On May 2, 2025, the Florida Senate voted to pass Senate Bill (SB) 1549, which would repeal the requirement for insurance producers to perform a diligent search of the admitted market before placing Florida risks with a surplus lines carrier. Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Wisconsin have already repealed their diligent search requirements for surplus lines policies. With Florida joining their ranks, it becomes the state with the largest share of the surplus lines market to have repealed its diligent search requirement to date.
Current Florida law requires retail or producing agents to perform and document a “diligent search” and obtain at least three declinations from admitted insurers actually writing the type of coverage sought before a surplus lines producer can offer the risk to a surplus lines insurer. (Currently, for residential property policies with a replacement cost of $700,000 or more, only one declination is required.) SB 1549 would eliminate the diligent search requirement for all Florida surplus lines risks, a significant move for a state with more than $17 billion in surplus lines premium in 2024.
SB 1549 also amends the disclosure statement, which Florida surplus lines producers are required to provide to each insured, adding the following sentence: “Additionally, surplus lines insurers’ rates and forms are not approved by any Florida regulatory agency.” The bill goes on to state that, if the acknowledgment of the disclosure is signed by the policyholder, “the insured is presumed to have been informed and to know that other coverage may be available.”
SB 1549 was also passed by the Florida House and is awaiting signature by Governor Ron DeSantis. Assuming he signs the legislation, it will take effect July 1, 2025.
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