Starting July 1, Florida insurance agents will no longer need to make a “diligent effort” to find coverage for hard-to-place properties before turning to surplus lines insurance if the governor signs House Bill 1549 into law. But a separate bill that would have rolled back part of a 2024 law requiring agents to be appointed with three carriers before writing Citizens Property Insurance has died.
Current Florida law requires agents to first seek coverage from at least three admitted insurance companies (or if the dwelling has a replacement cost of $700,000 or more, from at least one admitted carrier) before looking for coverage through a surplus lines insurer. Two bills this year that would have deleted the three-carrier requirement failed to pass both chambers of the Florida Legislature, but the wording was added late last week to a financial services bill, HB 1549.
That bill was approved by the House of Representatives in late April and cleared the Senate – with the amendment – on Friday. The full House concurred. It now goes to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature.
The Florida Association of Insurance Agents has supported the revision, noting that forcing agents to always check with three admitted carriers was often seen as a waste of time.
Some plaintiffs’ attorneys had objected to the change, arguing that property owners may not be aware that surplus lines are less regulated and can be more expensive than domestic carriers.
The amended wording to the bill also requires an addendum to the disclosure already required about surplus lines policyholders not being protected by the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association in case of insolvency. The added language for the disclosure document reads: “Additionally, surplus lines insurers’ policy rates and forms are not approved by any Florida regulatory agency.”
The bill further states that, if the acknowledgment of the disclosure is signed by the policyholder, “the insured is presumed to have been informed and to know that other coverage may be available.” The measure deletes other sections related to exportability of coverage to surplus lines.
Bill to End the Three Appointments Requirement Dies
Another bill closely watched by agents this year has died in committee as the 2025 session nears its end. Senate Bill 1184 would have ended the 2024 requirement that insurance agents be appointed with three carriers before they can qualify as agents for Citizens, Florida’s state-backed insurer of last resort and the largest carrier in the state.
Instead, the bill, sponsored by Sen. Nick DiCeglie, would have allowed agents to provide a signed attestation, confirming that they have access through brokers to insurers or surplus lines that write commercial and commercial residential properties. Such an affirmation would not have applied to residential property coverage, the failed bill reads.
The three appointments was required last year by House Bill 1503, signed by DeSantis in May. It was seen as one of several changes designed to discourage insureds from flocking to Citizens, to help depopulate the carrier. Previous law required only one appointment for agents.
SB 1184 and a similar bill in the House seemed to be moving along in the session this year. House Bill 643 passed the House but both bills were withdrawn from consideration late last week.
Topics Agencies Florida Excess Surplus
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