Bill > S1210

This bill makes several changes to Florida's insurance laws, including renaming the Division of Insurance Agents and Agency Services to the Division of Insurance Agent and Agency Services, and requiring that each branch place of business for an insurance agency have a licensed agent in charge. It also clarifies the types of business that certain agents can conduct, revises terminology related to investigations by the Department of Financial Services and the Office of Insurance Regulation, and updates procedures for serving legal documents, allowing for service by email in addition to certified mail or personal delivery. The bill also introduces a new category of "unaffiliated insurance agent" who acts as an independent consultant and cannot be affiliated with an insurer or insurer-appointed agent, and it modifies rules regarding agency licensing, including requirements for agents in charge and the process for converting registrations to licenses. Additionally, it provides exemptions from certain fees for military members, their spouses, and recent veterans applying for licensure, and it clarifies that new limited customer representative licenses will not be issued after October 1, 2014. The bill also updates provisions related to the examination and licensing of insurance agents, including allowing for Spanish-language examinations and clarifying the scope of limited agent licenses. It also introduces a new requirement for agents recommending the surrender of annuities or life insurance policies with cash values to provide specific information about surrender charges, tax consequences, and forfeited benefits before the surrender is executed, unless the proceeds are being used to purchase another policy. Finally, the bill makes various amendments to sections concerning the conduct of investigations, grounds for license suspension or revocation, and the process for expunging or sealing criminal history records, including adding the Division of Insurance Agent and Agency Services as an entity that can access sealed or expunged records for licensing purposes.