• Bureau of Licensing licenses and appoints individuals and entities authorized to transact insurance in Florida. The bureau receives and reviews applications for insurance licenses and oversees the examination, licensing, and continuing education of licensees. 
• Bureau of Investigation investigates alleged violations of the Florida Insurance Code. Following an investigation, the bureau prepares a report in which formal legal action against entities might be recommended. Suspected criminal violations of the Florida Insurance Code are referred to the department's Division of Investigative and Forensic Services' Bureau of Insurance Fraud or other law enforcement agencies as appropriate.

• Agencies/Businesses may apply for licenses in areas such as insurance, title, and warranty.
• Agents may apply for a license in lines of insurance such as property and casualty, health and life (including annuities and variable contracts), title, warranty (home warranty sales, motor vehicle service agreements, and service warranty sales), and bail bondsman.
• Adjusters may apply for a license as a public adjuster, an emergency adjuster, or as a company/independent adjuster.

• The Division of Insurance Agent and Agency Services maintains a searchable database of individuals licensed to conduct insurance business in the state. This site also offers information on recent enforcement actions taken by the department against licensees, registrants, and other entities. 
• The Department of Financial Services maintains a website that offers downloads of information that includes all valid business licenses, all valid individual licenses, all active individual appointments, and all active business appointments.

Insurance Representatives. The 2021 Legislature enacted Chapter 2021-113, Laws of Florida, which made changes to statutes affecting the department's responsibilities for licensing insurance representatives. Among its provisions, the new law

• clarifies that all appointments, including renewal appointments, shall be submitted to the department on a monthly basis no later than 45 days after the appointment;
• provides that if the department determines that an individual has not been properly appointed to represent an insurer or employer due to an inadvertent error, the department shall notify the insurer or employer of its finding and of the need to pay all fees and taxes within 21 days; upon proper appointment of the individual and payment of fees and taxes, the department may no longer consider the failure to appoint to be a violation of the Insurance Code, but if not paid within 21 days, the department shall suspend the insurer's or employer's ability to appoint licensees until all outstanding fees and taxes have been paid;
• adds the designation of Insurance Customer Service Representative from Statewide Insurance Associates LLC to the list of designations that qualify a person for licensure as an insurance agent's customer service representative; and
• increases the maximum length of suspension for a title insurance agent's or agency's license from one year to two years. 

Investigation Trends. The department reports that during Fiscal Year 2019-20, the division opened 3,446 investigations and completed 3,471 investigations involving individual licensees, insurance agencies, and unlicensed persons. As a result, the division took formal disciplinary action in 396 cases, including license suspension, revocation, probation, restitution, and administrative fines and costs. It also referred 37 completed cases for criminal prosecution.

Other Reports
Insurance Insights, Department of Financial Services.

Websites of Interest
Florida Insurance Council
Florida Surplus Lines Service Office
American Property Casualty Insurance Association
National Association of Insurance Commissioners
National Insurance Producer Registry
Professional Insurance Agents of Florida
Risk and Insurance Management Society

Performance Information