April 17, 2019

Happening This Week

Legislative Update

Senate Bill 538 passed the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government last week. It is now waiting on a vote by the full appropriations committee.

House Bill 387 (SB 538's companion) passed the full House of Representatives and sent over to the Senate for approval.

Senate Bill 538 / House Bill 387:

• Removes the $35 per policy fee cap. A fee will still be permitted as long as it’s "reasonable" and must be made clear to the customer before policy purchase and must be separately stated before policy purchase so that the retail agent and the customer can see it clearly.
• Removes the quarterly affidavit requirement, as it has become obsolete due to technological advances.

• Helps ensure private flood insurance in Florida continues to thrive.

House Bill 301 passed favorably on the third reading with some amendments. The companion bill, Senate Bill 714 has reached its last committee stop in Appropriations. 

House Bill 301 / Senate Bill 714 decreases the residential structure dwelling
replacement cost to $700,000 (from $1 million) as it relates to Diligent Effort procedures.

PLEASE NOTE: These bills are still moving through the legislative process. They have not fully passed the legislature and are not signed into law.

Insurer Listing Changes

The following insurers were added to the NAIC's IID listing:

• Chubb European Group S.E. redomesticated from the UK to France and their NAIC number changed to AA1320152
• CNA Insurance Company (Europe) S.A. — NAIC number AA1370045
• Mapfre Espana, Compania de Seguros Y Reaseguros, S.A. — NAIC number AA1840610
• Markel Insurance S.E. — NAIC number AA1340044
• SI Insurance (Europe) S.A.— NAIC number AA1370046

The following insurers changed names:

• International Insurance Company of Hannover is now HDI Global Specialty SE
• QBE Insurance (Europe) Limited is now QBE UK Limited

Federally authorized foreign insurer, Ascot Specialty Insurance Company was approved by the FLOIR effective 2/28/2019.

Mapfre Global Risks, Compania Internacional de Seguros Y Reaseguros, S.A. was deleted from the NAIC IID list.

Information is Power

The Florida Market Data portal on FSLSO.com shows a snapshot of the current surplus lines market in Florida.

Drill down into premium data to see what the the premium is for each county. View the top insurers and top coverages for Florida. You can also generate reports based on numerous different selects, such as:

• Date range,
• Coverage code,
• Location (city or county), and
• Insurer.

Browse through Insurer Financials listing to see their capital and surplus, net income, and direct premium. Sort the list by any of the header categories or use the search function to focus in on a specific entity.

Explore the Florida Market Data page today!. You might find something you never knew you were looking for.

5 More Slicers to Go!

So far, there are 45 graduates of the SLICE course. We need 5 more graduates in order to hold the drawing for a $100 American Express gift card.

Once 50 students have graduated we will hold the drawing and announce the winner on the next episode of our podcast, FSLSO PalmCast.

Headlines

Senate Committee Passes Bill Impacting Florida’s Surplus Lines Insurance Industry

Senate Bill 538 passed from the Florida Senate’s Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government on Tuesday, April 9.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, will make updates to the regulatory framework of Florida’s surplus lines insurance industry.

Senate Surplus Lines Bill Moves Forward

A Senate committee voted Wednesday to advance a bill that would modernize state law governing surplus lines insurance policies.

Surplus lines insurance policies cover specialty, niche and high-capacity risks that would otherwise be uninsurable by companies authorized by the Office of Insurance Regulation. These “unauthorized” insurers can step in and issue such policies, however, so long as they are made eligible by OIR.

Florida House Passes Bill Modernizing Surplus Lines Marketplace

The Florida House of Representatives recently demonstrated its strong support of a bill that will modernize the insurance market for Florida’s surplus lines and specialty insurers.

Fla. House Cracks Down on Benefit Assignment Abuse

The Florida House passed a bill Thursday aimed at addressing concerns over increasing litigation and abuse resulting from property owners' assignment of insurance benefits to contractors.

www.fslso.com

Have questions? Contact us at 800.562.4496, option 1 or email agent.services@fslso.com.

Facilitating Compliance Through Innovative Solutions