FL H0749

By July 1, 2023, Florida's electronic credentialing system must display vehicle registration and insurance information, notify drivers of insurance coverage lapses, and allow policy information updates; the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles must provide the Legislature with recommendations for electronic compliance verification by October 1, 2023, funded by a $1,413,270 transfer from the Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund.

Sellers offering service contracts with automatic renewal provisions must allow consumers to cancel the contract in the same manner and by the same means as the consumer originally accepted it; exemptions apply to financial institutions, health studios, licensed insurance entities, and electric utilities.

Public adjusters and public adjuster apprentices face fines up to $10,000 per act for prohibited conduct related to residential roof inspections and insurance claims, increasing to $20,000 per act during a Governor-declared state of emergency; unlicensed persons engaging in the same prohibited acts face identical fine limits.

Insurance companies that fail to report suspected intentional fire or explosion losses to the State Fire Marshal face administrative fines up to $2,000 per day, replacing the previous criminal misdemeanor penalty; the Division of Investigative and Forensic Services is authorized to adopt implementing rules.

Insurers damaged by fraudulent insurance claims that reported the fraud to the Division of Investigative and Forensic Services and obtained a criminal adjudication of guilt are entitled to recover reasonable investigation and litigation expenses, including attorney fees, at both trial and appellate courts; the statute of limitations for felony violations of workers' compensation fraud or insurance fraud remains 5 years.