Fla. Stat. § 627.553 — Florida Code / Title XXXVII / Chapter 627 / Part V / Section 627.553
627.553 Debtor groups.
Status: in_force

The lives of a group of individuals may be insured under a policy issued to a creditor or its parent holding company, or to a trustee or trustees or agent designated by two or more creditors, which creditor, holding company, affiliate, trustee or trustees, or agent shall be deemed the policyholder, to insure debtors of the creditor or creditors, subject to the following requirements:

(1) The debtors eligible for insurance under the policy shall be all of the debtors of the creditor or creditors or all of any class or classes thereof. The policy may provide that the term “debtors” includes: (a) Borrowers of money or purchasers or lessees of goods, services, or property for which payment is arranged through a credit transaction; (b) The debtors of one or more subsidiary corporations; and (c) The debtors of one or more affiliated corporations, proprietorships, or partnerships if the business of the policyholder and of such affiliated corporations, proprietorships, or partnerships is under common control.

(2) The premium for the policy shall be paid either from the creditor’s funds or from charges collected from the insured debtors, or from both. A policy on which part or all of the premium is to be derived from the collection from the insured debtors of identifiable charges not required of uninsured debtors shall not include, in the class or classes of debtors eligible for insurance, debtors under obligations outstanding at its date of issue without evidence of individual insurability unless at least 75 percent of the then eligible debtors elect to pay the required charges. A policy on which no part of the premium is to be derived from the collection of such identifiable charges must insure all eligible debtors, or all except any as to whom evidence of individual insurability is not satisfactory to the insurer. The policy may be issued only if the group of eligible debtors is then receiving new entrants at the rate of at least 100 persons yearly, or may reasonably be expected to receive at least 100 new entrants during the first policy year, and only if the policy reserves to the insurer the right to require evidence of individual insurability if less than 75 percent of the new entrants become insured. The policy may exclude from the classes eligible for insurance classes of debtors determined by age.

(3) The amount of insurance on the life of any debtor shall at no time exceed the amount owed by the debtor which is repayable in installments to the creditor.

(4) The policy shall provide that the insurer will furnish to the policyholder, for delivery to each insured debtor under the policy, a certificate of insurance describing the coverage and specifying that the death benefit shall first be applied to reduce or extinguish the indebtedness. The remainder, if any, shall be paid to the designated second beneficiary or the insured’s estate.

History: s. 526, ch. 59-205; s. 1, ch. 67-131; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-246; s. 1, ch. 77-457; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 424, 448, 809(2nd), ch. 82-243; s. 79, ch. 82-386; s. 1, ch. 89-75; s. 114, ch. 92-318; s. 331, ch. 97-102; s. 4, ch. 2008-75.