And we
are off! This year's legislative session began this
week, two months early, due to Florida's requirement
to approve maps that redraw the Congressional and
legislative districts in order to facilitate the
2012 elections. The Legislature must draw 120 House
districts, 40 Senate districts and 27 congressional
districts.
The Republicans still enjoy a majority in the state
House and Senate, and Governor Scott begins his
second session with a little more experience. Last
year several bills passed. However, this year is
expected to be vastly different. Current House
Speaker Cannon has stated that the legislature has
'limited bandwidth' for issues other than
redistricting and the required state budget. Senate
President Haridopolos in fact is floating the idea
of skipping the budget until 'after' the regular
session, in hopes that the economic forecast will be
better in the near future. If that happens, they
would come back for a Special Session, most likely
to 'only' address the budget. The upcoming elections
also will play a key role in what legislation
passes. Legislators are less likely to deal with
contentious items during an election year when many
Republicans are more concerned about knocking off
President Obama and Florida Democratic United States
Senator Nelson.
In insurance, few bills are expected to pass this
year. Areas of potential include PIP fraud, which is
a stated priority of the Governor. Other issues such
as reducing Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and
shoring up the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund
are other possibilities, but everything will take a
back seat to redistricting.
This week in the Florida Legislature:
Citizens Take-out & Surplus Lines
(Hb 245
by Rep. Boyd/ Sb 578 by Sen. Richter)
Authorizes surplus lines insurers to implement Citizens
Property takeout proposals if insurer has $50 million in
reserves and an A.M. Best Financial Strength Rating of
A-. Citizens policyholders could still refuse the
takeout if they choose.
Status:
Hb 245 passed out of its final
committee of reference (it only had two), and is now
headed to the House Floor. We testified against an
amendment which would have had the effect of killing the
bill by requiring surplus lines policies to be subject
to OIR approval like authorized insurers. After 30
minutes of debate, the amendment was finally defeated.
In the Senate, Sb 578 passed out of its next to last
committee. There was lengthy debate in order to clarify
exactly how a take-out with surplus lines would actually
work, but eventually the Senators felt comfortable
enough to pass the bill to its final committee before
heading to final vote on the Senate floor.
Captive Insurance
(Hb 379 by Rep. Nunez/ Sb 610 by Diaz de la Portilla)
The
legislation promoted by Miami's Beacon Council allows
for the creation of pure captive insurance companies,
association captive insurance companies, industrial
insured captive insurance companies, special purpose
captive insurance companies, and captive reinsurance
companies. A "strike-all" amendment was adopted in the
House which included one key change, to exclude life
insurance and workers' comp insurers from the captive
insurance system being established in Florida. Florida
law currently provides for the creation of a captive
insurance company but none exist in the state. The bill
expands current law, creating new provisions relating to
formation, incorporation, coverage, capital and surplus,
licensure and authorization, reporting, and reinsurance.
Many licensure and
authorization requirements required by law still apply
to captives, but the bill includes specific
requirements, such as, holding an annual board of
directors' meeting in Florida which will aid businesses,
hotels and restaurants in a tight economy.
Status:
Hb 379 Passed
its final committee after one committee reference was
removed. It will now head to the House floor for final
vote. The companion, Sb 610, also passed its final
committee and is headed to the Senate floor.
Also of note this week, Senator Hays filed his Citizens
Property Insurance bill (again) which pushes for
comprehensive changes to the state-backed insurer to
reduce its size and coverage. Even though it is backed
by the Citizens Board, it faces serious hurdles to
passage. Senator Hays himself admits the legislation is
unlikely to pass this year. There is no companion in the
House, and likely won't get one this year.
Insurance Agents and Adjusters
(Hb 725 by Rep. Hager/ Sb 938 by Sen. Richter)
The CFO's package which focuses on streamlining agent
and agency licensing passed its first committee in both
the House and Senate.
Based on the summary from staff, the bill:
Collapses 49 of the 137 license types into only 7-
Currently there are 137 license types. The sheer number
of license classes created confusion and application
problems for applicants. Many limited lines license
classes will be combined into one or more master limited
classes, with authority to transact in any of the
sub-areas listed. Similar license classes will be
consolidated into a single license class, thus
streamlining the license process and reducing confusion.
Changes
Continuing Education requirements and curriculum to more
specifically address regulatory needs and concerns and
tailor courses to agent needs.
-
Eliminates county tax paid by local
insurance agencies for additional
business locations outside of their
county of residence.
-
Changes the date when appointment
renewal is required.
-
Requires licensee to notify the
department in writing within 30 days
instead of 60 days of change of contact
information.
-
Repeals outdated requirements in law for
postal notice of date and time for exams
and provides for electronic notification
-
Deletes the requirement that an insurer
pay an agent tax for each county in
which an agent represents the insurer
and has a place of business.
-
Revises the definitions of "adjuster"
and "home state".
-
Amends provisions relating to who may
bind insurance coverage and continuing
education requirements.
-
Status: Both passed one committee.
Monday,
January 16th is the Martin Luther King Holiday.
Session resumes Tuesday, January 17th.
Regular Legislative Session Ends March 9th, 2012
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