Why Florida Bill 516 Matters for All RRGs
The Florida House Commerce and Senate Appropriations Committee hearings are set to take place next Monday and Wednesday (April 10th & 12th) respectively. Note that these hearings were not even on the public docket as of last night!
Why Florida Bill 516 matters for all RRGs and how you can help
If passed, Florida Bill 516 will have a devastating impact on not only trucking and transportation risk retention groups registered in Florida, but actually every RRG writing commercial liability, including auto. Hundreds, if not thousands of RRG owner-insureds could lose their coverage. The Bill’s passing may also open the door to other significant potential threats to risk retention groups in other states and for other types of risk retention group entities. Here’s what all RRGs and members of NRRA need to know.
Bill 516 also potentially threatens to regulate the business of 96% of the risk retention groups registered in Florida
If passed, starting July 1, 2023, Bill 516 will potentially impact 96% of the 140 risk retention groups registered in Florida from continuing their business. If history is any example, regulatory intervention calculated in response to the bill could actually disqualify or interfere in a number of ways with RRG commercial liability insurance.
We need to stop this bill before it passes because, if it passes, suing the state will take years and will be too late to help these impacted RRGs.
Bill 516 is in violation of the Federal Law
By imposing the requirement of an A.M. Best “A” rating and a minimum financial size status of $100M in capital surplus) in order for an RRG to write commercial auto liability in Florida, the Bill unlawfully A) seeks to regulate risk retention groups, and B) unlawfully discriminates against risk retention groups that do not have to or cannot obtain such ratings. Both are categorically preempted by the Federal Liability Risk Retention Act, as NRRA has helped established in numerous legal decisions in recent years.
If Florida can get away with violating the federal law by making any financial rating a requirement to do business in their state, it may set a precedent to make other states bolder to do the same thing.
How to Help NRRA Oppose Bill 516
On March 31, NRRA sent the attached letter and enclosures to the Senate Appropriations Commitee, explaining in detail its opposition to S0516 and how the Bill will, if adopted, potentially eliminate the presently available commercial liability insurance provided to hundreds and probably thousands of Florida businesses.
We would ask that all interested or potentially impacted members please make immediate arrangements to assist NRRA in its continued opposition effort to this bill by contacting our offices as reflected below.
More on Florida Bill 516
For more information, read a summary and analysis of Florida Bill 516 by the Risk Retention Reporter.
For inquiries, contact: Joseph E. Deems, NRRA Executive Director
16133 Ventura Blvd., Suite 1055, Encino, CA 91436, U.S.A.
(818) 995-3274 | joe@riskretention.org