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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to fraud prevention; creating s. 2
324.252, F.S.; requiring that the electronic 3
credentialing system display certain vehicle 4
information, provide certain notification for a 5
specified purpose, and allow drivers to update certain 6
information by a specified date; requiring the 7
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to 8
provide the Legislature with recommendations for 9
compliance verification with certain financial 10
responsibility requirements by a specified date; 11
amending s. 501.165, F.S.; requiring sellers to allow 12
consumers to cancel in a specified manner and by 13
specified means service contracts that have automatic 14
renewal provisions; amending s. 626.854, F.S.; 15
revising maximum fines for public adjusters and public 16
adjuster apprentices for certain violations under a 17
specified circumstance; revising maximum fines for 18
certain violations by certain persons under a 19
specified circumstance; amending s. 626.989, F.S.; 20
authorizing the Department of Financial Services to 21
impose an administrative fin e on insurers under 22
certain circumstances; authorizing the Division of 23
Investigative and Forensic Services to adopt certain 24
rules; amending s. 633.126, F.S.; authorizing the 25
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department to impose an administrative fine on 26
insurance companies under certain c ircumstances; 27
deleting criminal penalties; authorizing the division 28
to adopt certain rules; amending s. 634.095, F.S.; 29
revising requirements for advertisements issued or 30
caused to be issued by service agreement companies or 31
salespersons; amending s. 775.15 , F.S.; revising 32
felony violations for which prosecutions must be 33
commenced within a specified timeframe; amending s. 34
817.234, F.S.; providing that certain insurers are 35
entitled to recover specified expenses at the trial 36
and appellate courts under certain circumstances; 37
providing effective dates. 38
39
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 40
41
Section 1. Section 324.252, Florida Statutes, is created 42
to read: 43
324.252 Electronic insurance verification. — 44
(1) In order to empower drivers in this state and reduce 45
the incidence of automobile insurance fraud within this state, 46
by July 1, 2023, the electronic credentialing system, as defined 47
in s. 322.032(1), must display driver vehicle registration and 48
insurance information, provide a driver with notification of any 49
lapse in his or her insurance coverage needed for compliance 50
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with the financial responsibility requirements of this chapter, 51
and allow the driver to update his or her policy information via 52
the system. 53
(2) By October 1, 2023, the department shall provide the 54
Legislature with recommendations on the means by which the 55
department, law enforcement agencies, and other entities 56
authorized by the department may electronically verify a 57
driver's compliance with the financial responsibility 58
requirements of this chapter. 59
Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 501.165, Florida 60
Statutes, is amended to read: 61
501.165 Automatic renewal of service contracts. — 62
(2) SERVICE CONTRACTS WITH AUTOMATIC RENEWAL PROVISIONS. — 63
(a) A Any seller that sells, leases, or offers to sell or 64
lease any service to a consumer pursuant to a service contract 65
that has an automatic renewal provision, unless the consumer 66
cancels that contract, shall disclose the automatic renewal 67
provision clearly and conspicuously in the contract or contract 68
offer. 69
(b) A Any seller that sells or offers to sell any service 70
to a consumer pursuant to a service contract the term of which 71
is a specified period of 12 months or more and that 72
automatically renews for a specified period of m ore than 1 73
month, unless the consumer cancels the contract, shall provide 74
the consumer with written or electronic notification of the 75
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automatic renewal provision. Notification shall be provided to 76
the consumer no less than 30 days or no more than 60 days b efore 77
the cancellation deadline pursuant to the automatic renewal 78
provision. Such notification shall disclose clearly and 79
conspicuously: 80
1. That unless the consumer cancels the contract the 81
contract will automatically renew. 82
2. Methods by which the con sumer may obtain details of the 83
automatic renewal provision and cancellation procedure, whether 84
by contacting the seller at a specified telephone number or 85
address, by referring to the contract, or by any other method. 86
(c) A seller that fails to comply w ith the requirements of 87
this subsection violates is in violation of this subsection 88
unless the seller demonstrates that: 89
1. As part of the seller's routine business practice, the 90
seller has established and implemented written procedures to 91
comply with this section and enforces compliance with the 92
procedures; 93
2. Any failure to comply with this subsection is the 94
result of error; and 95
3. As part of the seller's routine business practice, 96
where an error has caused the failure to comply with this 97
subsection, the unearned portion of the contract subject to the 98
automatic renewal provision is refunded as of the date on which 99
the seller is notified of the error. 100
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(d) A seller shall allow a consumer to cancel a service 101
contract that has an automatic renewal pr ovision in the same 102
manner, and by the same means, as the service contract was 103
entered into. 104
(e) This subsection does not apply to: 105
1. A financial institution as defined in s. 655.005 or any 106
depository institution as defined in 12 U.S.C. s. 1813(c)(2). 107
2. A foreign bank maintaining a branch or agency licensed 108
under the laws of any state of the United States. 109
3. Any subsidiary or affiliate of an entity described in 110
subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2. 111
4. A health studio as defined in s. 501.0125. 112
5. Any entity licensed under chapter 624, chapter 627, 113
chapter 634, chapter 636, or chapter 641. 114
6. Any electric utility as defined in s. 366.02. 115
7. Any private company as defined in s. 180.05 providing 116
services described in chapter 180 which is competi ng against a 117
governmental entity or has a governmental entity providing 118
billing services on its behalf. 119
(f)(e) A violation of this subsection renders the 120
automatic renewal provision void and unenforceable. 121
Section 3. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsect ion (22) of 122
section 626.854, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph 123
(a) of that subsection is republished, to read: 124
626.854 "Public adjuster" defined; prohibitions. —The 125
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Legislature finds that it is necessary for the protection of the 126
public to regulate public insurance adjusters and to prevent the 127
unauthorized practice of law. 128
(22)(a) Any following act by a public adjuster, a public 129
adjuster apprentice, or a person acting on behalf of a public 130
adjuster or public adjuster apprentice is prohibited a nd shall 131
result in discipline as applicable under this part: 132
1. Offering to a residential property owner a rebate, 133
gift, gift card, cash, coupon, waiver of any insurance 134
deductible, or any other thing of value in exchange for: 135
a. Allowing a contractor, a public adjuster, a public 136
adjuster apprentice, or a person acting on behalf of a public 137
adjuster or public adjuster apprentice to conduct an inspection 138
of the residential property owner's roof; or 139
b. Making an insurance claim for damage to the residen tial 140
property owner's roof. 141
2. Offering, delivering, receiving, or accepting any 142
compensation, inducement, or reward for the referral of any 143
services for which property insurance proceeds would be used for 144
roofing repairs or replacement. 145
(b) Notwithstanding the fine set forth in s. 626.8698, a 146
public adjuster or public adjuster apprentice may be subject to 147
a fine not to exceed $10,000 per act for a violation of this 148
subsection and a fine not to exceed $20,000 per act for a 149
violation of this subsection t hat occurs during a state of 150
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emergency declared by executive order or proclamation of the 151
Governor pursuant to s. 252.36 . 152
(c) A person who engages in an act prohibited by this 153
subsection and who is not a public adjuster or a public adjuster 154
apprentice, or is not otherwise exempt from licensure, is guilty 155
of the unlicensed practice of public adjusting and may be: 156
1. Subject to all applicable penalties set forth in this 157
part. 158
2. Notwithstanding subparagraph 1., subject to a fine not 159
to exceed $10,000 pe r act for a violation of this subsection and 160
a fine not to exceed $20,000 per act for a violation of this 161
subsection that occurs during a state of emergency declared by 162
executive order or proclamation of the Governor pursuant to s. 163
252.36. 164
Section 4. Present subsections (7), (8), and (9) of 165
section 626.989, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 166
subsections (9), (10), and (11), respectively, new subsections 167
(7) and (8) and subsection (12) are added to that section, and 168
subsection (6) of that section is a mended, to read: 169
626.989 Investigation by department or Division of 170
Investigative and Forensic Services; compliance; immunity; 171
confidential information; reports to division; division 172
investigator's power of arrest. — 173
(6) Any person, other than an insure r, agent, or other 174
person licensed under the code, or an employee thereof, having 175
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knowledge or who believes that a fraudulent insurance act or any 176
other act or practice which, upon conviction, constitutes a 177
felony or a misdemeanor under the code, or under s. 817.234, is 178
being or has been committed may send to the Division of 179
Investigative and Forensic Services a report or information 180
pertinent to such knowledge or belief and such additional 181
information relative thereto as the department may request. Any 182
professional practitioner licensed or regulated by the 183
Department of Business and Professional Regulation, except as 184
otherwise provided by law, any medical review committee as 185
defined in s. 766.101, any private medical review committee, and 186
any insurer, agent, or other person licensed under the code, or 187
an employee thereof, having knowledge or who believes that a 188
fraudulent insurance act or any other act or practice which, 189
upon conviction, constitutes a felony or a misdemeanor under the 190
code, or under s. 817.2 34, is being or has been committed shall 191
send to the Division of Investigative and Forensic Services a 192
report or information pertinent to such knowledge or belief and 193
such additional information relative thereto as the department 194
may require. 195
(7) If an insurer fails or otherwise refuses to comply 196
with this section, the department may impose an administrative 197
fine of not more than $2,000 per day for such failure until the 198
department deems the insurer to be in compliance. 199
(8) The Division of Investigative and Forensic Services 200
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shall review such information or reports and select such 201
information or reports as, in its judgment, may require further 202
investigation. It shall then cause an independent examination of 203
the facts surrounding such information or repor t to be made to 204
determine the extent, if any, to which a fraudulent insurance 205
act or any other act or practice which, upon conviction, 206
constitutes a felony or a misdemeanor under the code, or under 207
s. 817.234, is being committed. The Division of Investigat ive 208
and Forensic Services shall report any alleged violations of law 209
which its investigations disclose to the appropriate licensing 210
agency and state attorney or other prosecuting agency having 211
jurisdiction with respect to any such violation, as provided in 212
s. 624.310. If prosecution by the state attorney or other 213
prosecuting agency having jurisdiction with respect to such 214
violation is not begun within 60 days of the division's report, 215
the state attorney or other prosecuting agency having 216
jurisdiction with respect to such violation shall inform the 217
division of the reasons for the lack of prosecution. 218
(12) The Division of Investigative and Forensic Services 219
may adopt reasonable rules as are necessary to administer this 220
section. Such rules must meet all of the following requirements: 221
(a) They may not enlarge upon or extend the provisions of 222
this section. 223
(b) They must identify specific factors that determine the 224
grades of penalty. 225
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(c) They must specify mitigating and aggravating factors 226
for a violation of this section. 227
Section 5. Subsection (9) of section 633.126, Florida 228
Statutes, is amended, subsection (10) is added to that section, 229
and subsection (2) of that section is republished, to read: 230
633.126 Investigation of fraudulent insurance claims a nd 231
crimes; immunity of insurance companies supplying information. — 232
(2) If an insurance company has reason to suspect that a 233
fire or explosion loss to its insured's real or personal 234
property was caused by intentional means, the company shall 235
notify the State Fire Marshal and shall furnish her or him with 236
all material acquired by the company during its investigation. 237
The State Fire Marshal may adopt rules to implement this 238
subsection. 239
(9) If an insurance company fails or otherwise refuses to 240
comply with this section, the department may impose an 241
administrative fine of not more than $2,000 per day for such 242
failure until the department deems the insurance company to be 243
in compliance A person who willfully violates this section 244
commits a misdemeanor of the fi rst degree, punishable as 245
provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083 . 246
(10) The Division of Investigative and Forensic Services 247
may adopt reasonable rules as are necessary to administer this 248
section. Such rules must meet all of the following requirements: 249
(a) They may not enlarge upon or extend the provisions of 250
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this section. 251
(b) They must identify specific factors that determine the 252
grades of penalty. 253
(c) They must specify mitigating and aggravating factors 254
for a violation of this section. 255
Section 6. Effective January 1, 2023, present paragraphs 256
(b), (c), and (d) of subsection (3) of section 634.095, Florida 257
Statutes, are redesignated as paragraphs (d), (e), and (f), 258
respectively, new paragraphs (b) and (c) are added to that 259
subsection, and paragraph ( a) of that subsection is amended, to 260
read: 261
634.095 Prohibited acts. —Any service agreement company or 262
salesperson that engages in one or more of the following acts 263
is, in addition to any applicable denial, suspension, 264
revocation, or refusal to renew or co ntinue any appointment or 265
license, guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, 266
punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083: 267
(3) Issuing or causing to be issued any advertisement that 268
which: 269
(a) Does not fully disclose in a written advertisemen t, in 270
at least 12-point, boldfaced type, the name, address, and 271
Florida Company Code license number of the service agreement 272
company. 273
(b) Does not fully disclose in a radio or television 274
advertisement the full legal name of the licensed salesperson or 275
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the service agreement company. 276
(c) Does not fully identify the soliciting licensed 277
salesperson's full legal name and license number when the 278
salesperson begins, and the soliciting salesperson's telephone 279
number when the salesperson concludes, each outbound telephone 280
solicitation. For the purposes of this paragraph, the actual 281
telephone number of the salesperson may be the number on file 282
with the department or the number at which the salesperson may 283
be contacted. 284
Section 7. Subsection (11) of section 775 .15, Florida 285
Statutes, is amended to read: 286
775.15 Time limitations; general time limitations; 287
exceptions.— 288
(11) A prosecution for a felony violation of s. 440.105 or 289
s. 817.234 ss. 440.105 and 817.234 must be commenced within 5 290
years after the violatio n is committed. 291
Section 8. Subsection (5) of section 817.234, Florida 292
Statutes, is amended to read: 293
817.234 False and fraudulent insurance claims. — 294
(5)(a) Any insurer damaged as a result of a violation of 295
any provision of this section when there ha s been a criminal 296
adjudication of guilt shall have a cause of action to recover 297
compensatory damages, plus all reasonable investigation and 298
litigation expenses, including attorney attorneys' fees, at the 299
trial and appellate courts. 300
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(b) If an insurer dama ged as a result of a violation of 301
any provision of this section has reported the possible 302
fraudulent insurance act to the Division of Investigative and 303
Forensic Services pursuant to s. 626.9891 and if there has been 304
a criminal adjudication of guilt, the in surer is entitled to 305
recover reasonable investigation and litigation expenses, 306
including attorney fees, at the trial and appellate courts. 307
Section 9. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 308
act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 309