Florida Senate - 2025 SB 792 By Senator Bradley 6-01152-25 2025792__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to property insurer financial strength 3 ratings; amending s. 624.315, F.S.; providing 4 definitions; requiring certain annual insurance 5 reports prepared by the Office of Insurance Regulation 6 for the Legislature and the Governor to include the 7 financial strength ratings of property insurers 8 against which delinquency and similar proceedings were 9 instituted; requiring the office to maintain and make 10 available upon request information relating to 11 financial strength ratings of property insurers; 12 providing an effective date. 13 14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15 16 Section 1.Present subsections (1) through (5) of section 17 624.315, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (2) 18 through (6), respectively, a new subsection (1) is added to that 19 section, paragraph (p) is added to present subsection (2) of 20 that section, and paragraph (c) of present subsection (1) and 21 present subsection (5) of that section are amended, to read: 22 624.315Annual reports; quarterly reports. 23 (1)As used in this section, the term: 24 (a)Financial strength rating means an objective 25 evaluation of the assets, liabilities, net worth, financial 26 health, performance, and risk of a property insurer as 27 determined by an independent rating agency. 28 (b)Independent rating agency means an entity that meets 29 all of the following requirements: 30 1.Issues unbiased and objective financial strength ratings 31 of insurers without the consent of the insurer. 32 2.Is not paid for ratings by the rated insurers, directly 33 or indirectly, whether in cash or other forms of payment. 34 3.Does not permit any rated insurer to influence the 35 ratings of that insurer. 36 4.Is independent and free from outside control or 37 influence and can issue ratings objectively, without fear of 38 reprisals or loss of business. 39 5.May begin, suspend, or end rating an insurer at its 40 discretion. 41 6.Is not owned or controlled, in whole or in part, by any 42 insurer and does not enter into or maintain any potentially 43 related business relationships with rated insurers. 44 (2)(1)As early as reasonably possible, the office, with 45 such assistance from the department as requested, shall annually 46 prepare a report to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House 47 of Representatives, the President and Minority Leader of the 48 Senate, the chairs of the legislative committees with 49 jurisdiction over matters of insurance, and the Governor 50 showing, with respect to the preceding calendar year: 51 (c)Names of insurers against which delinquency or similar 52 proceedings were instituted. For property insurers for which the 53 delinquency or similar proceedings were instituted, the annual 54 report must also include the date that each insurer was deemed 55 impaired of capital or surplus, as the terms impairment of 56 capital and impairment of surplus are defined in s. 631.011, or 57 insolvent, as the term insolvency is defined in s. 631.011; the 58 financial strength ratings of the insurer issued by an 59 independent rating agency for each of the previous 8 fiscal 60 quarters before the delinquency or similar proceedings; a 61 concise statement of the circumstances that led to each 62 insurers delinquency; a summary of the actions taken by the 63 insurer and the office to avoid delinquency; and the results or 64 status of each such proceeding. 65 (3)(2)The office shall maintain the following information 66 and make such information available upon request: 67 (p)The financial strength rating issued to each property 68 insurer by an independent rating agency each calendar quarter 69 during the reporting period, including the changes in ratings 70 from quarter to quarter, the number of downgrades in ratings 71 which occurred during the reporting period, the number of 72 downgraded companies that were subsequently upgraded during the 73 reporting period, and the number of downgraded companies that 74 were subject to delinquency or similar proceedings. 75 (6)(5)When aggregate information includes information 76 asserted as trade secret information, the office may include the 77 trade secret information in the report required under subsection 78 (2) (1) or may make the trade secret information available under 79 subsection (3) (2) unless the trade secret information can be 80 individually extrapolated, in which case the trade secret 81 information remains protected as provided under s. 624.4213. 82 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.