By Amy O'Connor | March
17, 2020
Florida’s state of emergency due to the rapid spread of coronavirus in
the state, and throughout the country, has created a need for many workers to
work remotely. However, certain licensed insurance employees were restricted
from doing so by a Florida law that required they conduct business from their
agency offices.
In
response, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who oversees the
Florida Department of Financial Services, has issued a directive allowing Florida
agency customer service representatives who would otherwise be restricted from
conducting business outside of a licensed agency to do so given the current
circumstances.
“In
order to afford flexibility to licensees who are quarantined or whose offices
are subject to closure due to the COVID-19, the Department of Financial
Services will not enforce provisions of [Florida Statutes] until May 8, 2020,
unless this order is extended by subsequent Directive of the Chief Financial
Officer,” the order states.
The law
applies to Florida 4-40 Resident Customer Service Representative (CRs) licenses
and was enacted in 1990. It allows salaried employees of insurance agents or
agencies in Florida to transact insurance business under the supervision of a
licensed and appointed general lines agent. Employees holding the 4-40 license
are unable to transact insurance outside of the office of the agency they are
employed by, cannot be employed by more than one general lines agent or agency
at any given time and must be housed in the office of the agent or agency. The
CRs can also only solicit business within the agency office or by phone from
the office, according to DFS, which is charged with regulating the sale of
travel insurance and other insurance products within the state of Florida.
Patronis’
order specifically references the two Florida Statutes that say insurance
customer representatives “shall not engage in transacting insurance outside of
the office of his or her agent or agency” and says insurance customer
representatives must be housed in the “actual confines of the office of the
agent or agency whom he or she represents,” among other stipulations.
By
recommendation from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), companies nationwide
have begun allowing employees to work remotely in an effort to slow the spread
of the strain of coronavirus known as COVID-19. However, Florida insurance
employees carrying 4-40 licenses could have faced disciplinary action for doing
so prior to the waiver in the directive.
Patronis
said in the directive that under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ emergency order,
government agency heads have certain authority to waive statutory and
administrative provisions “to the extent strict compliance with such provisions
would prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with the ongoing
emergency.”
Florida
Association for Insurance Agents (FAIA) President Jeff Grady said several
member agencies reported they are now working remotely and that many agencies
called or emailed to inquire about a waiver for 4-40 licensees.
FAIA
worked with CFO Patronis’ office over the last week in coming up with a
solution that allows insurance professionals to perform their work at home, if
necessary, the association said.
Grady
said it was hard to estimate a percentage of how many of their members are now
working remotely but noted “the number is growing rapidly.”
“We
have debated the discontinuance of this license for several years, particularly
given its unique status within the era of state license reciprocity,” Grady
said. “I am hopeful this disaster will illuminate the need for Florida to do
away with the 4-40 license.”
FAIA
representatives themselves have made adjustments to work from home and said
they will continue to be available to members via phone, email or through its
online community.
There
are other issues facing insurance agents as the coronavirus epidemic continues
to go on. FAIA is communicating with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
regarding the potential for an order that would temporarily postpone policy
non-renewals and/or cancellations, and Grady said FAIA is also receiving many
inquiries from agents regarding business interruption insurance. The
association has conveyed that message to OIR as well.
“FAIA
is constantly communicating with regulators and cabinet officials to address
insurance issues caused by COVID-19,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment