Florida Legislature Passes HB 941 Relating To Commercial Lines Insurance Policies

Yesterday, March 9, 2012, the Florida Senate took up House Bill 941, sponsored by Representative Doug Holder.  After amending the bill, the Senate passed it by a vote of 40 to 0.  HB 941 then went back to the House, as amended.  The House concurred with the amendment and passed HB 941, as amended, by a vote of 99 to 16.

HB 941 includes the following provisions:

• Amends § 440.02(9) to remove limitation on definition of “corporate officer” or “officer of a corporation” to persons engaged in the construction industry.
• Amends § 440.02(15)(b) to remove the word “written” before “notices.”
• Amends § 440.05(3) to provide for electronic notices, and require additional information in a notice of election to be exempt.
• Amends § 440.05(6) to provide that certificates of election to be exempt issued on or after January 1, 2013 are valid for 2 years; eliminates restriction of certain provisions to the construction industry only.
• Amends § 440.107(15) to exempt limited liability companies not engaged in the construction industry from penalties for failing to secure the payment of workers’ compensation if they meet the definition of employment at any time between July 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013.
• Amends § 624.307 to include a provision authorizing the Office of Insurance Regulation to expend funds for the professional development of its employees.
• Amends § 627.215 to remove “workers’ compensation” from provisions regarding excess profits.  
• Amends § 627.4133 to provide that upon expiration of a policy term, an insurer may transfer a commercial lines policy to another authorized insurer that is a member of the same group or owned by the same holding company as the transferring insurer.  
• Amends § 627.442 to provide that an insurer having at least $200 million in surplus, or an insurer within a group that has at least $400 million in surplus, is not required to perform physical onsite premium audits for workers’ compensation coverage.
• Provides for an effective date of July 1, 2012 unless specifically provided otherwise.

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