Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
CS for SB 158
By
the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Jones
597-02496-26 2026158c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to pet insurance; amending s.
3 627.71545, F.S.; revising requirements for disclosures
4 from a pet insurer to a policyholder; prohibiting
5 agents from soliciting the sale of pet insurance
6 policies or pet wellness products under certain
7 circumstances; authorizing agents to rely on certain
8 standards and materials; specifying that certain
9 training standards are not part of certain continuing
10 education requirements; providing that certain courses
11 are eligible for certain continuing education credit;
12 deleting a requirement that insurers ensure their
13 agents are trained in a specified manner; requiring
14 pet insurers to file annually a specified report with
15 the Office of Insurance Regulation; specifying the
16 requirements of such report; providing an effective
17 date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Present subsection (11) of section 627.71545,
22 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (12), a new
23 subsection (11) is added to that section, and paragraph (e) of
24 subsection (6) and paragraph (a) of subsection (10) of that
25 section are amended, to read:
26 627.71545 Pet insurance; noninsurance wellness programs.—
27 (6)
28 (e) At the time a pet insurance policy is issued or
29 delivered to a policyholder, the pet insurer shall provide the
30 policyholder with a copy of the Insurer Disclosure of Important
31 Policy Provisions document required under paragraph (d), in at
32 least 12-point type. At such time, the pet insurer shall also
33 include a written disclosure with all of the following:
34 1. Contact information for the Division of Consumer
35 Services of the department, including a link and toll-free
36 telephone number, for consumers to submit inquiries and
37 complaints relating to pet insurance products regulated by the
38 department or office.
39 2. The address and customer service telephone number of the
40 pet insurance agent.
41
3.
A
summary
of the
key policy features
,
written in plain
42
language and
on a form adopted by the commission by rule,
43
including, at a minimum, coverage limits and deductibles,
44
waiting periods, exclusions, preexisting condition rules, and
45
whether the policy includes wellness benefits.
46 (10)(a)
1.
An agent
may
not solicit the sale of a pet
47
insurance policy or a pet wellness product unless the agent has
48
adequate knowledge of the policy or product
,
is in compliance
49
with the insurer’s standards
applicable to the sale of
the
50
policy or product
,
and completes a biennial 2-hour training
51
course on the topics specified in paragraph (b). An agent may
52
rely on insurer-provided, policy
,
or product-specific training
53
standards and materials to comply with this subsection.
54
2.
The insurer-provided
,
policy
,
or product-provided
55
training standards
specified in subparagraph 1. are
not part of
56
an agent’s continuing education requirement in s.
626.2815;
57
however, if a course provider submits and receives approval from
58
the department, the course is eligible for continuing education
59
credit pursuant to s.
626.2815
A pet insurer must ensure that
60
its agents are trained on the topics specified in paragraph (b)
61
and that its agents have been appropriately trained on the
62
coverages and conditions of its pet insurance products
.
63
(11)
Each
pet
insurer authorized to transact pet insurance
64
under this section
shall file with the office by March 1 of each
65
year a report containing all of the following information for
66
the preceding calendar year:
67
(a)
The number of pet insurance policies issued, renewed,
68
and canceled.
69
(b)
Aggregate premium and claims data.
70
(c)
Data on policy denials and rescissions, including the
71
reason for each denial or rescission.
72
(d)
Information on waiting periods, exclusions, and
73
wellness program offerings.
74
(e)
Any other information required by rule of the
75
commission.
76 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.