The 2023 Florida Statutes (including Special Session C)

Title XXXVII
INSURANCE

Chapter 627
INSURANCE RATES AND CONTRACTS

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F.S. 627.848

627.848 Cancellation of insurance contract upon default.—

(1) When a premium finance agreement contains a power of attorney or other authority enabling the premium finance company to cancel any insurance contract listed in the agreement, the insurance contract shall not be canceled unless cancellation is in accordance with the following provisions:

(a)1. Not less than 10 days’ written notice shall be mailed to each insured shown on the premium finance agreement of the intent of the premium finance company to cancel her or his insurance contract unless the defaulted installment payment is received within 10 days.

2. After expiration of such period, the premium finance company shall mail to the insurer a request for cancellation, specifying the effective date of cancellation and the unpaid premium balance due under the finance contract, and shall mail a copy thereof to the insured at her or his last known address as shown on the premium finance agreement.

(b) Every notice of cancellation shall include, in type or print of which its face shall not be smaller than 12 points, a statement that, if the insurance contract or contracts provide motor vehicle liability insurance required by the financial responsibility law, proof of financial responsibility is required to be maintained continuously for a period of 3 years, pursuant to chapter 324, and the operation of a vehicle without such financial responsibility is unlawful.

(c) Upon receipt of a copy of the cancellation notice by the insurer or insurers, the insurance contract shall be canceled as of the date specified in the cancellation notice with the same force and effect as if the notice of cancellation had been submitted by the insured herself or himself, whether or not the premium finance company has complied with the notice requirement of this subsection, without requiring any further notice to the insured or the return of the insurance contract.

(d) All statutory, regulatory, and contractual restrictions providing that the insured may not cancel her or his insurance contract unless she or he or the insurer first satisfies such restrictions by giving a prescribed notice to a governmental agency, the insurance carrier, a mortgagee, an individual, or a person designated to receive such notice for such governmental agency, insurance carrier, or individual shall apply when cancellation is effected under the provisions of this section. The insurer, in accordance with such prescribed notice when it is required to give such notice in behalf of itself or the insured, shall give notice to such governmental agency, person, mortgagee, or individual; and it shall determine and calculate the effective date of cancellation from the day it receives the copy of the notice of cancellation from the premium finance company.

(e) Whenever a financed insurance contract is canceled, the insurer shall, within 30 days of the cancellation date, return the unpaid balance due under the finance contract, up to the gross amount available upon the cancellation of the policy, to the premium finance company and any remaining unearned premium to the agent or the insured, or both, for the benefit of the insured or insureds. The insurer shall, within 30 days of the cancellation date, notify the insured and the agent of the amount of unearned premium returned to the premium finance company and the amount of unearned commission held by the agent. The premium finance company shall, within 15 days after the account has been overpaid, either refund to the insured for the insured’s benefit any refund due on his or her account or, if the refund is sent or credited to the agent, return or credit to the agent the amount of the overpayment and notify the insured of the refunded amount. Within 15 days of receipt of notification from the premium finance company, the agent shall return such amount including any unearned commission to the insured or with the written approval of the insured apply such amount to the purchase of other insurance products regulated by the office. The commission may adopt rules necessary to implement the provisions of this subsection.

(f) If an insurance contract is canceled by an insurer upon the receipt of a copy of the cancellation notice from a premium finance company, and if such premium finance company has failed to provide the notice required by this subsection, the insured shall have a cause of action against the premium finance company for damages caused by such failure to provide notice.

(2) Any court of this state rendering or affirming a judgment or decree against a premium finance company and in favor of any named or omnibus insured or beneficiary arising out of a wrongful or improper cancellation of an insurance policy by such premium finance company shall award reasonable attorney’s fees to the insured or beneficiary.

(3) The commission shall adopt a standard cancellation notice for use by premium finance companies in canceling insurance policies. The commission shall specify the color of the notice so as to promote usability and standardization.

History.—s. 1, ch. 63-16; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; ss. 2, 3, 6, ch. 80-363; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 611, 612, 809(2nd), ch. 82-243; s. 79, ch. 82-386; s. 23, ch. 83-288; s. 114, ch. 92-318; s. 22, ch. 93-410; s. 11, ch. 96-377; s. 1739, ch. 97-102; s. 3, ch. 97-204; s. 35, ch. 99-3; s. 17, ch. 2000-370; s. 1224, ch. 2003-261; s. 17, ch. 2004-370; s. 162, ch. 2004-390.

F.S. 627.848 on Google Scholar

F.S. 627.848 on Casetext

Amendments to 627.848

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 627.848

Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 627.848.

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases from cite.case.law:

LAKE BUENA VISTA VACATION RESORT, L. C. a v. GOTHAM INSURANCE COMPANY, a, 595 F. App'x 914 (11th Cir. 2014)

. . . In particular, the statute provides: 627.848. . . .

EVANSTON INSURANCE CO. v. PREMIUM ASSIGNMENT CORP., 935 F. Supp. 2d 1300 (M.D. Fla. 2013)

. . . A. § 627.848 and Cancellation of the Policy Florida Statute § 627.848 states in relevant part: (1) When . . . If PAC had not complied with the notice requirements of § 627.848(1)(a)(1), Fla. . . . Dave had no claim against PAC pursuant to § 627.848(1)(f), Fla. . . . Dave may have had against PAC pursuant to § 627.848(1)(f), Fla. . . . Stat. § 627.848(1)(f). . . . .

CHALFONTE CONDOMINIUM APARTMENT ASSOCIATION, INC. v. QBE INSURANCE CORPORATION, v. QBE v. QBE, 695 F.3d 1215 (11th Cir. 2012)

. . . automobile liability insurance policy for failure to fully comply with the requirements of section 627.848 . . .

QBE INSURANCE CORPORATION, v. CHALFONTE CONDOMINIUM APARTMENT ASSOCIATION, INC., 94 So. 3d 541 (Fla. 2012)

. . . automobile liability insurance policy for failure to fully comply with the requirements of section 627.848 . . .

CHALFONTE CONDOMINIUM APARTMENT ASSOCIATION, INC. v. QBE INSURANCE CORPORATION,, 526 F. Supp. 2d 1251 (S.D. Fla. 2007)

. . . Section 627.848(1)(b) which is about notices canceling insurance contracts after the insured has defaulted . . . Section 627.848(1)(b) used to be Section 627.848(3). . . . .

PURITAN BUDGET PLAN, INC. Co. MHD v. AMSTAR INSURANCE COMPANY,, 964 So. 2d 769 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2007)

. . . The statute addressing cancellation and refunds where premium financing is involved is section 627.848 . . . The trial court reasoned that, because section 627.848 does not specifically provide for interest, while . . . In addition, if interest were not due, the thirty day grace period in section 627.848(e) would have no . . .

MILLER, v. SCOTTSDALE INSURANCE COMPANY,, 457 F.3d 1172 (11th Cir. 2006)

. . . to us after we certified a question to the Florida Supreme Court regarding the interpretation of § 627.848 . . . The question we certified read: “Whether § 627.848, Fla. . . . The Florida Supreme Court answered that “the plain language of section 627.848, Florida Statutes (2002 . . .

MILLER, v. SCOTTSDALE INSURANCE COMPANY,, 932 So. 2d 1028 (Fla. 2006)

. . . The Eleventh Circuit certified the following question: WHETHER § 627.848, FLA. . . . See § 627.848(1)(a)-(d). . . . . § 627.848(l)(a)(l). . . . .” § 627.848(l)(d). . . . . § 627.848(l)(c). . . .

MILLER, v. SCOTTSDALE INSURANCE COMPANY,, 410 F.3d 678 (11th Cir. 2005)

. . . diversity action presents an obscure but important question of Florida insurance law, namely, whether § 627.848 . . . Although there is no Florida case on all fours, several Florida decisions have interpreted § 627.848. . . . The court reasoned that § 627.848(1)(d) required that the policy’s cancellation provision be enforced . . . Cullen did not, however, involve multiple insureds or address whether § 627.848 contemplates a single . . . The court relied on the then statutory equivalent of § 627.848(1)(d), holding, that "[f]ailure to give . . .

SMITH, v. FOREMOST INSURANCE COMPANY, a a, 884 So. 2d 341 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2004)

. . . Section 627.848(l)(e) of part XV sets forth the procedure to follow when a policy is cancelled due to . . .

SOUTHERN GROUP INDEMNITY, INC. v. CULLEN,, 831 So. 2d 681 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2002)

. . . Cancellation of a policy by a premium finance company is addressed by section 627.848, Florida Statutes . . . same force and effect as if the notice of cancellation had been submitted by the insured himself.” § 627.848 . . . Policy cancellation requirements are incorporated in section 627.848(l)(d), which provides: All statutory . . .

UNITED AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, v. BROOKS ABCO, 837 So. 2d 423 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2002)

. . . The insurer relies on section 627.848(l)(f), which provides: If an insurance contract is canceled by . . . As provided in section 627.848(l)(f), Brooks' has a cause of action against ABCO for damages caused by . . .

HENRY v. UNITED NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY,, 813 So. 2d 177 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2002)

. . . to indicate that either the insurance company or the finance company failed to comply with section 627.848 . . .

BAMBOO GARDEN OF ORLANDO, INC. v. OAK BROOK PROPERTY CASUALTY COMPANY,, 773 So. 2d 81 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2000)

. . . Oak Brook argues that under the plain language of section 627.848, Florida Statutes (1995), upon its . . . The first issue, the notice issue, is readily resolved by reference to section 627.848(l)(e), Florida . . . The power of attorney plays a pivotal role in the overall scheme of section 627.848. . . . See § 627.848(1), Fla. . . . In Cooke, the supreme court held that compliance with the notice requirement of section 627.848 is a . . .

ALFRED, v. SECURITY NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY, a, 766 So. 2d 449 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2000)

. . . National then moved for summary judgment claiming that it complied with the requirements of section 627.848 . . . Section 627.848(5), Florida Statutes (1993), which governs the cancellation of insurance contracts upon . . .

FIDELITY AND DEPOSIT COMPANY OF MARYLAND, v. FIRST STATE INSURANCE COMPANY,, 677 So. 2d 266 (Fla. 1996)

. . . Section 627.848, Florida Statutes (1987), provides in pertinent part: Cancellation of insurance contract . . .

UNION AMERICAN INSURANCE, CO. v. VERDES,, 667 So. 2d 917 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1996)

. . . . § 627.728(3)(a), Fla.Stat. (1989); § 627.848, Fla.Stat. (1989) (amended 1992, 1993); Insurance Co. . . .

PERRY CO. v. UNION AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY,, 664 So. 2d 1036 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1995)

. . . See § 627.848, Fla.Stat. . . .

GLENNEY, v. SERVICE INSURANCE COMPANY,, 660 So. 2d 1132 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1995)

. . . grounds, 624 So.2d 252 (Fla.1993), we construed the comparable but not identical provision in section 627.848 . . .

M. PRIDA, v. TRANSAMERICA INSURANCE FINANCE CORP., 651 So. 2d 763 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1995)

. . . As required by Section 627.848(3), Florida Statutes (1993), the notice of cancellation contained language . . . Section 627.848(3). also requires that this language be “in type or print of which its face shall not . . . The plaintiffs moved for summary judgment arguing that the 12-point type requirement of Section 627.848 . . . Section 627.848(1) provides for two types of notices. . . . . § 627.848, Fla.Stat. (1993). . . .

SECURITY MANAGEMENT CORP. v. HARTFORD FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY,, 641 So. 2d 184 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994)

. . . See also 627.848, Florida Statutes (1985) (insurer who cancels an insurance contract which contains a . . .

In WMR ENTERPRISES, INC., 163 B.R. 884 (Bankr. N.D. Fla. 1994)

. . . has an interest in the unearned premiums being held by the debtor’s agent pursuant to Florida Statute 627.848 . . .

INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA, v. COOKE,, 624 So. 2d 252 (Fla. 1993)

. . . 61 (Fla. 4th DCA1989), and certified the following question for our consideration: WHETHER SECTION 627.848 . . . been cancelled prior to the November 26, 1988, loss at the request of INAC in accordance with section 627.848 . . . Placing such a burden on the insurer is consistent with both the plain language of section 627.848 and . . . (1), an insurer who raises the defense of cancellation under section 627.848 must prove that the premium . . . Section 627.848, Florida Statutes (1987), provides in pertinent part: When a premium finance agreement . . . to the majority holding that an insurance company raising the defense of cancellation under section 627.848 . . .

COOKE, d b a CONTINENTAL TOP SHOP, v. INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA,, 603 So. 2d 520 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1992)

. . . to cancel Cooke’s insurance policies complied with the premium finance cancellation statute, section 627.848 . . . Section 627.848, Florida Statutes (1987), provides that “[w]hen a premium finance agreement contains . . . Section 627.848(4) provides that [u]pon receipt of a copy of the cancellation notice by the insurer or . . . Contrary to the plain meaning of the language in section 627.848, the fourth district, in Pannunzio, . . . See § 627.848(1), Fla.Stat. (1987). . . . I respectfully do not agree with the majority opinion’s statement that under section 627.848 “When notice . . . Pannunzio, expressly relieves the insurer from any responsibility to ascertain compliance with section 627.848 . . . in Pannunzio properly followed the clearly manifested meaning of the legislative language in section 627.848 . . . of attorney from the insured, i.e., in effect from the insured, the insurer is required by section 627.848 . . . The introductory provision of section 627.848 upon which the majority opinion relies states that When . . .

BANKERS INSURANCE COMPANY, v. PANNUNZIO,, 538 So. 2d 61 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1989)

. . . cancellation of insurance coverage by Bankers was invalid for failure to strictly comply with section 627.848 . . .

DINGLE v. FORTUNE INSURANCE COMPANY,, 516 So. 2d 100 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1987)

. . . . §§ 627.728(3)(c), 627.848(4), Fla.Stat. (1985). . . .

FLORIDA INSURANCE UNDERWRITERS, INC. v. SONNY FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP., 467 So. 2d 835 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1985)

. . . Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co., 450 So.2d 1157 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984); § 627.848(6), Fla.Stat. (1983); Fla.Admin.Code . . .

TATE, v. HAMILTON INSURANCE COMPANY,, 466 So. 2d 1205 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1985)

. . . has been financed and the premium finance company has complied with the notice provisions of section 627.848 . . . In turn, section 627.848 requires the finance company to mail the insured a ten-day notice of its intent . . .

HAMILTON INSURANCE COMPANY v. TATE, 6 Fla. Supp. 2d 227 (Fla. Cir. Ct. 1984)

. . . The Notice provision applicable is Section 627.848 Florida Statutes which specifically deals with cancellation . . . Section 627.848(1) provides: “Not less than ten days’ written notice shall be served upon the insured . . . Section 627.848(4) provides: “Upon receipt of a copy of such cancellation notice by the insurer or insurers . . .

PRUDENTIAL PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY v. SAFEGUARD MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, 528 F. Supp. 709 (E.D. Pa. 1981)

. . . . § 627.848 (West). . . .

HALL, v. T. C. SAFFOLD PAVING SERVICE, 397 So. 2d 725 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1981)

. . . complied with Section 440.42(2) and 440.185(7) but there is no evidence that the requirements of Section 627.848 . . .

MARTIN O v. RITCHESON GENERAL GUARANTEE INSURANCE COMPANY,, 306 So. 2d 582 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1975)

. . . OF INTENT TO CANCEL AND A NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF THE POLICY PURSUANT TO FLORIDA STATUTES, SECTION 627.848 . . . “(b) Nothing in this subsection (3) shall apply to nonrenewal. * * *» (Emphasis added) “627.848 Cancellation . . . (Emphasis added) It will be noted that F.S. § 627.848, by its very terms, is applicable only “when a . . . payment of insurance premiums under a premium finance plan both statutes (F.S. § 627.728 and F.S. § 627.848 . . . company as involved sub judice and statutory provisions quite similar to F.S. § 627.-728 and F.S. § 627.848 . . .