accessories used to originate or receive1206communications signals or service, and includes services related1207to the use of such devices, such as consumer access to a1208wireless network; however, the term does not include1209telecommunications switching equipment, transmission wires, cell1210site transceiver equipment, or other equipment and systems used1211by telecommunications companies to provide telecommunications1212service to consumers. A branch location of a retail vendor of1213communications equipment licensed pursuant to paragraph (2)(b)1214may, in lieu of obtaining an appointment from an insurer or1215warranty association as provided in paragraph (2)(c), obtain a1216single appointment from the associated lead business location1217licensee licensed under paragraph (2)(a) and pay the prescribed1218appointment fee under s.624.501provided the lead business1219location has a single appointment from each insurer or warranty1220association represented and such appointment provides that it1221applies to the lead business location and all of its branch1222locations. Any branch location individually appointed by an1223insurer under paragraph (2)(c) prior to January 1, 2006, may1224replace its appointments with an appointment from its lead1225location at no charge. Branch location appointments shall be1226renewed on the first annual anniversary of licensure of the lead1227business location occurring more than 24 months after the1228initial appointment date and every 24 months thereafter.1229Notwithstanding s.624.501, after July 1, 2006, the renewal fee1230applicable to such branch location appointments shall be $30 per1231appointment.1232 (h) Portable electronics insurance.—License for property 1233 insurance or inland marine insurance that covers only loss, 1234 theft, mechanical failure, malfunction, or damage for portable 1235 electronics. 1236 1. The license may be issued only to: 1237 a. Employees or authorized representatives of a licensed 1238 general lines agent; or 1239 b. The lead business location of a retail vendor that sells 1240 portable electronics insurance. The lead business location must 1241 have a contractual relationship with a general lines agent. 1242 2. Employees or authorized representatives of a licensee 1243 under subparagraph 1. may sell or offer for sale portable 1244 electronics coverage without being subject to licensure as an 1245 insurance agent if: 1246 a. Such insurance is sold or offered for sale at a licensed 1247 location or at one of the licensee’s branch locations if the 1248 branch location is appointed by the licensed lead business 1249 location or its appointing insurers; 1250 b. The insurer issuing the insurance directly supervises or 1251 appoints a general lines agent to supervise the sale of such 1252 insurance, including the development of a training program for 1253 the employees and authorized representatives of vendors that are 1254 directly engaged in the activity of selling or offering the 1255 insurance; and 1256 c. At each location where the insurance is offered, 1257 brochures or other written materials that provide the 1258 information required by this subparagraph are made available to 1259 all prospective customers. The brochures or written materials 1260 may include information regarding portable electronics 1261 insurance, service warranty agreements, or other incidental 1262 services or benefits offered by a licensee. 1263 3. Individuals not licensed to sell portable electronics 1264 insurance may not be paid commissions based on the sale of such 1265 coverage. However, a licensee who uses a compensation plan for 1266 employees and authorized representatives which includes 1267 supplemental compensation for the sale of noninsurance products, 1268 in addition to a regular salary or hourly wages, may include 1269 incidental compensation for the sale of portable electronics 1270 insurance as a component of the overall compensation plan. 1271 4. Brochures or other written materials related to portable 1272 electronics insurance must: 1273 a. Disclose that such insurance may duplicate coverage 1274 already provided by a customer’s homeowners’ insurance policy, 1275 renters’ insurance policy, or other source of coverage; 1276 b. State that enrollment in insurance coverage is not 1277 required in order to purchase or lease portable electronics or 1278 services; 1279 c. Summarize the material terms of the insurance coverage, 1280 including the identity of the insurer, the identity of the 1281 supervising entity, the amount of any applicable deductible and 1282 how it is to be paid, the benefits of coverage, and key terms 1283 and conditions of coverage, such as whether portable electronics 1284 may be repaired or replaced with similar make and model 1285 reconditioned or nonoriginal manufacturer parts or equipment; 1286 d. Summarize the process for filing a claim, including a 1287 description of how to return portable electronics and the 1288 maximum fee applicable if the customer fails to comply with 1289 equipment return requirements; and 1290 e. State that an enrolled customer may cancel coverage at 1291 any time and that the person paying the premium will receive a 1292 refund of any unearned premium. 1293 5. A licensed and appointed general lines agent is not 1294 required to obtain a portable electronics insurance license to 1295 offer or sell portable electronics insurance at locations 1296 already licensed as an insurance agency, but may apply for a 1297 portable electronics insurance license for branch locations not 1298 otherwise licensed to sell insurance. 1299 6. A portable electronics license authorizes the sale of 1300 individual policies or certificates under a group or master 1301 insurance policy. The license also authorizes the sale of 1302 service warranty agreements covering only portable electronics 1303 to the same extent as if licensed under s. 634.419 or s. 1304 634.420. 1305 7. A licensee may bill and collect the premium for the 1306 purchase of portable electronics insurance provided that: 1307 a. If the insurance is included with the purchase or lease 1308 of portable electronics or related services, the licensee 1309 clearly and conspicuously discloses that insurance coverage is 1310 included with the purchase. Disclosure of the dollar amount of 1311 the premium for the insurance must be made on the customer’s 1312 bill and in any marketing materials made available at the point 1313 of sale. If the insurance is not included, the charge to the 1314 customer for the insurance must be separately itemized on the 1315 customer’s bill. 1316 b. Premiums are incidental to other fees collected, are 1317 maintained in a manner that is readily identifiable, and are 1318 accounted for and remitted to the insurer or supervising entity 1319 within 60 days of receipt. Licensees are not required to 1320 maintain such funds in a segregated account. 1321 c. All funds received by a licensee from an enrolled 1322 customer for the sale of the insurance are considered funds held 1323 in trust by the licensee in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit 1324 of the insurer. Licensees may receive compensation for billing 1325 and collection services. 1326 8. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the terms 1327 for the termination or modification of coverage under a policy 1328 of portable electronics insurance are those set forth in the 1329 policy. 1330 9. Notice or correspondence required by the policy, or 1331 otherwise required by law, may be provided by electronic means 1332 if the insurer or licensee maintains proof that the notice or 1333 correspondence was sent. Such notice or correspondence may be 1334 sent on behalf of the insurer or licensee by the general lines 1335 agent appointed by the insurer to supervise the administration 1336 of the program. For purposes of this subparagraph, an enrolled 1337 customer’s provision of an electronic mail address to the 1338 insurer or licensee is deemed to be consent to receive notices 1339 and correspondence by electronic means if a conspicuously 1340 located disclosure is provided to the customer indicating the 1341 same. 1342 10. The provisions of this chapter requiring submission of 1343 fingerprints do not apply to licenses issued to qualified 1344 entities under this paragraph. 1345 11. A branch location that sells portable electronics 1346 insurance may, in lieu of obtaining an appointment from an 1347 insurer or warranty association, obtain a single appointment 1348 from the associated lead business location licensee and pay the 1349 prescribed appointment fee under s. 624.501 if the lead business 1350 location has a single appointment from each insurer or warranty 1351 association represented and such appointment applies to the lead 1352 business location and all of its branch locations. Branch 1353 location appointments shall be renewed 24 months after the lead 1354 business location initial appointment date and every 24 months 1355 thereafter. Notwithstanding s. 624.501, the renewal fee 1356 applicable to such branch location appointments is $30 per 1357 appointment. 1358 12. For purposes of this paragraph: 1359 a. “Branch location” means any physical location in this 1360 state at which a licensee offers its products or services for 1361 sale. 1362 b. “Portable electronics” means personal, self-contained, 1363 easily carried by an individual, battery-operated electronic 1364 communication, viewing, listening, recording, gaming, computing 1365 or global positioning devices, including cell or satellite 1366 phones, pagers, personal global positioning satellite units, 1367 portable computers, portable audio listening, video viewing or 1368 recording devices, digital cameras, video camcorders, portable 1369 gaming systems, docking stations, automatic answering devices, 1370 and other similar devices and their accessories, and service 1371 related to the use of such devices. 1372 c. “Portable electronics transaction” means the sale or 1373 lease of portable electronics or a related service, including 1374 portable electronics insurance. 1375 (4) Except as otherwise expressly provided, a person 1376 applying for or holding a limited license isshall besubject to 1377 the same applicable requirements and responsibilities thatas1378 apply to general lines agents in general,if licensed as to 1379 motor vehicle physical damage and mechanical breakdown 1380 insurance,credit property insurance,industrial fire insurance 1381 or burglary insurance, motor vehicle rental insurance, credit 1382 insurance, crop hail and multiple-peril crop insurance, in 1383 transit and storage personal property insurance, or portable 1384 electronics insurancecommunications equipment property1385insurance or communications equipment inland marine insurance,1386baggage and motor vehicle excess liability insurance, or credit1387insurance; or as apply to life agents or health agents in 1388 general, as applicablethe case may be, if licensed as to travel 1389personal accident insurance or credit life or credit disability1390 insurance. 1391 Section 17. Section 626.342, Florida Statutes, is amended 1392 to read: 1393 626.342 Furnishing supplies to unlicensedlife, health, or1394general linesagent prohibited; civil liability.— 1395 (1) An insurer, a managing general agent, an insurance 1396 agency, or an agent, directly or through aanyrepresentative, 1397 may not furnish to ananyagent any blank forms, applications, 1398 stationery, or other supplies to be used in soliciting, 1399 negotiating, or effecting contracts of insurance on its behalf 1400 unless such blank forms, applications, stationery, or other 1401 supplies relate to a class of business forwith respect towhich 1402 the agent is licensed and appointed, whether for that insurer or 1403 another insurer. 1404 (2) AnAnyinsurer, general agent, insurance agency, or 1405 agent who furnishes any of the supplies specified in subsection 1406 (1) to ananyagent or prospective agent not appointed to 1407 represent the insurer and who accepts from or writes any 1408 insurance business for such agent or agency is subject to civil 1409 liability to ananyinsured of such insurer to the same extent 1410 andin the samemanner as if such agent or prospective agent had 1411 been appointed or authorized by the insurer or such agent to act 1412 oninits or his or her behalf. The provisions of this 1413 subsection do not apply to insurance risk apportionment plans 1414 under s. 627.351. 1415 (3) This section does not apply to the placing of surplus 1416 lines business under the provisions of ss. 626.913-626.937. 1417 Section 18. Subsection (1) of section 626.381, Florida 1418 Statutes, is amended to read: 1419 626.381 Renewal, continuation, reinstatement, or 1420 termination of appointment.— 1421 (1) The appointment of an appointee continuesshall1422continuein force until suspended, revoked, or otherwise 1423 terminated, but is subject to a renewal request filed by the 1424 appointing entity in the appointee’s birth month as to natural 1425 persons or the month the original appointment was issuedlicense1426dateas to entities and every 24 months thereafter, accompanied 1427 by payment of the renewal appointment fee and taxes as 1428 prescribed in s. 624.501. 1429 Section 19. Section 626.536, Florida Statutes, is amended 1430 to read: 1431 626.536 Reporting of administrative actions.—Each agent and1432insurance agency shall submit to the department,Within 30 days 1433 after the final disposition of ananyadministrative action 1434 taken against a licenseethe agentor insurance agency by a 1435 governmental agency or other regulatory agency in this or any 1436 other state or jurisdiction relating to the business of 1437 insurance, the sale of securities, or activity involving fraud, 1438 dishonesty, trustworthiness, or breach of a fiduciary duty, the 1439 licensee or insurance agency must submit a copy of the order, 1440 consent to order, or other relevant legal documents to the 1441 department. The department may adopt rules to administer 1442implementing the provisions ofthis section. 1443 Section 20. Section 626.551, Florida Statutes, is amended 1444 to read: 1445 626.551 Notice of change of address, name.—AEverylicensee 1446 mustshallnotify the department, in writing, within 3060days 1447 after a change of name, residence address, principal business 1448 street address, mailing address, contact telephone numbers, 1449 including a business telephone number, or e-mail address. A 1450 licenseelicensed agentwho has moved his or her residence from 1451 this state shall have his or her license and all appointments 1452 immediately terminated by the department. Failure to notify the 1453 department within the required timeperiodshall result in a 1454 fine not to exceed $250 for the first offense and, for1455subsequent offenses,a fine of at least $500 or suspension or 1456 revocation of the license pursuant to s. 626.611, s. 626.6115, 1457ors. 626.621, or s. 626.6215 for a subsequent offense. The 1458 department may adopt rules to administer and enforce this 1459 section. 1460 Section 21. Subsection (14) is added to section 626.621, 1461 Florida Statutes, to read: 1462 626.621 Grounds for discretionary refusal, suspension, or 1463 revocation of agent’s, adjuster’s, customer representative’s, 1464 service representative’s, or managing general agent’s license or 1465 appointment.—The department may, in its discretion, deny an 1466 application for, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew or continue 1467 the license or appointment of any applicant, agent, adjuster, 1468 customer representative, service representative, or managing 1469 general agent, and it may suspend or revoke the eligibility to 1470 hold a license or appointment of any such person, if it finds 1471 that as to the applicant, licensee, or appointee any one or more 1472 of the following applicable grounds exist under circumstances 1473 for which such denial, suspension, revocation, or refusal is not 1474 mandatory under s. 626.611: 1475 (14) Failure to comply with any civil, criminal, or 1476 administrative action taken by the child support enforcement 1477 program under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 1478 ss. 651 et seq., to determine paternity or to establish, modify, 1479 enforce, or collect support. 1480 Section 22. Subsection (4) of section 626.641, Florida 1481 Statutes, is amended to read: 1482 626.641 Duration of suspension or revocation.— 1483 (4) During the period of suspension or revocation of athe1484 license or appointment, and until the license is reinstated or, 1485 if revoked, a new license issued, the former licensee or 1486 appointee mayshallnot engage in or attempt or profess to 1487 engage in any transaction or business for which a license or 1488 appointment is required under this code or directly or 1489 indirectly own, control, or be employed in any manner by anany1490insuranceagent,oragency,oradjuster, or adjusting firm. 1491 Section 23. Subsection (1) of section 626.651, Florida 1492 Statutes, is amended to read: 1493 626.651 Effect of suspension, revocation upon associated 1494 licenses and appointments and licensees and appointees.— 1495 (1) Upon suspension, revocation, or refusal to renew or 1496 continue any one license of a licenseean agent or customer1497representative, or upon suspension or revocation of eligibility 1498 to hold a license or appointment, the department shall at the 1499 same time likewise suspend or revoke all other licenses, 1500 appointments, or status of eligibility held by the licensee or 1501 appointee under this code. 1502 Section 24. Subsection (4) of section 626.730, Florida 1503 Statutes, is amended to read: 1504 626.730 Purpose of license.— 1505 (4) This section does not prohibit a person who is employed 1506 by or associated with a motor vehicle sales or financing agency, 1507 a retail sales establishment, or a consumer loan office from 1508 holdingthe licensing undera limited license for credit 1509 insurance oras tomotor vehicle physical damage and mechanical 1510 breakdown insurance for the purpose of insuringor credit1511property insurance of any person employed by or associated with1512a motor vehicle sales or financing agency, a retail sales1513establishment, or a consumer loan office, other than a consumer1514loan office owned by or affiliated with a financial institution1515as defined in s.655.005, with respect to insurance ofthe 1516 interest of such entityagencyin a motor vehicle sold or 1517 financed by it or in personal property if used as collateral for 1518 a loan. 1519 (5) This section does not applywith respectto the 1520 interest of a real estate mortgagee in or as to insurance 1521 covering such interest or in the real estate subject to such 1522 mortgage. 1523 Section 25. Section 626.732, Florida Statutes, is amended 1524 to read: 1525 626.732 Requirement as to knowledge, experience, or 1526 instruction.— 1527 (1) Except as provided in subsection (4)(3), anno1528 applicant for a license as a general lines agentor personal1529lines agent, except for a chartered property and casualty 1530 underwriter (CPCU), may notother than as to a limited license1531as to baggage and motor vehicle excess liability insurance,1532credit property insurance, credit insurance, in-transit and1533storage personal property insurance, or communications equipment1534property insurance or communication equipment inland marine1535insurance, shallbe qualified or licensed unless, within the 4 1536 years immediately preceding the date the application for license 1537 is filed with the department, the applicant has: 1538 (a) Taught or successfully completed classroom courses in 1539 insurance, 3 hours of which mustshallbe on the subject matter 1540 of ethics,satisfactory to the departmentat a school, college, 1541 or extension division thereof, approved by the department. To1542qualify for licensure as a personal lines agent, the applicant1543must complete a total of 52 hours of classroom courses in1544insurance; 1545 (b) Completed a correspondence course in insurance, 3 hours 1546 of which mustshallbe on the subject matter of ethics, 1547 satisfactory to the department and regularly offered by 1548 accredited institutions of higher learning in this state, and 1549 have, except if he or she is applying for a limited license1550under s.626.321, for licensure as a general lines agent, has1551hadat least 6 months of responsible insurance duties as a 1552 substantially full-time bona fide employee in all lines of 1553 property and casualty insurance set forth in the definition of 1554 general lines agent under s. 626.015or, for licensure as a1555personal lines agent, has completed at least 3 months in1556responsible insurance duties as a substantially full-time1557employee in property and casualty insurance sold to individuals1558and families for noncommercial purposes; 1559 (c)For licensure as a general lines agent,Completed at 1560 least 1 year in responsible insurance duties as a substantially 1561 full-time bona fide employee in all lines of property and 1562 casualty insurance, exclusive of aviation and wet marine and1563transportation insurances but not exclusive of boats of less1564than 36 feet in length or aircraft not held out for hire,as set 1565 forth in the definition of a general lines agent under s. 1566 626.015, but without the education requirement described 1567mentionedin paragraph (a) or paragraph (b)or, for licensure as1568a personal lines agent, has completed at least 6 months in1569responsible insurance duties as a substantially full-time1570employee in property and casualty insurance sold to individuals1571and families for noncommercial purposes without the education1572requirement in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b); 1573 (d)1.For licensure as a general lines agent,Completed at 1574 least 1 year of responsible insurance duties as a licensed and 1575 appointed customer representative or limited customer 1576 representative in commercial or personal lines of property and 1577 casualty insurance and 40 hours of classroom courses approved by 1578 the department covering the areas of property, casualty, surety, 1579 health, and marine insurance; or 15802. For licensure as a personal lines agent, completed at1581least 6 months of responsible duties as a licensed and appointed1582customer representative or limited customer representative in1583property and casualty insurance sold to individuals and families1584for noncommercial purposes and 20 hours of classroom courses1585approved by the department which are related to property and1586casualty insurance sold to individuals and families for1587noncommercial purposes;1588 (e)1.For licensure as a general lines agent,Completed at 1589 least 1 year of responsible insurance duties as a licensed and 1590 appointed service representative ineithercommercial or 1591 personal lines of property and casualty insurance and 80 hours 1592 of classroom courses approved by the department covering the 1593 areas of property, casualty, surety, health, and marine 1594 insurance.; or15952. For licensure as a personal lines agent, completed at1596least 6 months of responsible insurance duties as a licensed and1597appointed service representative in property and casualty1598insurance sold to individuals and families for noncommercial1599purposes and 40 hours of classroom courses approved by the1600department related to property and casualty insurance sold to1601individuals and families for noncommercial purposes; or1602 (2) Except as provided under subsection (4), an applicant 1603 for a license as a personal lines agent, except for a chartered 1604 property and casualty underwriter (CPCU), may not be qualified 1605 or licensed unless, within the 4 years immediately preceding the 1606 date the application for license is filed with the department, 1607 the applicant has: 1608 (a) Taught or successfully completed classroom courses in 1609 insurance, 3 hours of which must be on the subject matter of 1610 ethics, at a school, college, or extension division thereof, 1611 approved by the department. To qualify for licensure, the 1612 applicant must complete a total of 52 hours of classroom courses 1613 in insurance; 1614 (b) Completed a correspondence course in insurance, 3 hours 1615 of which must be on the subject matter of ethics, satisfactory 1616 to the department and regularly offered by accredited 1617 institutions of higher learning in this state, and completed at 1618 least 3 months of responsible insurance duties as a 1619 substantially full-time employee in the area of property and 1620 casualty insurance sold to individuals and families for 1621 noncommercial purposes; 1622 (c) Completed at least 6 months of responsible insurance 1623 duties as a substantially full-time employee in the area of 1624 property and casualty insurance sold to individuals and families 1625 for noncommercial purposes, but without the education 1626 requirement described in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b); 1627 (d) Completed at least 6 months of responsible duties as a 1628 licensed and appointed customer representative or limited 1629 customer representative in property and casualty insurance sold 1630 to individuals and families for noncommercial purposes and 20 1631 hours of classroom courses approved by the department which are 1632 related to property and casualty insurance sold to individuals 1633 and families for noncommercial purposes; 1634 (e) Completed at least 6 months of responsible insurance 1635 duties as a licensed and appointed service representative in 1636 property and casualty insurance sold to individuals and families 1637 for noncommercial purposes and 40 hours of classroom courses 1638 approved by the department related to property and casualty 1639 insurance sold to individuals and families for noncommercial 1640 purposes; or 1641 (f)For licensure as a personal lines agent,Completed at 1642 least 3 years of responsible duties as a licensed and appointed 1643 customer representative in property and casualty insurance sold 1644 to individuals and families for noncommercial purposes. 1645 (3)(2)IfWherean applicant’s qualifications as required 1646 under subsection (1) or subsection (2)in paragraph (1)(b)or1647paragraph (1)(c)are based in part upontheperiods of 1648 employment inatresponsible insurance dutiesprescribed1649therein, the applicant shall submit with the license application 1650for license, on a form prescribed by the department, anthe1651 affidavit of his or her employer setting forth the period of 1652 such employment, that the employmentsamewas substantially 1653 full-time, and giving a brief abstract of the nature of the 1654 duties performed by the applicant. 1655 (4)(3)An individual who was or became qualified to sit for 1656 an agent’s, customer representative’s, or adjuster’s examination 1657 at or during the time he or she was employed by the department 1658 or office and who, while so employed, was employed in 1659 responsible insurance duties as a full-time bona fide employee 1660 mayshall be permitted totake an examination if application for 1661 such examination is made within 90 days after the date of 1662 termination ofhis or heremployment with the department or 1663 office. 1664 (5)(4)Classroom and correspondence courses under 1665 subsections (1) and (2)subsection (1)must include instruction 1666 on the subject matter of unauthorized entities engaging in the 1667 business of insurance. The scope of the topic of unauthorized 1668 entities mustshallinclude the Florida Nonprofit Multiple 1669 Employer Welfare Arrangement Act and the Employee Retirement 1670 Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. ss. 1001 et seq., as it relates 1671 to the provision of health insurance by employers and the 1672 regulation thereof. 1673 (6) This section does not apply to an individual holding 1674 only a limited license for travel insurance, motor vehicle 1675 rental insurance, credit insurance, in-transit and storage 1676 personal property insurance, or portable electronics insurance. 1677 Section 26. Section 626.8411, Florida Statutes, is amended 1678 to read: 1679 626.8411 Application of Florida Insurance Code provisions 1680 to title insurance agents or agencies.— 1681 (1) The following provisions of part II, asapplicable to 1682 general lines agents or agencies,also apply to title insurance 1683 agents or agencies: 1684 (a) Section 626.734, relating to liability of certain 1685 agents. 1686(b) Section626.175, relating to temporary licenses.1687 (b)(c)Section 626.747, relating to branch agencies. 1688 (c) Section 626.749, relating to place of business in 1689 residence. 1690 (d) Section 626.753, relating to sharing of commissions. 1691 (e) Section 626.754, relating to rights of agent following 1692 termination of appointment. 1693 (2) The following provisions of part I do not apply to 1694 title insurance agents or title insurance agencies: 1695 (a) Section 626.112(7), relating to licensing of insurance 1696 agencies. 1697 (b) Section 626.231, relating to eligibility for 1698 examination. 1699 (c) Section 626.572, relating to rebating, when allowed. 1700 (d) Section 626.172, relating to agent in full-time charge. 1701 Section 27. Section 626.8418, Florida Statutes, is amended 1702 to read: 1703 626.8418 Application for title insurance agency license. 1704 BeforePrior todoing business in this state as a title 1705 insurance agency, thea title insuranceagency mustmeet all of1706the following requirements:1707(1) The applicant mustfile with the department an 1708 application for a license as a title insurance agency, on 1709printedforms furnished by the department, which includethat1710includesall of the following: 1711 (1)(a)The name of each majority owner, partner, officer, 1712 and director of the agency. 1713 (2)(b)The residence address of each person required to be 1714 listed under subsection (1)paragraph (a). 1715 (3)(c)The name of the agency and its principal business 1716 address. 1717 (4)(d)The location of each agency office and the name 1718 under which eachagencyoffice conducts or will conduct 1719 business. 1720 (5)(e)The name of each agent to be in full-time charge of 1721 an agency office and the identificationspecificationof such 1722whichoffice. 1723 (6)(f)Such additional information as the department 1724 requires by rule to ascertain the trustworthiness and competence 1725 of persons required to be listed on the application and to 1726 ascertain that such persons meet the requirements of this code. 1727(2) The applicant must have deposited with the department1728securities of the type eligible for deposit under s.625.52and1729having at all times a market value of not less than $35,000. In1730place of such deposit, the title insurance agency may post a1731surety bond of like amount payable to the department for the1732benefit of any appointing insurer damaged by a violation by the1733title insurance agency of its contract with the appointing1734insurer. If a properly documented claim is timely filed with the1735department by a damaged title insurer, the department may remit1736an appropriate amount of the deposit or the proceeds that are1737received from the surety in payment of the claim. The required1738deposit or bond must be made by the title insurance agency, and1739a title insurer may not provide the deposit or bond directly or1740indirectly on behalf of the title insurance agency. The deposit1741or bond must secure the performance by the title insurance1742agency of its duties and responsibilities under the issuing1743agency contracts with each title insurer for which it is1744appointed. The agency may exchange or substitute other1745securities of like quality and value for securities on deposit,1746may receive the interest and other income accruing on such1747securities, and may inspect the deposit at all reasonable times.1748Such deposit or bond must remain unimpaired as long as the title1749insurance agency continues in business in this state and until 11750year after termination of all title insurance agency1751appointments held by the title insurance agency. The title1752insurance agency is entitled to the return of the deposit or1753bond together with accrued interest after such year has passed,1754if no claim has been made against the deposit or bond. If a1755surety bond is unavailable generally, the department may adopt1756rules for alternative methods to comply with this subsection.1757With respect to such alternative methods for compliance, the1758department must be guided by the past business performance and1759good reputation and character of the proposed title insurance1760agency. A surety bond is deemed to be unavailable generally if1761the prevailing annual premium exceeds 25 percent of the1762principal amount of the bond.1763 Section 28. Section 626.8548, Florida Statutes, is created 1764 to read: 1765 626.8548 “All-lines adjuster” defined.—An “all-lines 1766 adjuster” is a person who is self-employed or employed by an 1767 insurer, a wholly owned subsidiary of an insurer, or an 1768 independent adjusting firm or other independent adjuster, and 1769 who undertakes on behalf of an insurer or other insurers under 1770 common control or ownership to ascertain and determine the 1771 amount of any claim, loss, or damage payable under an insurance 1772 contract or undertakes to effect settlement of such claim, loss, 1773 or damage. The term does not apply to life insurance or annuity 1774 contracts. 1775 Section 29. Section 626.855, Florida Statutes, is amended 1776 to read: 1777 626.855 “Independent adjuster” defined.—An “independent 1778 adjuster” means ais anyperson licensed as an all-lines 1779 adjuster who is self-appointedself-employedor appointed andis1780associated with oremployed by an independent adjusting firm or 1781 other independent adjuster, and who undertakes on behalf of an 1782 insurer to ascertain and determine the amount of any claim, 1783 loss, or damage payable under an insurance contract or 1784 undertakes to effect settlement of such claim, loss, or damage. 1785 Section 30. Section 626.856, Florida Statutes, is amended 1786 to read: 1787 626.856 “Company employee adjuster” defined.—A “company 1788 employee adjuster” meansisa person licensed as an all-lines 1789 adjuster who is appointed and employed on an insurer’s staff of 1790 adjusters or a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurer, and who 1791 undertakes on behalf of such insurer or other insurers under 1792 common control or ownership to ascertain and determine the 1793 amount of any claim, loss, or damage payable under a contract of 1794 insurance, or undertakes to effect settlement of such claim, 1795 loss, or damage. 1796 Section 31. Section 626.858, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 1797 Section 32. Section 626.8584, Florida Statutes, is amended 1798 to read: 1799 626.8584 “Nonresident all-linesindependentadjuster” 1800 defined.—A “nonresident all-linesindependentadjuster” meansis1801 a person who: 1802 (1) Is not a resident of this state; 1803 (2) Isacurrently licensed as anindependentadjuster in 1804 his or her state of residence for all lines of insurance except 1805 life and annuitiesthe type or kinds of insurance for which the1806licensee intends to adjust claims in this stateor, if a 1807 resident of a state that does not license suchindependent1808 adjusters, meets the qualificationshas passed the department’s1809adjuster examination asprescribed in s. 626.8734(1)(b); and 1810 (3) Is licensed as an all-lines adjuster and self-appointed 1811 or appointed anda self-employed independent adjuster or1812associated with oremployed by an independent adjusting firm or 1813 other independent adjuster, by an insurer admitted to do 1814 business in this state or a wholly-owned subsidiary of an 1815 insurer admitted to do business in this state, or by other 1816 insurers under the common control or ownership of such insurer. 1817 Section 33. Section 626.863, Florida Statutes, is amended 1818 to read: 1819 626.863 Claims referrals toLicensedindependent adjusters 1820required; insurers’ responsibility.— 1821 (1) An insurer mayshallnot knowingly refer any claim or 1822 loss for adjustment in this state to any person purporting to be 1823 or acting as an independent adjuster unless the person is 1824 currently licensed as an all-lines adjuster and appointed as an 1825 independent adjuster under this code. 1826 (2) Before referring any claim or loss, the insurer shall 1827 ascertain from the department whether the proposed independent 1828 adjuster is currently licensed as an all-lines adjuster and 1829 appointed as an independent adjustersuch. Havingonce1830 ascertained that a particular person is so licensed and 1831 appointed, the insurer may assume that he or she will continue 1832 to be so licensed and appointed until the insurer has knowledge, 1833 or receives information from the department, to the contrary. 1834 (3) This section does not apply to catastrophe or emergency 1835 adjusters as providedforin this part. 1836 Section 34. Section 626.864, Florida Statutes, is amended 1837 to read: 1838 626.864 Adjuster license types.— 1839 (1) A qualified individual may be licensedand appointedas 1840either: 1841 (a) A public adjuster; or 1842 (b) An all-linesindependentadjuster; or1843(c) A company employee adjuster. 1844 (2) The same individual mayshallnot be concurrently 1845 licensedappointedas a public adjuster and an all-lines 1846 adjusterto more than one of the adjuster types referred to in1847subsection (1). 1848 (3) An all-lines adjuster may be appointed as an 1849 independent adjuster or company employee adjuster, but not both 1850 concurrently. 1851 Section 35. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (1) of 1852 section 626.865, Florida Statutes, to read: 1853 626.865 Public adjuster’s qualifications, bond.— 1854 (1) The department shall issue a license to an applicant 1855 for a public adjuster’s license upon determining that the 1856 applicant has paid the applicable fees specified in s. 624.501 1857 and possesses the following qualifications: 1858 (e) Is licensed as a public adjuster apprentice under s. 1859 626.8651 and complies with the requirements of that license 1860 throughout the licensure period. 1861 Section 36. Section 626.866, Florida Statutes, is amended 1862 to read: 1863 626.866 All-lines adjusterIndependent adjuster’s1864 qualifications.—The department shall issuea license to an1865applicant foran all-lines adjusterindependent adjuster’s1866 license to an applicant upon determining that the applicable 1867 license fee specified in s. 624.501 has been paid and that the 1868 applicant possesses the following qualifications: 1869 (1) Is a natural person at least 18 years of age. 1870 (2) Is a United States citizen or legal alien who possesses 1871 work authorization from the United States Bureau of Citizenship 1872 and Immigration Services and a bona fide resident of this state. 1873 (3) Is trustworthy and has such business reputation as 1874 would reasonably assure that the applicant will conduct his or 1875 her business as insurance adjuster fairly and in good faith and 1876 without detriment to the public. 1877 (4) Has had sufficient experience, training, or instruction 1878 concerning the adjusting of damage or loss under insurance 1879 contracts, other than life and annuity contracts, is 1880 sufficiently informed as to the terms and the effects of the 1881 provisions of such types of contracts, and possesses adequate 1882 knowledge of the insurance laws of this state relating to such 1883 contracts as to enable and qualify him or her to engage in the 1884 business of insurance adjuster fairly and without injury to the 1885 public or any member thereof with whom he or she may have 1886 relations as an insurance adjuster and to adjust all claims in 1887 accordance with the policy or contract and the insurance laws of 1888 this state. 1889 (5) Has passed any required written examination or has met 1890 one of the exemptions prescribed under s. 626.221. 1891 Section 37. Section 626.867, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 1892 Section 38. Section 626.869, Florida Statutes, is amended 1893 to read: 1894 626.869 License, adjusters; continuing education.— 1895 (1) HavingAn applicant fora license as an all-lines 1896 adjuster qualifies the licensee to adjustmay qualify and his or1897her license when issued may cover adjusting in any one of the1898following classes of insurance:1899(a)all lines of insurance except life and annuities. 1900(b) Motor vehicle physical damage insurance.1901(c) Property and casualty insurance.1902(d) Workers’ compensation insurance.1903(e) Health insurance.1904 1905No examination on workers’ compensation insurance or health1906insurance shall be required for public adjusters.1907 (2) All individuals who on October 1, 1990, hold an 1908 adjuster’s license and appointment limited to fire and allied 1909 lines, including marine or casualty or boiler and machinery, may 1910 remain licensed and appointed under the limited license and may 1911 renew their appointment, but anolicense or appointment that 1912whichhas been terminated, not renewed, suspended, or revoked 1913 may notshallbe reinstated, andnonew or additional licenses 1914 or appointments may notshallbe issued. 1915 (3) All individuals who on October 1, 2012, hold an 1916 adjuster’s license and appointment limited to motor vehicle 1917 physical damage and mechanical breakdown, property and casualty, 1918 workers’ compensation, or health insurance may remain licensed 1919 and appointed under such limited license and may renew their 1920 appointment, but a license that has been terminated, suspended, 1921 or revoked may not be reinstated, and new or additional licenses 1922 may not be issued.The applicant’s application for license shall1923specify which of the foregoing classes of business the1924application for license is to cover.1925 (4)(a)AnAnyindividual holding a license as a public 1926 adjuster or an all-linesa company employeeadjuster must 1927 complete all continuing education requirements as specified in 1928 s. 626.2815.or independent adjuster for 24 consecutive months1929or longer must, beginning in his or her birth month and every 21930years thereafter, have completed 24 hours of courses, 2 hours of1931which relate to ethics, in subjects designed to inform the1932licensee regarding the current insurance laws of this state, so1933as to enable him or her to engage in business as an insurance1934adjuster fairly and without injury to the public and to adjust1935all claims in accordance with the policy or contract and the1936laws of this state.1937(b) Any individual holding a license as a public adjuster1938for 24 consecutive months or longer, beginning in his or her1939birth month and every 2 years thereafter, must have completed 241940hours of courses, 2 hours of which relate to ethics, in subjects1941designed to inform the licensee regarding the current laws of1942this state pertaining to all lines of insurance other than life1943and annuities, the current laws of this state pertaining to the1944duties and responsibilities of public adjusters as set forth in1945this part, and the current rules of the department applicable to1946public adjusters and standard or representative policy forms1947used by insurers, other than forms for life insurance and1948annuities, so as to enable him or her to engage in business as1949an adjuster fairly and without injury to the public and to1950adjust all claims in accordance with the policy or contract and1951laws of this state. In order to receive credit for continuing1952education courses, public adjusters must take courses that are1953specifically designed for public adjusters and approved by the1954department, provided, however, no continuing education course1955shall be required for public adjusters for workers’ compensation1956insurance or health insurance.1957(c) The department shall adopt rules necessary to implement1958and administer the continuing education requirements of this1959subsection. For good cause shown, the department may grant an1960extension of time during which the requirements imposed by this1961section may be completed, but such extension of time may not1962exceed 1 year.1963(d) A nonresident public adjuster must complete the1964continuing education requirements provided by this section;1965provided, a nonresident public adjuster may meet the1966requirements of this section if the continuing education1967requirements of the nonresident public adjuster’s home state are1968determined to be substantially comparable to the requirements of1969this state’s continuing education requirements and if the1970resident’s state recognizes reciprocity with this state’s1971continuing education requirements. A nonresident public adjuster1972whose home state does not have such continuing education1973requirements for adjusters, and who is not licensed as a1974nonresident adjuster in a state that has continuing education1975requirements and reciprocates with this state, must meet the1976continuing education requirements of this section.1977 (5) The regulation of continuing education for licensees, 1978 course providers, instructors, school officials, and monitor 1979 groups shall be as providedforin s. 626.2816. 1980 Section 39. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section 1981 626.8697, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1982 626.8697 Grounds for refusal, suspension, or revocation of 1983 adjusting firm license.— 1984 (2) The department may, in its discretion, deny, suspend, 1985 revoke, or refuse to continue the license of any adjusting firm 1986 if it finds that any of the following applicable grounds exist 1987 with respect to the firm or any owner, partner, manager, 1988 director, officer, or other person who is otherwise involved in 1989 the operation of the firm: 1990 (c) Violation of ananyorder or rule of the department, 1991 office, or commission. 1992 Section 40. Subsections (1) and (5) of section 626.872, 1993 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1994 626.872 Temporary license.— 1995 (1) The department may, in its discretion,issue a 1996 temporary license as an all-linesindependentadjusteror as a1997company employee adjuster, subject to the following conditions: 1998 (a) The applicant must be an employee of an adjuster 1999 currently licensed by the department,an employee ofan 2000 authorized insurer, oran employee ofan established adjusting 2001 firm or corporation whowhichis supervised by a currently 2002 licensed all-linesindependentadjuster. 2003(b) The application must be accompanied by a certificate of2004employment and a report as to the applicant’s integrity and2005moral character on a form prescribed by the department and2006executed by the employer.2007 (b)(c)The applicant must be a natural person of at least 2008 18 years of age,must bea bona fide resident of this state, 2009must betrustworthy, andmusthave asuchbusiness reputation 2010 thataswould reasonably ensureassurethat the applicant will 2011 conduct his or her business as an adjuster fairly and in good 2012 faith and without detriment to the public. 2013 (c)(d)The applicant’s employer is responsible for the 2014 adjustment acts of the temporaryanylicenseeunder this2015section. 2016 (d)(e)The applicable license feespecifiedmust be paid 2017 before issuance of the temporary license. 2018 (e)(f)The temporary license isshall beeffective fora2019period of1 year, but is subject to earlier termination at the 2020 request of the employer,orif the licensee fails to take an 2021 examination as an all-linesindependentadjusteror company2022employee adjusterwithin 6 months after issuance of the 2023 temporary license, or if the temporary license is suspended or 2024 revoked by the department. 2025 (5) The department mayshallnot issue a temporary license 2026 as an all-linesindependentadjusteror as a company employee2027adjusterto ananyindividual who haseverheld suchalicense 2028 in this state. 2029 Section 41. Section 626.873, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 2030 Section 42. Section 626.8734, Florida Statutes, is amended 2031 to read: 2032 626.8734 Nonresident all-lines adjuster licenseindependent2033adjuster’squalifications.— 2034 (1) The department shall, upon application therefor,issue 2035 a license to an applicant for a nonresident all-lines adjuster 2036independent adjuster’slicense upon determining that the 2037 applicant has paid the applicable license fees required under s. 2038 624.501 and: 2039 (a) Is a natural person at least 18 years of age. 2040 (b) Has passed to the satisfaction of the department a 2041 written Florida all-lines adjusterindependent adjuster’s2042 examination of the scope prescribed in s. 626.241(6); however, 2043 the requirement for the examination does not apply toany of the2044following: 2045 1. An applicant who is licensed as an all-linesa resident2046independentadjuster in his or her home state ifof residence2047whenthat state has entered intorequires the passing of a2048written examination in order to obtain the license anda 2049 reciprocal agreement with theappropriate official of that state2050has been entered into by thedepartment; or 2051 2. An applicant who is licensed as a nonresident all-lines 2052independentadjuster in a state other than his or her home state 2053of residence when the state of licensure requires the passing of2054a written examination in order to obtain the licenseand a 2055 reciprocal agreement with the appropriate official of the state 2056 of licensure has been entered into withbythe department. 2057 (c) Is licensed as an all-lines adjuster and is self 2058 appointed, or appointed and employed by an independent adjusting 2059 firm or other independent adjuster, or is an employee of an 2060 insurer admitted to do business in this state, a wholly owned 2061 subsidiary of an insurer admitted to business in this state, or 2062 other insurers under the common control or ownership of such 2063 insurersself-employed or associated with or employed by an2064independent adjusting firm or other independent adjuster. 2065 Applicants licensed as nonresident all-linesindependent2066 adjusters under this section must be appointed as an independent 2067 adjuster or company employee adjustersuchin accordance with 2068the provisions ofss. 626.112 and 626.451. Appointment fees as 2069in the amountspecified in s. 624.501 must be paid to the 2070 department in advance. The appointment of a nonresident 2071 independent adjuster continuesshall continuein force until 2072 suspended, revoked, or otherwise terminated, but is subject to 2073 biennial renewal or continuation by the licensee in accordance 2074 withprocedures prescribed ins. 626.381 for licensees in 2075 general. 2076 (d) Is trustworthy and has such business reputation as 2077 would reasonably ensureassurethat he or she will conduct his 2078 or her business as a nonresident all-linesindependentadjuster 2079 fairly and in good faith and without detriment to the public. 2080 (e) Has had sufficient experience, training, or instruction 2081 concerning the adjusting of damages or losses under insurance 2082 contracts, other than life and annuity contracts; is 2083 sufficiently informed as to the terms and effects ofthe2084provisions ofthose types of insurance contracts; and possesses 2085 adequate knowledge of the laws of this state relating to such 2086 contracts as to enable and qualify him or her to engage in the 2087 business of insurance adjuster fairly and without injury to the 2088 public or any member thereof with whom he or she may have 2089 business as an all-linesindependentadjuster. 2090 (2) The applicant mustshallfurnish the following with his 2091 or her application: 2092 (a) A complete set of his or her fingerprints. The 2093 applicant’s fingerprints must be certified by an authorized law 2094 enforcement officer. 2095 (b) If currently licensed as an all-linesa resident2096independentadjuster in the applicant’s home stateof residence, 2097 a certificate or letter of authorization from the licensing 2098 authority of the applicant’s home stateof residence,stating 2099 that the applicant holds a current license to act as an all 2100 linesindependentadjuster. TheSuchcertificate or letter of 2101 authorization must be signed by the insurance commissioner, or 2102 his or her deputy or the appropriate licensing official, and 2103 must disclose whether the adjuster has ever had aanylicense or 2104 eligibility to hold any license declined, denied, suspended, 2105 revoked, or placed on probation or whether an administrative 2106 fine or penalty has been levied against the adjuster and, if so, 2107 the reason for the action. Such certificate or letter is not 2108 required if the nonresident applicant’s licensing status can be 2109 verified through the Producer Database maintained by the 2110 National Association of Insurance Commissioners, its affiliates, 2111 or subsidiaries. 2112 (c) If the applicant’s home stateof residencedoes not 2113 require licensure as an all-linesindependentadjuster and the 2114 applicant has been licensed as a resident insurance adjuster, 2115 agent, broker, or other insurance representative in his or her 2116 home stateof residenceor any other state within the past 3 2117 years, a certificate or letter of authorization from the 2118 licensing authority stating that the applicant holds or has held 2119 a license to act as an insurance adjuster, agent, or other 2120 insurance representative. The certificate or letter of 2121 authorization must be signed by the insurance commissioner, or 2122 his or her deputy or the appropriate licensing official, and 2123 must disclose whether the adjuster, agent, or other insurance 2124 representative has ever had aanylicense or eligibility to hold 2125 any license declined, denied, suspended, revoked, or placed on 2126 probation or whether an administrative fine or penalty has been 2127 levied against the adjuster and, if so, the reason for the 2128 action. Such certificate or letter is not required if the 2129 nonresident applicant’s licensing status can be verified through 2130 the Producer Database maintained by the National Association of 2131 Insurance Commissioners, its affiliates, or subsidiaries. 2132 (3) The usual and customary records pertaining to 2133 transactions under the license of a nonresident all-lines 2134independentadjuster must be retained for at least 3 years after 2135 completion of the adjustment andmustbe made available in this 2136 state to the department upon request. The failure of a 2137 nonresident all-linesindependentadjuster to properly maintain 2138 records and make them available to the department upon request 2139 constitutes grounds for the immediate suspension of the license 2140 issued under this section. 2141 (4)After licensure as a nonresident independent adjuster,2142 As a condition of doing business in this state as a nonresident 2143 independent adjuster, the appointee mustlicensee must annually2144on or before January 1, on a form prescribed by the department,2145 submit an affidavit to the department certifying that the 2146 licensee is familiar with and understands the insurance laws and 2147 administrative rules of this state and the provisions of the 2148 contracts negotiated or to be negotiated. Compliance with this 2149 filing requirement is a condition precedent to the issuance, 2150 continuation, reinstatement, or renewal of a nonresident 2151 independent adjuster’s appointment. 2152 Section 43. Section 626.8736, Florida Statutes, is amended 2153 to read: 2154 626.8736 Nonresident independent or public adjusters; 2155 service of process.— 2156 (1) Each licensed nonresidentindependent orpublic 2157 adjuster or all-lines adjuster appointed as an independent 2158 adjuster shall appoint the Chief Financial Officer and his or 2159 her successors in office as his or her attorney to receive 2160 service of legal process issued against suchthe nonresident2161independent or publicadjuster in this state, upon causes of 2162 action arising within this state out of transactions under his 2163 license and appointment. Service upon the Chief Financial 2164 Officer as attorney constitutesshall constituteeffective legal 2165 service upon the nonresident independent or public adjuster. 2166 (2) The appointment of the Chief Financial Officer for 2167 service of process isshall beirrevocableforas long as there 2168 could be any cause of action against the nonresidentindependent2169orpublic adjuster or all-lines adjuster appointed as an 2170 independent adjuster arising out of his or her insurance 2171 transactions in this state. 2172 (3) Duplicate copies of legal process against the 2173 nonresidentindependent orpublic adjuster or all-lines adjuster 2174 appointed as an independent adjuster shall be served upon the 2175 Chief Financial Officer by a person competent to serve a 2176 summons. 2177 (4) Upon receiving the service, the Chief Financial Officer 2178 shallforthwithsend one of the copies of the process, by 2179 registered mail with return receipt requested, to the defendant 2180 nonresidentindependent orpublic adjuster or all-lines adjuster 2181 appointed as an independent adjuster at his or her last address 2182 of record with the department. 2183 (5) The Chief Financial Officer shall keep a record of the 2184 day and hour of service upon him or her of all legal process 2185 received under this section. 2186 Section 44. Subsection (1) of section 626.874, Florida 2187 Statutes, is amended to read: 2188 626.874 Catastrophe or emergency adjusters.— 2189 (1) In the event of a catastrophe or emergency, the 2190 department may issue a license, for the purposes and under the 2191 conditionswhich it shall fixand for the period of emergency as 2192 it shall determine, to persons who are residents or nonresidents 2193 of this state, who are at least 18 years of age, who are United 2194 States citizens or legal aliens who possess work authorization 2195 from the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration 2196 Services, and who are not licensed adjusters under this part but 2197 who have been designated and certified to it as qualified to act 2198 as adjusters by all-linesindependentresident adjusters,orby 2199 an authorized insurer, or by a licensed general lines agent to 2200 adjust claims, losses, or damages under policies or contracts of 2201 insurance issued by such insurers. The fee for the license is 2202shall beas provided in s. 624.501(12)(c). 2203 Section 45. Subsection (1) of section 626.875, Florida 2204 Statutes, is amended to read: 2205 626.875 Office and records.— 2206 (1) Each appointedEvery licensedindependent adjuster and 2207everylicensed public adjuster mustshall have andmaintainin2208this statea place of business in this state which is accessible 2209 to the public and keep therein the usual and customary records 2210 pertaining to transactions under the license. This provision 2211 doesshallnotbe deemed toprohibit maintenance of such an 2212 office in the home of the licensee. 2213 Section 46. Section 626.876, Florida Statutes, is amended 2214 to read: 2215 626.876 Exclusive employment; public adjusters, independent 2216 adjusters.— 2217 (1) AnNoindividual licensed and appointed as a public 2218 adjuster may notshallbesoemployed during the same period by 2219 more than one public adjuster or public adjuster firm or 2220 corporation. 2221 (2) AnNoindividual licensed as an all-lines adjuster and 2222 appointed as an independent adjuster may notshallbeso2223 employed during the same period by more than one independent 2224 adjuster or independent adjuster firm or corporation. 2225 Section 47. Subsections (5), (6), and (7) of section 2226 626.927, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2227 626.927 Licensing of surplus lines agent.— 2228(5) The applicant must file and thereafter maintain the2229bond as required under s.626.928.2230 (5)(6)Examinations as to surplus lines, as required under 2231 subsections (1) and (2), areshall besubject to the provisions 2232 of part I as applicable to applicants for licenses in general. 2233No such examination shall be required as to persons who held a2234Florida surplus lines agent’s license as of January 1, 1959,2235except when examinations subsequent to issuance of an initial2236license are provided for in general under part I.2237 (6)(7)AnAnyindividual who has been licensed by the 2238 department as a surplus lines agent as provided in this section 2239 may be subsequently appointed without additional written 2240 examination if his or her application for appointment is filed 2241 with the department within 48 months afternext followingthe 2242 date of cancellation or expiration of the prior appointment. The 2243 department may, in its discretion,require ananyindividual to 2244 take and successfully pass an examination as for original 2245 issuance of license as a condition precedent to the 2246 reinstatement or continuation of the licensee’s current license 2247 or reinstatement or continuation of the licensee’s appointment. 2248 Section 48. Section 626.928, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 2249 Section 49. Section 626.933, Florida Statutes, is amended 2250 to read: 2251 626.933 Collection of tax and service fee.—If the tax or 2252 service fee payable by a surplus lines agent under thethis2253 Surplus Lines Law is not so paid within the time prescribed, it 2254the sameshall be recoverable in a suit brought by the 2255 department against the surplus lines agentand the surety or2256sureties on the bond filed by the surplus lines agent under s.2257626.928. The department may authorize the Florida Surplus Lines 2258 Service Office to file suit on its behalf. All costs and 2259 expenses incurred in a suit brought by the office which are not 2260 recoverable from the agent or surety shall be borne by the 2261 office. 2262 Section 50. Subsection (1) of section 626.935, Florida 2263 Statutes, is amended to read: 2264 626.935 Suspension, revocation, or refusal of surplus lines 2265 agent’s license.— 2266 (1) The department shall deny an application for, suspend, 2267 revoke, or refuse to renew the appointment of a surplus lines 2268 agent and all other licenses and appointments held by the 2269 licensee under this code, onuponany of the following grounds: 2270 (a) Removal of the licensee’s office from the licensee’s 2271 state of residence. 2272 (b) Removal of the accounts and records of his or her 2273 surplus lines business from this state or the licensee’s state 2274 of residence during the period when such accounts and records 2275 are required to be maintained under s. 626.930. 2276 (c) Closure of the licensee’s office fora period ofmore 2277 than 30 consecutive days. 2278 (d) Failure to make and file his or her affidavit or 2279 reports when due as required by s. 626.931. 2280 (e) Failure to pay the tax or service fee on surplus lines 2281 premiums, as providedforin thethisSurplus Lines Law. 2282(f) Failure to maintain the bond as required by s.626.928.2283 (f)(g)Suspension, revocation, or refusal to renew or 2284 continue the license or appointment as a general lines agent, 2285 service representative, or managing general agent. 2286 (g)(h)Lack of qualifications as for an original surplus 2287 lines agent’s license. 2288 (h)(i)Violation of this Surplus Lines Law. 2289 (i)(j)For any other applicable cause for which the license 2290 of a general lines agent could be suspended, revoked, or refused 2291 under s. 626.611 or s. 626.621. 2292 Section 51. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 2293 627.952, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2294 627.952 Risk retention and purchasing group agents.— 2295 (1) Any person offering, soliciting, selling, purchasing, 2296 administering, or otherwise servicing insurance contracts, 2297 certificates, or agreements for any purchasing group or risk 2298 retention group to any resident of this state, either directly 2299 or indirectly, by the use of mail, advertising, or other means 2300 of communication, shall obtain a license and appointment to act 2301 as a resident general lines agent, if a resident of this state, 2302 or a nonresident general lines agent if not a resident. Any such 2303 person shall be subject to all requirements of the Florida 2304 Insurance Code. 2305 (b) Any person required to be licensed and appointed under 2306bythis subsection, in order to place business through Florida 2307 eligible surplus lines carriers, mustshall, if a resident of 2308 this state, be licensed and appointed as a surplus lines agent. 2309Any such person,If not a resident of this state, such person 2310 mustshallbe licensed and appointed as a surplus lines agent in 2311 her or his state of residence andshallfile andthereafter2312 maintain a fidelity bond in favor of the people of the State of 2313 Florida executed by a surety company admitted in this state and 2314 payable to the State of Florida;provided,however,any2315activities carried out bysuch nonresident ispursuant to this2316part shall belimited to the provision of insurance for 2317 purchasing groups. The bond mustshallbe continuous in form and 2318maintainedin the amount of not less than $50,000, aggregate 2319 liabilityset out in s.626.928. The bond mustshallremain in 2320 force and effect until the surety is released from liability by 2321 the department or until the bond is canceled by the surety. The 2322 surety may cancel the bond and be released from further 2323 liabilitythereunderupon 30 days’ prior written notice to the 2324 department. The cancellation doesshallnot affect any liability 2325 incurred or accruedthereunderbefore the termination of the 30 2326 day period. Upon receipt of a notice of cancellation, the 2327 department shall immediately notify the agent. 2328 Section 52. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 635.051, 2329 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2330 635.051 Licensing and appointment of mortgage guaranty 2331 insurance agents.— 2332 (1) Effective October 1, 2012, a person may not transact 2333 mortgage guaranty insurance unless licensed and appointed as a 2334 credit insurance agent in accordance with the applicable 2335 provisions of the insurance code. Mortgage guaranty licenses 2336 held by persons on October 1, 2012, shall be transferred to a 2337 credit insurance agent license. Persons who wish to obtain a new 2338 license identification card that reflects this change must 2339 submit the $5 fee as prescribed in s. 624.501(15).Agents of2340mortgage guaranty insurers shall be licensed and appointed and2341shall be subject to the same qualifications and requirements2342applicable to general lines agents under the laws of this state,2343except that:2344(a) Particular preliminary specialized education or2345training is not required of an applicant for such an agent’s2346license, and continuing education is not required for renewal of2347the agent’s appointment if, as part of the application for2348license and appointment, the insurer guarantees that the2349applicant will receive the necessary training to enable him or2350her properly to hold himself or herself out to the public as a2351mortgage guaranty insurance agent and if the department, in its2352discretion, accepts such guaranty;2353(b) The agent’s license and appointment shall be a limited2354license, limited to the handling of mortgage guaranty insurance2355only; and2356(c) An examination may be required of an applicant for such2357a license if the insurer fails to provide the guaranty described2358in paragraph (a).2359 (2) Any general lines agent licensed under chapter 626 is 2360 qualified to represent a mortgage guaranty insurer without 2361 additional licensureexamination. 2362 Section 53. Subsection (1) of section 648.34, Florida 2363 Statutes, is amended to read 2364 648.34 Bail bond agents; qualifications.— 2365 (1) An application for licensure as a bail bond agent must 2366 be submitted on forms prescribed by the department. The 2367 application must include the applicant’s full name, date of 2368 birth, social security number, residence address, business 2369 address, mailing address, contact telephone numbers, including a 2370 business telephone number and e-mail address. 2371 Section 54. Subsection (2) of section 648.38, Florida 2372 Statutes, is amended to read: 2373 648.38 Licensure examination for bail bond agents; time; 2374 place; fees; scope.— 2375 (2) The department or a person designated by the department 2376 shall providemail writtennotice of the time and place of the 2377 examination to each applicant for licensure required to take an 2378 examination who will be eligible to take the examination as of 2379 the examination date. The notice shall be e-mailedso mailed,2380postage prepaid, and addressedto the applicant at the e-mail 2381his or heraddress shown on his or her application for licensure 2382or at such other address as requested by the applicant in2383writing filed with the department prior to the mailing of the2384notice. Notice shall be deemed given when so mailed. 2385 Section 55. Section 648.385, Florida Statutes, is amended 2386 to read: 2387 648.385 Continuing education required; application; 2388 exceptions; requirements; penalties.— 2389 (1) The purpose of this section is to establish 2390 requirements and standards for continuing education courses for 2391 persons authorized to write bail bonds in this state. 2392 (2)(a)Each person subject tothe provisions ofthis 2393 chapter must complete a minimum of 14 hours of continuing 2394 education courses every 2 years as specified in s. 626.2815in2395courses approved by the department.Compliance with continuing2396education requirements is a condition precedent to the issuance,2397continuation, or renewal of any appointment subject to the2398provisions of this chapter.2399(b) A person teaching any approved course of instruction or2400lecturing at any approved seminar and attending the entire2401course or seminar shall qualify for the same number of classroom2402hours as would be granted to a person taking and successfully2403completing such course, seminar, or program. Credit shall be2404limited to the number of hours actually taught unless a person2405attends the entire course or seminar.2406(c) For good cause shown, the department may grant an2407extension of time during which the requirements imposed by this2408section may be completed, but such extension of time may not2409exceed 1 year.2410(3)(a) Any bail-related course developed or sponsored by2411any authorized insurer or recognized bail bond agents’2412association, or any independent study program of instruction,2413subject to approval by the department, qualifies for the2414equivalency of the number of classroom hours assigned to such2415course by the department. However, unless otherwise provided in2416this section, continuing education credit may not be credited2417toward meeting the requirements of this section unless the2418course is provided by classroom instruction or results in a2419monitored examination.2420(b) Each person or entity sponsoring a course for2421continuing education credit must furnish, within 30 days after2422completion of the course, in a form satisfactory to the2423department or its designee, a written and certified roster2424showing the name and license number of all persons successfully2425completing such course and requesting credit, accompanied by the2426required fee. The department shall refuse to issue, continue, or2427renew the appointment of any bail bond agent who has not had the2428continuing education requirements certified unless the agent has2429been granted an extension by the department.2430 Section 56. Section 648.421, Florida Statutes, is amended 2431 to read 2432 648.421 Notice of change of address or telephone number. 2433 Each licensee under this chapter mustshallnotify, in writing, 2434 the department, insurer, managing general agent, and the clerk 2435 of each court in which the licensee is registered within 10 2436 working days after a change in the licensee’s principal business 2437 address or telephone number. The licensee mustshallalso notify 2438 the department within 10 working days after a change of the 2439 name, address, or telephone number of each agency or firm for 2440 which he or she writes bonds and any change in the licensee’s 2441 name, home address, e-mail address, or telephone number. 2442 Section 57. Subsection (1) of section 903.27, Florida 2443 Statutes, is amended to read: 2444 903.27 Forfeiture to judgment.— 2445 (1) If the forfeiture is not paid or discharged by court 2446 orderof a court of competent jurisdictionwithin 60 days and 2447 the bond is secured other than by money and bonds authorized 2448 underins. 903.16, the clerk of the circuit court for the 2449 county where the order was made shall enter a judgment against 2450 the surety for the amount of the penalty and issue execution. 2451 However, ifin any case in whichthe bond forfeiture has been 2452 discharged by the courtof competent jurisdictionconditioned 2453 upon the payment by the surety of certain costs or fees as 2454 allowed by statute, the amount for which judgment may be entered 2455 may not exceed the amount of the unpaid fees or costs upon which 2456 the discharge had been conditioned. Judgment for the full amount 2457 of the forfeiture mayshallnot be entered if payment of a 2458 lesser amount will satisfy the conditions to discharge the 2459 forfeiture. Within 10 days, the clerk shall furnish the 2460Department of Financial Services and the Office of Insurance2461Regulation of the Financial Services Commission with a certified2462copy of the judgment docket and shall furnish thesurety company 2463at its home officea copy of the judgment at its home office, 2464 which includesshall includethe power of attorney number of the 2465 bond and the name of the executing agent. If the judgment is not 2466 paid within 6035days, the clerk shall furnishthe Department2467of Financial Services,the Office of Insurance Regulation,and 2468 the sheriff of the county in which the bond was executed, or the 2469 official responsible for operation of the county jail,if other 2470 than the sheriff, two certified copies of the transcript of the 2471 docket of the judgment and a certificate stating that the 2472 judgment remains unsatisfied.When andIf the judgment is 2473 properly paid or a courtanorder to vacate the judgment has 2474 been enteredby a court of competent jurisdiction, the clerk 2475 shall immediately notify the sheriff, or the official 2476 responsible for the operation of the county jail,if other than 2477 the sheriff,and the Department of Financial Servicesand the 2478 Office of Insurance Regulation, if thedepartment andoffice had 2479 been previously notified of nonpayment, of such payment or order 2480 to vacate the judgment. The clerk shall also immediately prepare 2481 and record in the public records a satisfaction of the judgment 2482 or record the order to vacate judgment. If the defendant is 2483 returned to the county of jurisdiction of the court and,2484whenevera motion to set aside the judgment is filed, the 2485 operation of this section is tolled until the court makes a 2486 disposition of the motion. 2487 Section 58. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 2488 act, this act shall take effect October 1, 2012.