March 13, 2019
Happening This Week
Legislative Update
Florida's annual Legislative Session is well underway and there are a few things we are watching.
This bill will amend several statutes relating to surplus lines insurance. Specifically, it will remove 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.
It also will remove the quarterly affidavit requirement, as it has become obsolete due to technological advances. Finally, it will ensure private flood insurance in Florida continues to thrive.
As of this writing, SB 538 has passed the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and will have to go through two more committees to be cleared for a vote on the floor.
This is the companion bill to SB 538. It has passed two committees and is now on the calendar for a second reading on the floor.
We will keep you updated as these bills move through the process.
SLICE Course Stats
We are so excited that many of you are taking advantage of the SLICE Course!
There are nearly 140 people that have enrolled in the course. There are 30 graduates and just over 100 who still have work to do.
Congrats to those of you who have completed the course. We hope it was helpful to you.
We are still planning to enter the first 50 graduates in a drawing to win a $100 American Express gift card. We need 20 more people to complete the course and we'll be ready for the drawing.
Happy slicing!
Inside the SLIP Compliance Checkup Dashboard: SELF-APPOINTMENT RENEWAL
The Self-Appointment Renewal widget is located in the bottom left corner of the dashboard.
This widget will notify agents when their self-appointment with the Department of Financial Services is coming up for renewal.
The color depends on several different criteria. If the current day is:
- Within 1-15 days of the month of the appointment or license’s expiration date, the display is green;
- Within 16 days to the last day of the month of the appointment or license’s expiration date, the display is gold; and
- After the appointment or license’s expiration date, the display is red.
At the bottom of the widget, there’s a button that says, “Renew Now”. This button will open a link to the Department of Financial Services where the agent can renew their license and self-appointment, under the MyProfile portal.
Headlines
Opinion: The Grease That Keeps Florida’s Business Wheels Moving
We tend to think of insurance in terms of insuring our cars, motorcycles, homes or boats.
But there is another insurance market that flies under the radar – no clever commercials, no geckos, no Flo, no Mayhem. It covers risks that typical insurers either consider too risky to cover, or just don’t have the knowledge and experience to know how to cover.
It is the surplus lines market, and it is increasingly important here in Florida, a state with its share of unique risks and economic growth.
As Broxson, a 47-year veteran of the insurance industry explained it, an Assignment of Benefits occurs when a vendor — in most recent cases vendors looking to repair water damage — show up with an offer to do a job and a contract to be signed by the homeowner/insurance carrier.
The contract basically removes all rights in dealing with the insurance company from the homeowner and gives them to the vendor.
When manipulated unethically, the vendor goes to the insurance company under the AOB for reimbursement with a claim “many times elevated what the standard costs are,” Broxson said.
Demystifying Specialty, Wholesale, Surplus Lines and Specialty-Admitted Insurance
Subrogation professionals are often required to deal with a variety of insurance companies, including those admitted or licensed to transact business in a particular state and those which are not. Understanding the difference can assist the claims handler and subrogation professional in the daily handling of their claims. This article briefly summarizes the different types of insurance available and the concept of insurance regulation overall.
NAIC Releases 2018 Market Share Data
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) released data today on life/fraternal and property/casualty insurers. The reports provide market share information and identify leading insurance writers in several key lines of business.
The 2018 market share data include countrywide direct written premiums for the top 25 groups and companies as reported on the state page of the annual financial statement for insurers that report to the NAIC.
Big Storm Clusters are on the Increase – What This Means for Hurricane Hotspots
Melting glaciers, rising sea levels, global warming, and violent storms: the effects of climate change are well documented. But a growing weather trend that has caused much concern is storm clustering – when three (sometimes more) hurricanes or typhoons group together in a short space of time, gathering strength and unleashing even greater devastation.
The development of a tropical depression – a low-pressure area with thunderstorms and winds below 39mph – to a tropical storm that attains hurricane strength in less than six hours, shows how quickly these things can intensify.
Florida's Electric Grid Could be Completely Underground Within 30 Years
Hurricanes Michael and Irma collectively knocked out power for more than 6.5 million Floridians in a two-year period - some for two weeks or more. But new legislation hopes to prevent the mass outages in the future.
Satellite photos taken before and after Hurricane Irma depict the scope of the damage caused to Florida’s power grid. More than 6 million people lost electricity.
The following year, Hurricane Michael left more than 400,000 in the Panhandle without power.
In both storms, most of the outages were caused by trees and vegetation taking out power lines.
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