Legislative Proposals Would Codify Product Certification Process
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation issued orders last year allowing property and casualty insurers to certify most products’ compliance with the insurance code rather than seeking prior approval of the forms. The orders are helpful to the Office of Insurance Regulation in reducing some of the workload associated with reviewing the filings. At the same time the orders help insurers by allowing them to get products to market sooner.
Insurance commissioner Kevin McCarty recently informed a Senate committee that codifying the existing certification process is one of several steps the legislature might take to encourage deployment of private market capital in Florida and reduce this state’s reliance on the residual market. Proposals such as the recently filed SB 468 would do just that– adopt by statute the procedures the OIR has implemented by order. With support from both the insurance industry and the Office of Insurance Regulation, the proposal has a reasonable chance of passing during the 2013 legislative session that begins in March. We’ll be following this bill and others throughout the session.