Florida Extends Order Allowing Agency Reps to Work Remotely During Health Emergency

Customer service representatives holding a particular Florida insurance license will be able to continue conducting business remotely until at least July 7.

A directive issued by Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis that allows remote work by Florida agency customer service representatives who would otherwise be restricted from conducting business outside of a licensed agency will remain in effect so long as a public health emergency is declared in the state by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The original directive, first issued on March 16, gave insurance employees holding a Resident Customer Service Representatives (CRs) 4-40 license the ability to work from home in response to the coronavirus pandemic and was to expire May 8.

Florida law pertaining to 4-40 Resident Customer Service Representative (CRs) licenses was enacted in 1990 and allows salaried employees of insurance agents or agencies in Florida to transact insurance business only under the supervision of a licensed and appointed general lines agent. Employees holding the 4-40 license are unable to transact insurance outside of the office of the agency they are employed by, cannot be employed by more than one general lines agent or agency at any given time and must be housed in the office of the agent or agency.

The CRs can also only solicit business within the agency office or by phone from the office, according to the Department of Financial Services, which is charged with regulating the sale of travel insurance and other insurance products within the state of Florida.

Patronis’ original order stated that DFS would not enforce provisions of the law until May 8, 2020, unless the order was extended, in order to “afford flexibility to licensees who are quarantined or whose offices are subject to closure due to the COVID-19.”

The original directive specifically referenced the two Florida Statutes that say insurance customer representatives “shall not engage in transacting insurance outside of the office of his or her agent or agency” and says insurance customer representatives must be housed in the “actual confines of the office of the agent or agency whom he or she represents,” among other stipulations.

By recommendation from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), companies nationwide began allowing employees to work remotely in an effort to slow the spread of the strain of coronavirus known as COVID-19 back in March. However, Florida insurance employees carrying 4-40 licenses could have faced disciplinary action for doing so prior to the waiver in the directive.

Patronis said in the May 8 extension that in order to promote “core safety principals” in DeSantis’ recovery path to reopening Florida, and to “afford flexibility to licensees,” the directive will remain in effect during the effective period of the governor’s public health emergency executive order, currently set to expire July 7, and, “any extensions thereof.”

The original directive stated that under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ emergency order, government agency heads such as Patronis have certain authority to waive statutory and administrative provisions “to the extent strict compliance with such provisions would prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with the ongoing emergency.”

Topics Florida Agencies