(1) An individual employed by an agent or agency on salary who devotes full time to clerical work, with incidental taking of insurance applications or quoting or receiving premiums on incoming inquiries in the office of the agent or agency, is not deemed to be an agent or customer representative if his or her compensation does not include in whole or in part any commissions on such business and is not related to the production of applications, insurance, or premiums.
(2) An employee or an authorized representative located at a designated branch of an agent or agency may not bind insurance coverage unless licensed and appointed as an agent or customer representative.
(3) An employee or an authorized representative located at a designated branch of an agent or agency may not initiate contact with any person for the purpose of soliciting insurance unless licensed and appointed as an agent or customer representative. As to title insurance, an employee of an agent or agency may not initiate contact with any individual proposed insured for the purpose of soliciting title insurance unless licensed as a title insurance agent or exempt from such licensure pursuant to s. 626.8417(4) and (5).
(4)(a) Each place of business established by an agent or agency, firm, corporation, or association must be in the active full-time charge of a licensed and appointed agent holding the required agent licenses to transact at least two of the lines of insurance being handled at the location. If only one line of insurance is handled at the location, the agent in charge must hold the required agent license to transact that line of insurance.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the licensed agent in charge of an insurance agency may also be the agent in charge of additional branch office locations of the agency if insurance activities requiring licensure as an insurance agent do not occur at any location when an agent is not physically present and unlicensed employees at the location do not engage in insurance activities requiring licensure as an insurance agent or customer representative.
(c) An insurance agency and each branch place of business of an insurance agency shall designate an agent in charge and file the name and license number of the agent in charge and the physical address of the insurance agency location with the department at the department’s designated website. The designation of the agent in charge may be changed at the option of the agency. A change of the designated agent in charge is effective upon notification to the department, which shall be provided within 30 days after such change.
(d) For the purposes of this subsection, an “agent in charge” is the licensed and appointed agent who is responsible for the supervision of all individuals within an insurance agency location, regardless of whether the agent in charge handles a specific transaction or deals with the general public in the solicitation or negotiation of insurance contracts or the collection or accounting of moneys.
(e) An agent in charge of an insurance agency is accountable for misconduct or violations of this code committed by the licensee or agent or by any person under his or her supervision while acting on behalf of the agency. This section does not render an agent in charge criminally liable for an act unless the agent in charge personally committed the act or knew or should have known of the act and of the facts constituting a violation of this chapter.
(f) An insurance agency location may not conduct the business of insurance unless an agent in charge is designated by, and providing services to, the agency at all times. If the agent in charge designated with the department ends his or her affiliation with the agency for any reason and the agency fails to designate another agent in charge within the 30 days provided for in paragraph (c) and such failure continues for 90 days, the agency license shall automatically expire on the 91st day from the date the designated agent in charge ended his or her affiliation with the agency.
History.—ss. 2, 207, ch. 90-363; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 206, ch. 97-102; s. 47, ch. 2002-206; s. 2, ch. 2012-209; s. 6, ch. 2014-123; s. 77, ch. 2015-2; s. 2, ch. 2015-180.