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CS/HB 645 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to limited agent licenses; amending s. 2
626.321, F.S.; renaming "portable electronics 3
insurance" as "portable electronics or eyewear 4
insurance" to include eyewear for purposes of 5
insurance coverage and licenses; providing 6
construction; defining the term "eyewear"; revising 7
the definition of the term "portable electronics"; 8
removing the obsolete definition of the term "portable 9
electronics transaction"; amending ss. 626.221, 10
626.732, and 626.8685, F.S.; conforming provisions to 11
changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 12
13
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14
15
Section 1. Paragraph (h) of subsection (1) and subsection 16
(4) of section 626.321, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 17
626.321 Limited licenses and registration.— 18
(1) The department shall issue to a qualified applicant a 19
license as agent authorized to transact a limited class of 20
business in any of the following categories of limited lines 21
insurance: 22
(h) Portable electronics or eyewear insurance.—License for 23
property insurance or inland marine insurance that covers only 24
loss, theft, mechanical failure, malfunction, or damage for 25
CS/HB 645 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
portable electronics or eyewear. Such license allows a licensee 26
to sell or offer for sale coverage for both portable electronics 27
and eyewear, but does not require a licensee to sell or offer 28
for sale both types of coverage. 29
1. The license may be issued only to: 30
a. Employees or authorized representatives of a licensed 31
general lines agent; or 32
b. The lead business location of a retail vendor that 33
sells portable electronics or eyewear insurance. The lead 34
business location must have a contractual relationship with a 35
general lines agent. 36
2. Employees or authorized representatives of a licensee 37
under subparagraph 1. may sell or offer for sale portable 38
electronics or eyewear coverage without being subject to 39
licensure as an insurance agent if: 40
a. Such insurance is sold or offered for sale at a 41
licensed location or at one of the licensee's branch locations 42
if the branch location is appointed by the licensed lead 43
business location or its appointing insurers; 44
b. The insurer issuing the insurance directly supervises 45
or appoints a general lines agent to supervise the sale of such 46
insurance, including the development of a training program for 47
the employees and authorized representatives of vendors that are 48
directly engaged in the activity of selling or offering the 49
insurance; and 50
CS/HB 645 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
c. At each location where the insurance is offered, 51
brochures or other written materials that provide the 52
information required by this subparagraph are made available to 53
all prospective customers. The brochures or written materials 54
may include information regarding portable electronics or 55
eyewear insurance, service warranty agreements, or other 56
incidental services or benefits offered by a licensee. 57
3. Individuals not licensed to sell portable electronics 58
or eyewear insurance may not be paid commissions based on the 59
sale of such coverage. However, a licensee who uses a 60
compensation plan for employees and authorized representatives 61
which includes supplemental compensation for the sale of 62
noninsurance products, in addition to a regular salary or hourly 63
wages, may include incidental compensation for the sale of 64
portable electronics or eyewear insurance as a component of the 65
overall compensation plan. 66
4. Brochures or other written materials related to 67
portable electronics or eyewear insurance must: 68
a. Disclose that such insurance may duplicate coverage 69
already provided by a customer's homeowners insurance policy, 70
renters insurance policy, or other source of coverage; 71
b. State that enrollment in insurance coverage is not 72
required in order to purchase or lease portable electronics or 73
eyewear or services; 74
c. Summarize the material terms of the insurance coverage, 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
including the identity of the insurer, the identity of the 76
supervising entity, the amount of any applicable deductible and 77
how it is to be paid, the benefits of coverage, and key terms 78
and conditions of coverage, such as whether portable electronics 79
or eyewear may be repaired or replaced with similar make and 80
model reconditioned or nonoriginal manufacturer parts or 81
equipment; 82
d. Summarize the process for filing a claim, including a 83
description of how to return portable electronics or eyewear and 84
the maximum fee applicable if the customer fails to comply with 85
equipment return requirements; and 86
e. State that an enrolled customer may cancel coverage at 87
any time and that the person paying the premium will receive a 88
refund of any unearned premium. 89
5. A licensed and appointed general lines agent is not 90
required to obtain a portable electronics and eyewear insurance 91
license to offer or sell portable electronics or eyewear 92
insurance at locations already licensed as an insurance agency, 93
but may apply for a portable electronics and eyewear insurance 94
license for branch locations not otherwise licensed to sell 95
insurance. 96
6. A portable electronics and eyewear insurance license 97
authorizes the sale of individual policies or certificates under 98
a group or master insurance policy. The license also authorizes 99
the sale of service warranty agreements covering only portable 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
electronics or eyewear to the same extent as if licensed under 101
s. 634.419 or s. 634.420. 102
7. A licensee may bill and collect the premium for the 103
purchase of portable electronics or eyewear insurance provided 104
that: 105
a. If the insurance is included with the purchase or lease 106
of portable electronics or eyewear or related services, the 107
licensee clearly and conspicuously discloses that insurance 108
coverage is included with the purchase. Disclosure of the stand-109
alone cost of the premium for same or similar insurance must be 110
made on the customer's bill and in any marketing materials made 111
available at the point of sale. If the insurance is not 112
included, the charge to the customer for the insurance must be 113
separately itemized on the customer's bill. 114
b. Premiums are incidental to other fees collected, are 115
maintained in a manner that is readily identifiable, and are 116
accounted for and remitted to the insurer or supervising entity 117
within 60 days of receipt. Licensees are not required to 118
maintain such funds in a segregated account. 119
c. All funds received by a licensee from an enrolled 120
customer for the sale of the insurance are considered funds held 121
in trust by the licensee in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit 122
of the insurer. Licensees may receive compensation for billing 123
and collection services. 124
8. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the terms 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
for the termination or modification of coverage under a policy 126
of portable electronics or eyewear insurance are those set forth 127
in the policy. 128
9. Notice or correspondence required by the policy, or 129
otherwise required by law, may be provided by electronic means 130
if the insurer or licensee maintains proof that the notice or 131
correspondence was sent. Such notice or correspondence may be 132
sent on behalf of the insurer or licensee by the general lines 133
agent appointed by the insurer to supervise the administration 134
of the program. For purposes of this subparagraph, an enrolled 135
customer's provision of an electronic mail address to the 136
insurer or licensee is deemed to be consent to receive notices 137
and correspondence by electronic means if a conspicuously 138
located disclosure is provided to the customer indicating the 139
same. 140
10. The fingerprinting requirements in s. 626.171(4) do 141
not apply to licenses issued to qualified entities under this 142
paragraph. 143
11. A branch location that sells portable electronics or 144
eyewear insurance may, in lieu of obtaining an appointment from 145
an insurer or warranty association, obtain a single appointment 146
from the associated lead business location licensee and pay the 147
prescribed appointment fee under s. 624.501 if the lead business 148
location has a single appointment from each insurer or warranty 149
association represented and such appointment applies to the lead 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
business location and all of its branch locations. Branch 151
location appointments shall be renewed 24 months after the 152
initial appointment date of the lead business location and every 153
24 months thereafter. Notwithstanding s. 624.501, the renewal 154
fee applicable to such branch location appointments is $30 per 155
appointment. 156
12. For purposes of this paragraph: 157
a. "Branch location" means any physical location in this 158
state at which a licensee offers its products or services for 159
sale. 160
b. "Eyewear" means smart glasses and nonelectronic 161
eyewear. As used in this sub-subparagraph, the term 162
"nonelectronic eyewear" includes prescription and 163
nonprescription eyeglasses and sunglasses. 164
c.b. "Portable electronics" means equipment that is 165
personal, self-contained, and easily carried by an individual; 166
has electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, electromagnetic, or 167
similar capabilities; and operates using batteries, rechargeable 168
power sources, or other energy sources. The term includes 169
equipment used for communication, data processing, viewing, 170
listening, recording, gaming, computing, navigation, household, 171
health or activity monitoring, or similar uses and may also 172
incorporate features responsive to user input or environmental 173
conditions, battery-operated electronic communication, viewing, 174
listening, recording, gaming, computing or global positioning 175
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
devices, including cell or satellite phones, pagers, personal 176
global positioning satellite units, portable computers, portable 177
audio listening, video viewing or recording devices, digital 178
cameras, video camcorders, portable gaming systems, docking 179
stations, automatic answering devices, and other similar devices 180
and their accessories, and service related to the use of such 181
devices. 182
c. "Portable electronics transaction" means the sale or 183
lease of portable electronics or a related service, including 184
portable electronics insurance. 185
(4) Except as otherwise expressly provided, a person 186
applying for or holding a limited license is subject to the same 187
applicable requirements and responsibilities that apply to 188
general lines agents in general if licensed as to motor vehicle 189
physical damage and mechanical breakdown insurance, industrial 190
fire insurance or burglary insurance, motor vehicle rental 191
insurance, credit insurance, crop hail and multiple-peril crop 192
insurance, in-transit and storage personal property insurance, 193
or portable electronics or eyewear insurance; or as apply to 194
life agents or health agents in general, as applicable, if 195
licensed as to travel insurance. 196
Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 197
626.221, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 198
626.221 Examination requirement; exemptions.— 199
(2) However, an examination is not necessary for any of 200
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
the following: 201
(b) An applicant for a limited license as agent for travel 202
insurance, motor vehicle rental insurance, credit insurance, in-203
transit and storage personal property insurance, or portable 204
electronics or eyewear insurance under s. 626.321. 205
Section 3. Subsection (7) of section 626.732, Florida 206
Statutes, is amended to read: 207
626.732 Requirement as to knowledge, experience, or 208
instruction.— 209
(7) This section does not apply to an individual holding 210
only a limited license for travel insurance, motor vehicle 211
rental insurance, credit insurance, in-transit and storage 212
personal property insurance, or portable electronics or eyewear 213
insurance. 214
Section 4. Section 626.8685, Florida Statutes, is amended 215
to read: 216
626.8685 Portable electronics or eyewear insurance claims; 217
exemption; licensure restriction.— 218
(1) This part does not apply to any individual who 219
collects claims information from, or furnishes claims 220
information to, insureds or claimants, and who conducts data 221
entry, including entering data into an automated claims 222
adjudication system, provided that the individual is an employee 223
of a business entity licensed under this chapter, or its 224
affiliate, and no more than 25 such persons are under the 225
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
supervision of one licensed independent adjuster or licensed 226
agent who is exempt from licensure pursuant to s. 626.862. For 227
purposes of this subsection, the term "automated claims 228
adjudication system" means a preprogrammed computer system 229
designed for the collection, data entry, calculation, and final 230
resolution of portable electronics or eyewear insurance claims 231
that: 232
(a) May be used only by a licensed independent adjuster, 233
licensed agent, or supervised individual operating pursuant to 234
this subsection; 235
(b) Must comply with all claims payment requirements of 236
the insurance code; and 237
(c) Must be certified as compliant with this subsection by 238
a licensed independent adjuster that is an officer of a licensed 239
business entity under this chapter. 240
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a resident 241
of Canada may not be licensed as a nonresident independent 242
adjuster for purposes of adjusting portable electronics 243
insurance or eyewear claims unless the person has successfully 244
obtained an adjuster's license in another state. 245
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 246