Florida Senate - 2022 CS for CS for SB 1292 By the Committees on Appropriations; and Banking and Insurance; and Senators Gruters and Bradley 576-03534-22 20221292c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to fraud prevention; creating s. 3 324.252, F.S.; requiring that the electronic 4 credentialing system display certain vehicle 5 information for specified purposes by a specified 6 date; requiring the Department of Highway Safety and 7 Motor Vehicles to provide the Legislature with 8 recommendations for compliance verification with 9 certain financial responsibility requirements by a 10 specified date; amending s. 501.165, F.S.; requiring 11 sellers to allow consumers to cancel in a specified 12 manner and by specified means service contracts that 13 have automatic renewal provisions; amending s. 14 626.854, F.S.; revising maximum fines for public 15 adjusters and public adjuster apprentices for certain 16 violations under a specified circumstance; revising 17 maximum fines for certain violations by certain 18 persons under a specified circumstance; amending s. 19 633.126, F.S.; authorizing the Department of Financial 20 Services to impose an administrative fine on insurance 21 companies under certain circumstances; deleting 22 criminal penalties; authorizing the Division of 23 Investigative and Forensic Services to adopt certain 24 rules; amending s. 634.095, F.S.; revising 25 requirements for advertisements issued or caused to be 26 issued by service agreement companies or salespersons; 27 specifying that certain materials are not included in 28 the definition of the term written advertisement; 29 amending s. 775.15, F.S.; revising felony violations 30 for which prosecutions must be commenced within a 31 specified timeframe; amending s. 817.234, F.S.; 32 providing that certain insurers are entitled to 33 recover specified expenses at the trial and appellate 34 courts under certain circumstances; providing an 35 appropriation; providing effective dates. 36 37 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 38 39 Section 1.Section 324.252, Florida Statutes, is created to 40 read: 41 324.252Electronic insurance verification. 42 (1)In order to empower drivers in this state and reduce 43 the incidence of automobile insurance fraud within this state, 44 by July 1, 2023, the electronic credentialing system, as defined 45 in s. 322.032(1), must display driver vehicle registration and 46 insurance information, provide a driver with notification of any 47 lapse in his or her insurance coverage needed for compliance 48 with the financial responsibility requirements of this chapter, 49 and allow the driver to update his or her policy information via 50 the system. 51 (2)By October 1, 2023, the department shall provide the 52 Legislature with recommendations on the means by which the 53 department, law enforcement agencies, and other entities 54 authorized by the department may electronically verify a 55 drivers compliance with the financial responsibility 56 requirements of this chapter. 57 Section 2.Subsection (2) of section 501.165, Florida 58 Statutes, is amended to read: 59 501.165Automatic renewal of service contracts. 60 (2)SERVICE CONTRACTS WITH AUTOMATIC RENEWAL PROVISIONS. 61 (a)A Any seller that sells, leases, or offers to sell or 62 lease any service to a consumer pursuant to a service contract 63 that has an automatic renewal provision, unless the consumer 64 cancels that contract, shall disclose the automatic renewal 65 provision clearly and conspicuously in the contract or contract 66 offer. 67 (b)A Any seller that sells or offers to sell any service 68 to a consumer pursuant to a service contract the term of which 69 is a specified period of 12 months or more and that 70 automatically renews for a specified period of more than 1 71 month, unless the consumer cancels the contract, shall provide 72 the consumer with written or electronic notification of the 73 automatic renewal provision. Notification shall be provided to 74 the consumer no less than 30 days or no more than 60 days before 75 the cancellation deadline pursuant to the automatic renewal 76 provision. Such notification shall disclose clearly and 77 conspicuously: 78 1.That unless the consumer cancels the contract the 79 contract will automatically renew. 80 2.Methods by which the consumer may obtain details of the 81 automatic renewal provision and cancellation procedure, whether 82 by contacting the seller at a specified telephone number or 83 address, by referring to the contract, or by any other method. 84 (c)A seller that fails to comply with the requirements of 85 this subsection violates is in violation of this subsection 86 unless the seller demonstrates that: 87 1.As part of the sellers routine business practice, the 88 seller has established and implemented written procedures to 89 comply with this section and enforces compliance with the 90 procedures; 91 2.Any failure to comply with this subsection is the result 92 of error; and 93 3.As part of the sellers routine business practice, where 94 an error has caused the failure to comply with this subsection, 95 the unearned portion of the contract subject to the automatic 96 renewal provision is refunded as of the date on which the seller 97 is notified of the error. 98 (d)A seller who enters into or renews any service contract 99 with a consumer which includes an automatic renewal provision 100 must allow the consumer to cancel the service contract in the 101 same manner, and by the same means, as the consumer manifested 102 his or her acceptance of the service contract. 103 (e)This subsection does not apply to: 104 1.A financial institution as defined in s. 655.005 or any 105 depository institution as defined in 12 U.S.C. s. 1813(c)(2). 106 2.A foreign bank maintaining a branch or agency licensed 107 under the laws of any state of the United States. 108 3.Any subsidiary or affiliate of an entity described in 109 subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2. 110 4.A health studio as defined in s. 501.0125. 111 5.Any entity licensed under chapter 624, chapter 627, 112 chapter 634, chapter 636, or chapter 641. 113 6.Any electric utility as defined in s. 366.02. 114 7.Any private company as defined in s. 180.05 providing 115 services described in chapter 180 which is competing against a 116 governmental entity or has a governmental entity providing 117 billing services on its behalf. 118 (f)(e)A violation of this subsection renders the automatic 119 renewal provision void and unenforceable. 120 Section 3.Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (22) of 121 section 626.854, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph 122 (a) of that subsection is republished, to read: 123 626.854Public adjuster defined; prohibitions.The 124 Legislature finds that it is necessary for the protection of the 125 public to regulate public insurance adjusters and to prevent the 126 unauthorized practice of law. 127 (22)(a)Any following act by a public adjuster, a public 128 adjuster apprentice, or a person acting on behalf of a public 129 adjuster or public adjuster apprentice is prohibited and shall 130 result in discipline as applicable under this part: 131 1.Offering to a residential property owner a rebate, gift, 132 gift card, cash, coupon, waiver of any insurance deductible, or 133 any other thing of value in exchange for: 134 a.Allowing a contractor, a public adjuster, a public 135 adjuster apprentice, or a person acting on behalf of a public 136 adjuster or public adjuster apprentice to conduct an inspection 137 of the residential property owners roof; or 138 b.Making an insurance claim for damage to the residential 139 property owners roof. 140 2.Offering, delivering, receiving, or accepting any 141 compensation, inducement, or reward for the referral of any 142 services for which property insurance proceeds would be used for 143 roofing repairs or replacement. 144 (b)Notwithstanding the fine set forth in s. 626.8698, a 145 public adjuster or public adjuster apprentice may be subject to 146 a fine not to exceed $10,000 per act for a violation of this 147 subsection and a fine not to exceed $20,000 per act for a 148 violation of this subsection that occurs during a state of 149 emergency declared by executive order or proclamation of the 150 Governor pursuant to s. 252.36. 151 (c)A person who engages in an act prohibited by this 152 subsection and who is not a public adjuster or a public adjuster 153 apprentice, or is not otherwise exempt from licensure, is guilty 154 of the unlicensed practice of public adjusting and may be: 155 1.Subject to all applicable penalties set forth in this 156 part. 157 2.Notwithstanding subparagraph 1., subject to a fine not 158 to exceed $10,000 per act for a violation of this subsection and 159 a fine not to exceed $20,000 per act for a violation of this 160 subsection that occurs during a state of emergency declared by 161 executive order or proclamation of the Governor pursuant to s. 162 252.36. 163 Section 4.Subsection (9) of section 633.126, Florida 164 Statutes, is amended, subsection (10) is added to that section, 165 and subsection (2) of that section is republished, to read: 166 633.126Investigation of fraudulent insurance claims and 167 crimes; immunity of insurance companies supplying information. 168 (2)If an insurance company has reason to suspect that a 169 fire or explosion loss to its insureds real or personal 170 property was caused by intentional means, the company shall 171 notify the State Fire Marshal and shall furnish her or him with 172 all material acquired by the company during its investigation. 173 The State Fire Marshal may adopt rules to implement this 174 subsection. 175 (9)If an insurance company fails or otherwise refuses to 176 comply with this section, the department may impose an 177 administrative fine of not more than $2,000 per day for such 178 failure until the department deems the insurance company to be 179 in compliance A person who willfully violates this section 180 commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as 181 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 182 (10)The Division of Investigative and Forensic Services 183 may adopt reasonable rules as are necessary to administer this 184 section. Such rules must meet all of the following requirements: 185 (a)They may not enlarge upon or extend the provisions of 186 this section. 187 (b)They must identify specific factors that determine the 188 grades of penalty. 189 (c)They must specify mitigating and aggravating factors 190 for a violation of this section. 191 Section 5.Effective March 1, 2023, present paragraphs (b), 192 (c), and (d) of subsection (3) of section 634.095, Florida 193 Statutes, are redesignated as paragraphs (d), (e), and (f), 194 respectively, new paragraphs (b) and (c) are added to that 195 subsection, and paragraph (a) of that subsection is amended, to 196 read: 197 634.095Prohibited acts.Any service agreement company or 198 salesperson that engages in one or more of the following acts 199 is, in addition to any applicable denial, suspension, 200 revocation, or refusal to renew or continue any appointment or 201 license, guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, 202 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083: 203 (3)Issuing or causing to be issued any advertisement 204 which: 205 (a)Does not fully disclose in a written advertisement, in 206 at least 12-point, boldface boldfaced type, the name, address, 207 and Florida Company Code license number of the service agreement 208 company. As used in this paragraph, the term written 209 advertisement does not include material prepared for a specific 210 consumer and presented to that consumer at the point of sale of 211 the product to be covered by a warranty or service agreement. 212 (b)Does not fully disclose in a radio or television 213 advertisement the full legal name of the licensed salesperson or 214 the service agreement company. 215 (c)Does not fully identify the soliciting licensed 216 salespersons full legal name and license number when the 217 salesperson begins, and the soliciting salespersons telephone 218 number when the salesperson concludes, each outbound telephone 219 solicitation. For the purposes of this paragraph, the actual 220 telephone number of the salesperson may be the number on file 221 with the department or the number at which the salesperson may 222 be contacted. 223 Section 6.Subsection (11) of section 775.15, Florida 224 Statutes, is amended to read: 225 775.15Time limitations; general time limitations; 226 exceptions. 227 (11)A prosecution for a felony violation of s. 440.105 or 228 s. 817.234 ss. 440.105 and 817.234 must be commenced within 5 229 years after the violation is committed. 230 Section 7.Subsection (5) of section 817.234, Florida 231 Statutes, is amended to read: 232 817.234False and fraudulent insurance claims. 233 (5)(a)Any insurer damaged as a result of a violation of 234 any provision of this section when there has been a criminal 235 adjudication of guilt shall have a cause of action to recover 236 compensatory damages, plus all reasonable investigation and 237 litigation expenses, including attorney attorneys fees, at the 238 trial and appellate courts. 239 (b)If an insurer damaged as a result of a violation of any 240 provision of this section has reported the possible fraudulent 241 insurance act to the Division of Investigative and Forensic 242 Services pursuant to s. 626.9891 and if there has been a 243 criminal adjudication of guilt, the insurer is entitled to 244 recover reasonable investigation and litigation expenses, 245 including attorney fees, at the trial and appellate courts. 246 Section 8.The nonrecurring sum of $1,413,270 for Fiscal 247 Year 2022-2023 shall be transferred by nonoperating budget 248 authority from the Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund of the 249 Department of Financial Services to the Highway Safety Operating 250 Trust Fund of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor 251 Vehicles to implement the electronic insurance verification 252 provisions of s. 324.252, Florida Statutes. 253 Section 9.For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the nonrecurring 254 sum of $1,413,270 from the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund 255 is appropriated to the Information Systems Administration budget 256 entity in the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to 257 implement the electronic insurance verification provisions 258 required under s. 324.252, Florida Statutes. 259 Section 10.Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 260 act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law.