Title XXXVII, Insurance

(1) Medicare supplement insurance may not be issued or sold, whether directly, through the mail, or otherwise, to an individual unless the issuer or seller obtains from the individual, as a part of the application, a written statement signed by the individual stating what Medicar…

(1) Medicare supplement policies shall return the following to policyholders in the form of aggregate benefits under the policy, with respect to the lifetime of the policy, on the basis of earned premiums and on the basis of incurred claims experience or, if coverage is provided …

Each entity that provides Medicare supplement policies or contracts must comply with all provisions of s. 4081 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (Pub. L. No. 100-203) (OBRA) and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Pub. L. No. 101-508).History.—s. 96, ch.…

No coverage which is required by a law of this state enacted on or after the effective date of this act to be included in group, individual, blanket, or franchise disability policies need be included in any Medicare supplement policy unless inclusion thereof is specifically made …

This part applies only to credit life and credit disability insurances as defined in s. 627.677.History.—s. 595, ch. 59-205; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 537, 809(2nd), ch. 82-243; s. 79, ch. 82-386; s. 114, ch. 92-318.

As used in this part, the term:(1) “Credit life insurance” means insurance on the life of a debtor pursuant to or in connection with a specific loan or other credit transaction. There are three recognized forms:(a) “Group credit life insurance” means insurance which is subject to…

(1) For the effective protection of the public interest, the commission shall have full power and authority to adopt, and the office shall enforce, separate rules pertaining to issuance and use of each type of credit insurance defined in s. 627.677.(2) Rules made pursuant to this…

(1) Credit disability and credit life insurers shall file with the office a copy of all rates and any rate changes used in this state.(2) No credit disability rate and no credit life rate shall exceed the maximum allowable rate promulgated by the commission.(3) No credit life rat…

(1)(a) The amount of credit life insurance written under one or more policies shall not exceed by more than $5 the total of the payments of the specific contracts of indebtedness in connection with which it is written, when the indebtedness is repayable in substantially equal ins…

(1) The term of credit life insurance coverages shall not extend more than 15 days beyond the term of the indebtedness, except when extended without additional cost to the insured borrower or purchaser; and in no event shall the term of the insurance policy exceed 10 years from t…

All forms of policies, certificates of insurance, statements of insurance, applications for insurance, binders, endorsements, and riders of credit life or disability insurance delivered or issued for delivery in this state shall be filed with and approved by the office before use…

All policies to which this chapter applies shall be issued through a licensed agent.History.—s. 602, ch. 59-205; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 534, 537, 809(2nd), ch. 82-243; s. 79, ch. 82-386; s. 114, ch. 92-318.

The premium or cost of credit life or disability insurance, when written by or through any lender or other creditor, its affiliate or associate or subsidiary, or a director, officer, or employee of any of them shall not be deemed as interest or charges or consideration or an amou…

An insurer may not participate in any consolidation unless it complies with all of the following requirements:(1) The offer of new coverage must be made on a timely basis as follows:(a) In a consolidation conducted in connection with a loan transfer, the offer of new coverage to …

If both the old coverage and the new coverage are provided under group policies:(1) A signed application need not be obtained if all of the following apply:(a) The premium for the new plan is the same as or less than the premium for the old plan.(b) The amount of insurance and th…

(1) In conjunction with any offer of new coverage made in any consolidation, the new insurer must disclose in writing to each prospective insured all of the following:(a) That the insured debtor may have the right to continue or convert his or her old coverage by paying premiums …

Group-to-group consolidations are exempt from any rule of the commission relating to the replacement of existing life or health insurance. Sections 627.6841-627.6845 do not create an exemption from any such rule for consolidations that involve individual policies.History.—s. 76, …

A policy or group certificate of credit insurance used in connection with any consolidation, or an application, endorsement, or rider which becomes a part of any such policy or certificate, may not be issued or delivered in this state until a copy of the form has been filed with …

(1) A property insurer may issue an insurance policy or contract covering either real or personal property in this state which contains provisions requiring the insured to be liable as a coinsurer with the insurer issuing the policy for any part of the loss or damage by covered p…

(1) Prior to issuing a homeowner’s insurance policy, the insurer must offer each of the following:(a) A policy or endorsement providing that any loss that is repaired or replaced will be adjusted on the basis of replacement costs to the dwelling not exceeding policy limits, rathe…

For policies issued or renewed on or after October 1, 2006, a property insurer shall transmit claims payments directly to the primary policyholder by check or other allowable payment method, payable to the primary policyholder only, without requiring a dual endorsement from any m…

(1)(a) Upon an insurer’s receiving a communication with respect to a claim, the insurer shall, within 7 calendar days, review and acknowledge receipt of such communication unless payment is made within that period of time or unless the failure to acknowledge is caused by factors …

(1) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Reopened claim” means a claim that an insurer has previously closed, but that has been reopened upon an insured’s request for additional costs for loss or damage previously disclosed to the insurer.(b) “Supplemental claim” means a claim …

(1) This section sets forth a nonadversarial alternative dispute resolution procedure for a mediated claim resolution conference prompted by the need for effective, fair, and timely handling of property insurance claims. There is a particular need for an informal, nonthreatening …

An insurer that offers residential coverage as defined in s. 627.4025, or a policyholder that uses an appraisal clause in a property insurance contract to establish a process for estimating or evaluating the amount of loss through the use of an impartial umpire, may challenge an …

(1) APPLICATION.—This section applies exclusively to all suits arising under a residential or commercial property insurance policy, including a residential or commercial property insurance policy issued by an eligible surplus lines insurer.(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section…

Each party that is aware of ongoing multiple actions involving coverage provided under the same residential property insurance policy for the same property with the same owners must provide written notice to the court of the multiple actions. Upon notification of any party, the c…

A property insurance policy issued in this state may not require that a policyholder participate in mandatory binding arbitration unless all of the following apply:(1) The mandatory binding arbitration requirements are contained in a separate endorsement attached to the property …

An insurer who offers residential coverage, as defined in s. 627.4025, may contract with a building contractor skilled in techniques that mitigate hurricane damage. Insurers may offer policyholders the option to select the services of such building contractors to repair damage co…

(1) PURPOSE AND INTENT.—The Legislature recognizes that family child care and large family child care homes fulfill a vital role in providing child care in Florida. It is the intent of the Legislature that residential property insurance coverage should not be canceled, denied, or…

In addition to any other hurricane loss mitigation activities authorized or required by law, the office may contract with public or private entities for hurricane loss mitigation projects.History.—s. 16, ch. 96-194; s. 1187, ch. 2003-261.

In determining the risk of providing property insurance coverage, an insurer may not deny coverage solely on the basis of the age of the structure and shall consider the wind resistance of the structure and measures undertaken by the owner to protect the structure against hurrica…

(1) The commission shall adopt by rule, pursuant to s. 120.54(1)-(3), standardized requirements that may be applied to insurers as a consequence of a hurricane or other natural disaster. The rules shall address the following areas:(a) Claims reporting requirements.(b) Grace perio…

(1)(a) In the event of the total loss of any building, structure, mobile home as defined in s. 320.01(2), or manufactured building as defined in s. 553.36(13), located in this state and insured by any insurer as to a covered peril, in the absence of any change increasing the risk…

In the event of a total loss or destruction of any personal property on which the amount of the appraised or agreed loss is less than the total amount insured thereon, the insurer shall return to the insured the unearned premium for the excess of insurance over the appraised or a…

(1)(a) Every insurer authorized to transact property insurance in this state must provide coverage for a catastrophic ground cover collapse.(b) The insurer shall make available, for an appropriate additional premium, coverage for sinkhole losses on any structure, including the co…

Inquiries about coverage on a property insurance contract are not claim activity, unless an actual claim is filed by the policyholder which results in a company investigation of the claim.History.—s. 78, ch. 92-318; s. 23, ch. 2011-39.

(1) As used in this section, the term “sinkhole loss prevention ordinance” means a county ordinance that amends the Florida Building Code and that is intended to reduce the number of sinkhole claims and the severity of sinkhole losses.(2) The commission shall adopt a building cod…

Upon receipt of a claim for a sinkhole loss to a covered building, an insurer must meet the following standards in investigating a claim:(1) The insurer must inspect the policyholder’s premises to determine if there is structural damage that may be the result of sinkhole activity…

The professional engineer and professional geologist shall perform such tests as sufficient, in their professional opinion, to determine the presence or absence of sinkhole loss or other cause of damage within reasonable professional probability and for the professional engineer …

(1) Upon completion of testing as provided in s. 627.7072, the professional engineer or professional geologist shall issue a report and certification to the insurer and the policyholder as provided in this section.(a) Sinkhole loss is verified if, based upon tests performed in ac…

(1) The department shall:(a) Certify and maintain a list of persons who are neutral evaluators.(b) Prepare a consumer information pamphlet for distribution by insurers to policyholders which clearly describes the neutral evaluation process and includes information necessary for t…

(1) Using a form prescribed by the Office of Insurance Regulation, the insurer shall clearly notify the applicant or policyholder of any personal lines residential property insurance policy, at the time of the issuance of the policy and at each renewal, of the availability and th…

(1) An insurer issuing a residential property insurance policy must provide windstorm coverage. Except as provided in paragraph (2)(c), this section does not apply to risks that are eligible for wind-only coverage from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation under s. 627.351(6), …

The office may require property insurers to report data regarding hurricane claims and underwriting costs, including, but not limited to:(1) Number of claims.(2) Amount of claim payments made.(3) Number and amount of total-loss claims.(4) Amount and percentage of losses covered b…

(1) For policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2010, coverage under a unit owner’s residential property policy must include at least $2,000 in property loss assessment coverage for all assessments made as a result of the same direct loss to the property, regardless of the…