Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 626.611 (2025)

Grounds for compulsory refusal, suspension, or revocation of agent’s, title agency’s, adjuster’s, customer representative’s, service representative’s, or managing general agent’s license or appointment.

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626.611 Grounds for compulsory refusal, suspension, or revocation of agent’s, title agency’s, adjuster’s, customer representative’s, service representative’s, or managing general agent’s license or appointment.—

(1) The department shall deny an application for, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew or continue the license or appointment of any applicant, agent, title agency, adjuster, customer representative, service representative, or managing general agent, and it shall suspend or revoke the eligibility to hold a license or appointment of any such person, if it finds that as to the applicant, licensee, or appointee any one or more of the following applicable grounds exist:

(a) Lack of one or more of the qualifications for the license or appointment as specified in this code.

(b) Material misstatement, misrepresentation, or fraud in obtaining the license or appointment or in attempting to obtain the license or appointment.

(d) If the license or appointment is willfully used, or to be used, to circumvent any of the requirements or prohibitions of this code.

(e) Willful misrepresentation of any insurance policy or annuity contract or willful deception with regard to any such policy or contract, done either in person or by any form of dissemination of information or advertising.

(f) If, as an adjuster, or agent licensed and appointed to adjust claims under this code, he or she has materially misrepresented to an insured or other interested party the terms and coverage of an insurance contract with intent and for the purpose of effecting settlement of claim for loss or damage or benefit under such contract on less favorable terms than those provided in and contemplated by the contract.

(g) Demonstrated lack of fitness or trustworthiness to engage in the business of insurance.

(h) Demonstrated lack of reasonably adequate knowledge and technical competence to engage in the transactions authorized by the license or appointment.

(i) Fraudulent or dishonest practices in the conduct of business under the license or appointment.

(j) Misappropriation, conversion, or unlawful withholding of moneys belonging to insurers or insureds or beneficiaries or to others and received in conduct of business under the license or appointment.

(k) Unlawfully rebating, attempting to unlawfully rebate, or unlawfully dividing or offering to divide his or her commission with another.

(l) Having obtained or attempted to obtain, or having used or using, a license or appointment as agent or customer representative for the purpose of soliciting or handling “controlled business” as defined in s. 626.730 with respect to general lines agents, s. 626.784 with respect to life agents, and s. 626.830 with respect to health agents.

(m) Willful failure to comply with, or willful violation of, any proper order or rule of the department or willful violation of any provision of this code.

(n) Having been found guilty of or having pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to a misdemeanor directly related to the financial services business, any felony, or any crime punishable by imprisonment of 1 year or more under the law of the United States of America or of any state thereof or under the law of any other country, without regard to whether a judgment of conviction has been entered by the court having jurisdiction of such cases.

(o) Fraudulent or dishonest practice in submitting or aiding or abetting any person in the submission of an application for workers’ compensation coverage under chapter 440 containing false or misleading information as to employee payroll or classification for the purpose of avoiding or reducing the amount of premium due for such coverage.

(p) Sale of an unregistered security that was required to be registered, pursuant to chapter 517.

(q) In transactions related to viatical settlement contracts as defined in s. 626.9911:

1. Commission of a fraudulent or dishonest act.

2. No longer meeting the requirements for initial licensure.

3. Having received a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration for his or her services with respect to viatical settlements that involved unlicensed viatical settlement providers or persons who offered or attempted to negotiate on behalf of another person a viatical settlement contract as defined in s. 626.9911 and who were not licensed life agents.

4. Dealing in bad faith with viators.

(2) The department shall, upon receipt of information or an indictment, immediately temporarily suspend a license or appointment issued under this chapter when the licensee is charged with a felony enumerated in s. 626.207(2). Such suspension shall continue if the licensee is found guilty of, or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, the crime, regardless of whether a judgment or conviction is entered, during a pending appeal. A person may not transact insurance business after suspension of his or her license or appointment.

History.—s. 240, ch. 59-205; ss. 13, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 12, ch. 71-86; s. 160, ch. 73-333; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; s. 21, ch. 78-95; s. 3, ch. 81-282; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 204, 217, 807, 810, ch. 82-243; s. 28, ch. 82-386; s. 13, ch. 88-166; s. 49, ch. 90-201; ss. 55, 206, 207, ch. 90-363; s. 47, ch. 91-1; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 14, ch. 92-146; s. 10, ch. 92-318; s. 236, ch. 97-102; s. 28, ch. 98-199; s. 12, ch. 2001-142; s. 59, ch. 2002-206; s. 947, ch. 2003-261; s. 45, ch. 2004-390; s. 11, ch. 2005-237; s. 17, ch. 2014-123; s. 26, ch. 2017-175; s. 17, ch. 2023-144.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 33 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1968–2025 · leading case: Bowling v. Dep't of Ins., 394 So. 2d 165 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981).

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Bowling v. Dep't of Ins., 394 So. 2d 165 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). · cites it 15× “NOTES [1] Section 626.611, Florida Statutes (1979): The department shall deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew or continue the license of any agent .”

Werner v. State, Dept. of Ins., 689 So. 2d 1211 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). · cites it 17× “The present administrative complaint alleged the factual chronology of the transaction in detail and posited violations (among others) of section 626.611(5), Florida Statutes (1989), which forbids wilful misrepresentation of any annuity or insurance contract, and section 626.”

Beckett v. Dep't of Fin. Servs., 982 So. 2d 94 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008). · cites it 20× “" Ultimately, the ALJ found that the Department had failed to prove that Appellant had demonstrated a lack of fitness or trustworthiness to engage in the business of insurance or that she had committed fraudulent or dishonest practices within the meaning of section 626.611.…”

Natelson v. Dep't of Ins., 454 So. 2d 31 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). · cites it 6× “611(7), Florida Statutes; (2) having pled guilty, in this or any state, to a felony involving moral turpitude, Section 626.611(14), Florida Statutes, and (3) having pled guilty, in this or any state, to a felony, Section 626.”

Dyer v. Dept. of Ins. & Treasurer, 585 So. 2d 1009 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). · cites it 13× “At least some of Respondent's violations fall under the purview of Section 626.611, which calls for compulsory suspension or revocation.”

Chicago Title Ins. Co. v. Butler, 770 So. 2d 1210 (Fla. 2000). · cites it 6× “8437, Florida Statutes (1997), contains the same provisions as section 626.611, but refers specifically to title insurance agents.”

Brewer v. Ins. Com'r & Treasurer, 392 So. 2d 593 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). · cites it 4× “Section 626.611, Florida Statutes states the compulsory grounds for such penalties and Section 626.”

McCloskey v. Dep't of Fin. Servs., 115 So. 3d 441 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013). · cites it 9× “Section 626.611, Florida Statutes (2003), provides: The department shall deny an application for, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew or continue the license or appointment of any applicant, agent, title agency, adjuster, customer representative, service representative, or…”

Hartnett v. Dep't of Ins., 406 So. 2d 1180 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). · cites it 7× “” Count VI alleged that Hartnett had violated numerous provisions of the insurance code, particularly Section 626.611(10), by receiving some ,000 consisting of agents’ balances owed from North Star to Southern American without sending, crediting, or depositing the same to the…”

Smith v. Krugman-Kadi, 547 So. 2d 677 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). · cites it 2× “1st DCA 1984) (the Department of Insurance's construction of the term "lack of fitness or trustworthiness to engage in business of insurance", provided in Section 626.611(7), Florida Statutes, as including the licensee's conviction of the offense of criminal conspiracy to…”

Drew v. Ins. Comm'r & Treasurer, 330 So. 2d 794 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976). · cites it 4× “970 [2]); (c) He willfully used his license to circumvent the requirements of the insurance code (F.S. 626.611 [4]) ; (d) He demonstrated lack of fitness or trustworthiness to engage in the business of insurance (F.”

Dade Cty. Consum. Advocate's v. Dept. of Ins., 457 So. 2d 495 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). · cites it 5× “NOTES [1] § 626.611(11), Fla. Stat., states: Grounds for compulsory refusal, suspension or revocation of agent's .”

Show all 33 citing cases →

— 626.611(1) — 1 case

Kauk v. Dep't of Fin. Servs., 131 So. 3d 805 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014).

— 626.611(10) — 5 cases

Bowling v. Dep't of Ins., 394 So. 2d 165 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). “NOTES [1] Section 626.611, Florida Statutes (1979): The department shall deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew or continue the license of any agent .”

Hartnett v. Dep't of Ins., 406 So. 2d 1180 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). “” Count VI alleged that Hartnett had violated numerous provisions of the insurance code, particularly Section 626.611(10), by receiving some ,000 consisting of agents’ balances owed from North Star to Southern American without sending, crediting, or depositing the same to the…”

Russell v. State, Dep't of Ins., 668 So. 2d 276 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996).

Ganter v. Dep't of Ins., 620 So. 2d 202 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993).

Pou v. Dep't of Ins. & Treasurer, 707 So. 2d 941 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998).

— 626.611(11) — 3 cases

Chicago Title Ins. Co. v. Butler, 770 So. 2d 1210 (Fla. 2000). “8437, Florida Statutes (1997), contains the same provisions as section 626.611, but refers specifically to title insurance agents.”

Dade Cty. Consum. Advocate's v. Dept. of Ins., 457 So. 2d 495 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). “NOTES [1] § 626.611(11), Fla. Stat., states: Grounds for compulsory refusal, suspension or revocation of agent's .”

Butler v. State, Dept. of Ins., 680 So. 2d 1103 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996).

— 626.611(13) — 3 cases

Ganter v. Dep't of Ins., 620 So. 2d 202 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993).

— 626.611(14) — 3 cases

Natelson v. Dep't of Ins., 454 So. 2d 31 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). “611(7), Florida Statutes; (2) having pled guilty, in this or any state, to a felony involving moral turpitude, Section 626.611(14), Florida Statutes, and (3) having pled guilty, in this or any state, to a felony, Section 626.”

Paisley v. Dep't of Ins., 526 So. 2d 167 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988).

Carter v. Florida Dep't of Fin. Servs., 117 So. 3d 476 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013).

— 626.611(16) — 2 cases

McCloskey v. Dep't of Fin. Servs., 115 So. 3d 441 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013). “Section 626.611, Florida Statutes (2003), provides: The department shall deny an application for, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew or continue the license or appointment of any applicant, agent, title agency, adjuster, customer representative, service representative, or…”

McCloskey v. Dep't of Fin. Servs., 172 So. 3d 973 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015).

— 626.611(2) — 3 cases

Zaldivar v. Florida Dep't of Fin. Servs., 225 So. 3d 989 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017).

Castagnos v. Dep't of Fin. Servs. (Fla. 1st DCA 2025).

Canfield v. Dep't of Fin. Servs. (Fla. 1st DCA 2025).

— 626.611(4) — 1 case

— 626.611(5) — 6 cases

Werner v. State, Dept. of Ins., 689 So. 2d 1211 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). “The present administrative complaint alleged the factual chronology of the transaction in detail and posited violations (among others) of section 626.611(5), Florida Statutes (1989), which forbids wilful misrepresentation of any annuity or insurance contract, and section 626.”

Dyer v. Dept. of Ins. & Treasurer, 585 So. 2d 1009 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). “At least some of Respondent's violations fall under the purview of Section 626.611, which calls for compulsory suspension or revocation.”

Thomas v. Dept. of Ins. & Treasurer, 559 So. 2d 419 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990).

Ganter v. Dep't of Ins., 620 So. 2d 202 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993).

Daniels v. Gunter, 438 So. 2d 184 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983).

— 626.611(7) — 14 cases

Beckett v. Dep't of Fin. Servs., 982 So. 2d 94 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008). “" Ultimately, the ALJ found that the Department had failed to prove that Appellant had demonstrated a lack of fitness or trustworthiness to engage in the business of insurance or that she had committed fraudulent or dishonest practices within the meaning of section 626.611.…”

Smith v. Krugman-Kadi, 547 So. 2d 677 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). “1st DCA 1984) (the Department of Insurance's construction of the term "lack of fitness or trustworthiness to engage in business of insurance", provided in Section 626.611(7), Florida Statutes, as including the licensee's conviction of the offense of criminal conspiracy to…”

— 626.611(8) — 1 case

Dep't of Ins. v. Jaar, 35 Fla. Supp. 2d 198 (Fla. Div. Admin. Hr'g 1988).

— 626.611(9) — 9 cases

Thomas v. Dept. of Ins. & Treasurer, 559 So. 2d 419 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990).

Faloon v. Dep't of Fin. Servs., 911 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005).

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