Title: Unfair Insurance Trade Practices

Summary: Revising provisions to permit a licensed insurer or its agent, a title insurance agent, a title insurance agency, or a title insurer to give advertising or promotional items under specified values; providing that licensed insurers and their agents are not prohibited from making specified charitable contributions on behalf of insureds or prospective insureds, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to unfair insurance trade practices; amending s. 626.9541, F.S.; revising provisions to permit a licensed insurer or its agent, a title insurance agent, a title insurance agency, or a title insurer to give advertising or promotional items under specified values; providing that licensed insurers and their agents are not prohibited from making specified charitable contributions on behalf of insureds or prospective insureds; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Paragraph (m) of subsection (1) of section 626.9541, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 626.9541 Unfair methods of comp etition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices defined.-(1) UNFAIR METHODS OF COMPETITION AND UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS.-The following are defined as unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices: (m) Advertising and promot ional gifts and charitable contributions permitted.-No provision of paragraph (f), paragraph (g), or paragraph (h) shall be deemed to prohibit:1. A licensed insurer or its agent from:a. Giving to insureds, prospective insureds, and others, CS/HB 1029, Engrossed 2017 for the pu rpose of advertising, any article of merchandise,goods, wares, gift cards, gift certificates, event tickets, loss mitigation services, and other items with a total value of $100 or less per customer or prospective customer within one calendar year having a value of not more than $25.b. Making charitable contributions, as defined in s. 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, up to $100 per calendar year on behalf of each insured or prospective insured. 2. A title insurance agent or title insurance agency, as those terms are defined in s. 626.841, or a title insurer, as defined in s. 627.7711, from giving to insureds, prospective insureds, and others, for the purpose of advertising, any article of merchandise having a value of not more than $25. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.