HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 487 Department of Financial Services
SPONSOR(S): Commerce Committee, Insurance & Banking Subcommittee, Salzman and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/CS/SB 1158
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Insurance & Banking Subcommittee 18 Y, 0 N, As CS Lloyd Lloyd
2) Appropriations Committee 27 Y, 0 N Perez Pridgeon
3) Commerce Committee 19 Y, 0 N, As CS Lloyd Hamon
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is an elected member of the Cabinet, serves as the state’s chief fiscal
officer, and is designated as the State Fire Marshal. The CFO is the head of the Department of Financial
Services (DFS). Changes made by the bill include:
 Providing that county agencies, municipalities, and special districts must have adequate controls over
tangible property.
 Changing the frequency of a required hurricane-related report by DFS from annual to triennial.
 Requiring insurers to bear certain costs and make certain elections prior to mediation of claims;
 Authorizing the suspension of agent appointments by insurers for non-payment of costs;
 Revising various requirements applicable to the DFS property insurance claims mediation program;
 Reducing certain administrative obligations of title agents and agencies; changing certain continuing
education requirements; reducing barriers to licensing;
 Expanding the circumstances when DFS can suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew or continue the licenses
and the types of criminal offenses that can disqualify an insurance agent licensee;
 Allowing reciprocal non-resident licenses in certain circumstances;
 Eliminating temporary bail bond licenses and creating a means to convert to regular bail bond agent
licenses; specifying the qualifications of a primary bail bond agent;
 Converting bail bond agency registration to licensure;
 Improving processing of insolvent insurer estates;
 Authorizing a State Fire Marshal direct support organization, which is repealed in five years, unless saved
by subsequent legislative action;
 Allowing any governmental employee to participate in the Deferred Compensation Plan;
 Ratifying the 2020 Workers’ Compensation Health Care Provider Reimbursement Manual; eliminating the
need for future Reimbursement Manual ratifications;
 Creating term limits, ethical requirements, and other improvements to specified Boards; authorizing the
CFO to remove Board members in certain circumstances;
 Exempting travel-related transportation protection agreements for the preparation and return of human
remains from regulation as a preneed funeral contract or insurance.
 Prohibiting certain practices in the issuance of collateral protection insurance;
 Increasing the reserve requirement for warranty associations;
The bill has an insignificant fiscal impact on state government revenues and expenditures and no impact on
local government. It has indeterminate impacts on the private sector.
Except as expressly specified in the bill, it is effective upon becoming law.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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DATE: 4/20/2023
 FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is an elected member of the Cabinet, serves as the state’s chief
fiscal officer,1 and is designated as the State Fire Marshal. The CFO is the head of the Department of
Financial Services (DFS). Effective January 2003, the Department of Insurance, Treasury, State Fire
Marshal, and the Department of Banking and Finance merged to form DFS. DFS consists of 13
divisions and several specialized offices.2 DFS is composed of the following divisions and independent
office:
 Accounting and Auditing;
 Consumer Services;
 Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services;
 Insurance Agent and Agency Services;
 Investigative and Forensic Services;3
 Public Assistance Fraud;
 Rehabilitation and Liquidation;
 Risk Management;
 State Fire Marshal;
 Treasury;
 Unclaimed Property;
 Workers’ Compensation;
 Administration; and the
 Office of Insurance Consumer Advocate.
Division of Accounting and Auditing
The mission of the Division of Accounting and Auditing is to safeguard public assets, settle the state’s
financial obligations, report financial information, and improve accountability of the state. 4 The Division
includes the Bureau of Unclaimed Property and the Office of Fiscal Integrity. It is also empowered by
statute to “examine, audit, adjust, and settle the accounts of all the officers of this state, and any other
person in anywise entrusted with, or who may have received any property, funds, or moneys of this
state, or who may be in anywise indebted or accountable to this state for any property, funds, or
moneys, and require such officer or persons to render full accounts thereof, and to yield up such
property or funds according to law, or pay such moneys into the treasury of this state, or to such officer
or agent of the state as may be appointed to receive the same, and on failure so to do, to cause to be
instituted and prosecuted proceedings, criminal or civil, at law or in equity, against such persons,
according to law.”5 In executing this power, the Division has the authority to conduct investigations, as
necessary inside and outside of the state, and refer any suspected criminal conduct to the appropriate
law enforcement and prosecutorial agency.
Every state and local government entity provides its financial information to DFS annually, so DFS can
prepare annual financial statements for the state of Florida and provide an online clearinghouse for the
financial statements of every county, municipality, and special district in Florida. The Florida Open
Financial Statement System is open to public inspection.6
1 Art. IV, s. 4, Fla. Const.
2 S. 20.121, F.S.
3 This division includes the Bureau of Forensic Services; Bureau of Fire, Arson, and Explosives Investigations; Office of
Fiscal Integrity; Bureau of Insurance Fraud; and Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Fraud.
4 FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL S ERVICES, Accounting & Auditing, http://www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/AA/ (last
visited Mar. 19, 2023).
5 S. 17.04, F.S.
6 S. 218.32(1)(h), F.S.
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 Effect of the Bill
The bill makes the following changes within the purview of the Division of Accounting and Auditing:
 Adds county agencies, municipalities, and special districts 7 to those public entities that must
have adequate controls over tangible property.
Division of Consumer Services
The Division of Consumer Services deals with consumer issues and complaints related to the
jurisdiction of DFS and the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR). The Division:
 Receives inquiries and complaints from consumers;
 Prepares and disseminates information as DFS deems appropriate to inform or assist consumers;
 Provides direct assistance and advocacy for consumers; and
 Reports potential violations of law or applicable rules by a person or entity licensed by DFS or
OIR to the appropriate division within DFS or OIR, as appropriate.8
Effect of the Bill
The bill:
 Mandates that a property insurer either make a claim determination or elect to repair under
applicable law prior to participating in mediation allowed by statute.
 Allows DFS to suspend an insurer’s ability to appoint agents to represent the insurer if the
insurer does not pay required mediation fees timely.
 Removes a requirement that DFS adopt rules governing qualifications, denials of application,
suspension, revocation of approval, and penalties applicable to mediators related to DFS
property insurance claim mediation program.
 Provides that mediation costs must be reasonable, that the insurer bears all such costs, but
requires the policyholder must pay the costs of rescheduling mediations in certain
circumstances. If an insurer representative attends a mediation, but lacks authority to settle the
claim, the insurer is deemed to have not appeared, in which case the insurer must pay the
insured’s actual costs of attendance and the cost of rescheduling the mediation, including DFS’
costs. If the per-mediation-event administrative fee is not paid timely, the mediation
administrator may request that DFS suspend the insurer’s ability to appoint agents to represent
the insurer.
 Removes mediation-related tolling of time to file a lawsuit on the disputed claim.
 Deletes a requirement that the policy include details on requirements for filing of first-party
claims mediation.
 Repeals mediation program requirements, including:
o That the mediation must be a formal process;
o Mediators be randomly selected, with options and process to handle rejections of the
selected mediator; and,
o Equal sharing of costs.
Division of Insurance Agent and Agency Services
The DFS Division of Insurance Agent and Agency Services is responsible for the licensing and
regulation of insurance agents, adjusters, insurance agencies, as well as related personnel and
business entities.9
No person may be, act as, or advertise, or hold himself/herself out to be an insurance agent, insurance
adjuster, or customer representative unless he or she is currently licensed by DFS and appointed by an
7 As defined in s. 189.12, F.S.
8 S. 20.121(2)(h), F.S.
9 Ch. 626, parts I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, and XIII, F.S.
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 appropriate appointing entity or person.10 There are several types of insurance representatives. These
include:
 General lines agents,
 Life insurance agents,
 Health insurance agents,
 Title insurance agents,
 Personal lines agents, and
 Unaffiliated insurance agents.11
General Lines Agent
A general lines agent12 is one who sells the following lines of insurance: property; 13 casualty,14 including
commercial liability insurance underwritten by a risk retention group, a commercial self-insurance
fund,15 or a workers’ compensation self-insurance fund;16 surety;17 health;18 and, marine.19 The general
lines agent may only transact health insurance for an insurer that the general lines agent also
represents for property and casualty insurance. If the general lines agent wishes to represent health
insurers that are not also property and casualty insurers, they must be licensed as a health insurance
agent.20
Title Agents and Agencies
Title insurance insures owners of real property (owner’s policy) or others having an interest in real
property, as well as lenders (mortgagee policies) against loss by encumbrance, defective title,
invalidity, or adverse claim to title. It is a policy issued by a title insurer that, after evaluating a search of
title, insures against a number of covered risks, including title defects or liens that are not identified as
exceptions. In Florida, title insurers operate on a monoline basis, meaning that the insurer can only
transact title insurance and cannot transact any other type of insurance. 21
Bail Bond Agents
Currently, a person may not act as a bail bond agent or temporary bail bond agent unless qualified,
licensed, and appointed.22 A person also may not represent himself or herself to be a bail enforcement
agent, bounty hunter, or other similar title, and a person, other than a certified law enforcement officer,
may not apprehend, detain, or arrest a principal on a bond unless qualified, licensed, and appointed. 23
Effect of the Bill
The bill makes the following changes related to agents and agencies:
Generally –
 Removes the requirement that applicants be fingerprinted at a designated examination center;
but, retains the remaining fingerprinting options that include a law enforcement agency or other
DFS-approved entity.
10 S. 626.112, F.S.
11 S. 626.015, F.S.
12 S. 626.015(5), F.S.
13 S. 624.604, F.S.
14 S. 624.605, F.S.
15 As defined in s. 624.462, F.S.
16 Pursuant to s. 624.4621, F.S.
17 S. 626.606, F.S.
18 Ss. 624.603 and 627.6482, F.S.
19 S. 624.607, F.S.
20 S. 626.829, F.S.
21 S. 627.786, F.S.
22 S. 648.30(1), F.S.
23 S. 648.30(2) and (3), F.S.
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  Relieves title insurance, life insurance, and annuity insurance agents and agencies from the
requirement that they notice all active policyholders of an office closure that is more than 30
days because the related policies are not continually serviced by the agent or agency.
 Clarifies that a licensee that possesses an advanced degree beyond a Bachelor’s degree is
eligible for a reduced continuing education requirement; six hours every two years, rather than
20 hours every two years, or other variations thereof depending on experience and credential.
 Removes a prohibition on licensees holding a limited license in motor vehicle damage and
mechanical breakdown insurance, industrial fire insurance, burglary insurance, or credit
insurance from holding multiple licenses.
 Expands the type of criminal background that allows DFS to suspend, revoke, or refuse to
renew or continue the license or appointment of a licensee to include a misdemeanor related to
the financial services business, this is in addition to any felony or crime punishable by one year
or more in prison.
 Allows DFS to suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew or continue the license or appointment of a
licensee who has lost their resident license in another state.
 Permits DFS to suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew or continue the license or appointment of a
title agent or agency that:
o Misappropriates, converts, or unlawfully withholds funds related to an escrow
agreement, real estate sales contract, or settlement of a real estate transaction; or
o Is the subject of an adverse action against a license or similar credential in another
state, a court of competent jurisdiction, or federal agency, or similar.
 Reduces a reinsurance intermediary credential from a license to an appointment and removes
the $50 application and license fee for a reinsurance intermediary; such intermediaries are
otherwise licensed as another type of insurance licensee.
 Allows DFS to cancel an insurer’s ability to appoint agents when an insurer fails to timely pay
the exchange of business fee that the insurer is beholden to pay for the agent and applicable to
reported agent production activity.
 For the purposes of title agents and agencies, changes the authority to act as an escrow agent
from the title agent to the title agency and removes the obligation to invest the escrow funds
consistent with the requirements applicable to state investment of funds.
 Broadens the qualifying continuing education courses that public adjusters may take from those
specially designed for public adjusters to any related to commercial and residential property and
casualty coverage, claim adjusting, and any other adjuster courses approved by DFS.
 Allows DFS to deny the privileges of a temporary adjuster who has been lawfully appointed
during a catastrophe or emergency for any violation described in Ch. 626, F.S., rather than only
those in ss. 626.611 and 626.621, F.S.
 Provides for expiration of a health insurance navigator’s registration if the navigator’s fails to
maintain a valid, active federal registration.
 Creates a limited insurance license to allow already licensed preneed funeral sales agents to be
appointed to represent the preneed insurer.
Bail Bonds –
 Eliminates the “temporary bail bond agent” license type; ends issuance of such lic