Florida Insurance Agents Need Help! Florida Department of Financial Services, please help amend CS/CS/HB 1503, Florida Statute 627.351 regarding Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Agent Appointment Requirement Rule Change

We need your help!

Hundreds of independent Property & Casualty Insurance Agents in Florida are being unfairly and inaccurately perceived by Citizens as unable to write and renew residential and commercial policies with authorized insurers. We are asking the FLDFS to take immediate action to amend the law and Citizens rules to protect Florida’s independent insurance agents, residents and small business owners. Failure to promptly act addressing these issues can result in unemployment of insurance professionals and hundreds of agencies going out of business. 

Please help insurance agency owners retain their hard-earned business, and keep their businesses open so they may continue to support their staff, families and diligently help consumers in need. 

What is this about? 

Effective July 1st, 2024, CS/CS/HB 1503, relating to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation; amending s. 627.351, F.S. (page 79, sections 1965-1972) requires a new type of compliance from licensed agents contracted to do business with Citizens. As a result, Citizens will be required to verify, through the FLDFS, that agents doing business with Citizens hold at least three direct authorized insurance company appointments in which Citizens deems eligible. Unfortunately, hundreds of insurance agents are not receiving credit or recognition for the authorized insurers they are able to write and renew policies with. There is also a concern about the increasing number of insurer insolvencies resulting in loss of direct appointments, insurers unappointing agents directly (particularly in SFLA) and insurers requiring agents to access appointments through select brokers, mga’s or wholesalers. This can cause agents to unfairly lose their necessary Citizens appointments. Citizens has advised agents that their Citizens appointments will be terminated, and their entire Citizens book of business taken away if they are unable to verify appointments directly through the FLDFS. Following termination, the agents Citizens book of business will be transferred to Citizens for direct servicing. This leads to a lot of valid questions and concerns including the negative impacts on policyholders and taxpayers. Please help us prevent devastation to insurance agencies and policyholders who will lose their trusted advisors.

Below is a brief outline of the issues Agents are facing:

1.      Citizen’s failure to recognize the agent's ability to write and renew policies through contracts they hold with Brokers, MGA’s or Wholesalers. 

2.      Authorized insurer's failure to appoint agents through the FLDFS. Insurers are contracting agents under “appointment” agreements allowing agents to quote, bind and renew policies yet fail to record the agent appointment with the FLDFS to be recognized by Citizens.

3.      Citizen’s “Take-out” or “Assumption” authorized insurers failure to appoint the agents through the FLDFS. These insurers are contracting agents via “limited appointment” agreements in order to assume the agent’s Citizens policies. Agents are servicing and renewing the insurers policies, yet the insurer fails to record the agent appointment with the FLDFS to be recognized by Citizens.

4.      The Citizens “company eligibility matrix” of authorized insurers is incomplete, not including all qualified authorized admitted insurers that agents can write or renew policies with. 

Below is brief outline of proposed solutions: 

1.      Require Citizens to recognize Broker’s, MGA’s and Wholesalers in the same manner they would recognize employers of producing agents. Producing agents may write and renew policies with authorized insurers through brokers and receive compensation from brokers.

2.      Require Citizens to recognize and verify the broker and agent relationship in cases where agents submit this information to Citizens for consideration. Citizens may use FLDFS public records to verify broker agent in charge appointments, the same as they do for their appointed agents, or a list of authorized insurer appointments may be provided. Citizens may also utilize and accept verification forms executed by brokers and agents. Additionally, Citizens make utilize www.insuranceagentverify.com to verify agent appointments with brokers. 

3.      If Citizens is unwilling to verify the agent's ability to write and renew policies with eligible insurers (outside of the FLDFS), Require Citizens “take-out” companies and authorized insurers who give authority to agents to transact business, to record the agent appointment with the FLDFS to be recognized by Citizens giving the agent the recognition they deserve.

4.      Grandfather under prior law, insurance agents who own and operate insurance agencies who have been transacting business for a specified number of years and have significant business with Citizens. 

5.      Grandfather under prior law, insurance agents located in Miami- Dade and Monroe County where, as recognized by Citizens, there is not a reasonable degree of competition and where agents have significant business with Citizens. Many authorized insurers will not appoint agents directly and may require agents to access appointments through appointed Brokers, MGA’s or Wholesalers. 

6. Allow Citizens agents who are terminated from writing new business to enter into “limited service” agreements with Citizens so they may continue to service their existing policies and prevent transfer of their book of business to Citizens. Citizen's policies may continue to be depopulated to eligible insurers under the limited-service agreements the agent holds with eligible insurers. Evidence of those agreements can be furnished to Citizens if insurers fail to record the agent appointment with the FLDFS. 

Regarding FMAP:

Additionally, in order to help more Homeowners in need and increase Citizens depopulation efforts, FMAP, the Florida market assistance plan rules should be changed to include agents with at least two direct appointments (actually writing) to participate. FMAP should also allow agents to assist homeowners by placing their business with approved insurance markets through approved brokers, mga’s or wholesalers the agent is contracted with to write business. 

Together we hope to make a positive change for insurance agencies in Florida and the policyholders they serve. 

WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION.