Florida Statute 631.54 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research

The 2024 Florida Statutes

Title XXXVII
INSURANCE

Chapter 631
INSURER INSOLVENCY; GUARANTY OF PAYMENT

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F.S. 631.54

631.54 Definitions.—As used in this part:

(1) “Account” means one of the accounts created by s. 631.55.

(2) “Assessment year” means the 12-month period, which may begin on the first day of any calendar quarter, whether January 1, April 1, July 1, or October 1, as specified in an order issued by the office directing insurers to pay an assessment to the association.

(3) “Association” means the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, Incorporated.

(4) “Covered claim” means an unpaid claim, including one of unearned premiums, which arises out of, and is within the coverage, and not in excess of, the applicable limits of an insurance policy to which this part applies, issued by an insurer, if such insurer becomes an insolvent insurer and the claimant or insured is a resident of this state at the time of the insured event or the property from which the claim arises is permanently located in this state. For entities other than individuals, the residence of a claimant, insured, or policyholder is the state in which the entity’s principal place of business is located at the time of the insured event. The term does not include:

(a) Any amount due any reinsurer, insurer, insurance pool, or underwriting association, sought directly or indirectly through a third party, as subrogation, contribution, indemnification, or otherwise;

(b) Any claim that would otherwise be a covered claim under this part that has been rejected or denied by any other state guaranty fund based upon that state’s statutory exclusions, including, but not limited to, those based on coverage, policy type, or an insured’s net worth. Member insurers have no right of subrogation, contribution, indemnification, or otherwise, sought directly or indirectly through a third party, against the insured of any insolvent member; or

(c) Any amount payable for a sinkhole loss other than testing deemed appropriate by the association or payable for the actual repair of the loss, except that the association may not pay for attorney’s fees or public adjuster’s fees in connection with a sinkhole loss or pay the policyholder. The association may pay for actual repairs to the property but is not liable for amounts in excess of policy limits.

(5) “Direct written premiums” means direct gross premiums written in this state on insurance policies to which this part applies, less return premiums thereon on such direct business. The term does not include premiums on contracts between insurers or reinsurers.

(6) “Expenses in handling claims” means allocated and unallocated expenses, including, but not limited to, general administrative expenses and those expenses which relate to the investigation, adjustment, defense, or settlement of specific claims under, or arising out of, a specific policy.

(7) “Homeowner’s insurance” means personal lines residential property insurance coverage that consists of the type of coverage provided under homeowner’s, dwelling, and similar policies for repair or replacement of the insured structure and contents, which policies are written directly to the individual homeowner. Residential coverage for personal lines as set forth in this section includes policies that provide coverage for particular perils such as windstorm and hurricane coverage but excludes all coverage for mobile homes, renter’s insurance, or tenant’s coverage. The term “homeowner’s insurance” excludes commercial residential policies covering condominium associations or homeowners’ associations, which associations have a responsibility to provide insurance coverage on residential units within the association, and also excludes coverage for the common elements of a homeowners’ association.

(8) “Insolvent insurer” means a member insurer authorized to transact insurance in this state, either at the time the policy was issued or when the insured event occurred, and against which an order of liquidation with a finding of insolvency has been entered by a court of competent jurisdiction if such order has become final by the exhaustion of appellate review.

(9) “Member insurer” means any person who writes any kind of insurance to which this part applies under s. 631.52, including the exchange of reciprocal or interinsurance contracts, and is licensed to transact insurance in this state.

(10) “Person” means individuals, children, firms, associations, joint ventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations.

History.—s. 5, ch. 70-20; ss. 2, 4, ch. 77-227; s. 1, ch. 79-55; s. 809(1st), ch. 82-243; s. 30, ch. 83-38; ss. 187, 188, ch. 91-108; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 17, ch. 97-262; s. 15, ch. 2002-25; s. 1352, ch. 2003-261; s. 1, ch. 2004-89; s. 37, ch. 2004-374; s. 32, ch. 2006-12; s. 2, ch. 2010-49; s. 30, ch. 2011-39; s. 8, ch. 2011-226; s. 1, ch. 2015-65; s. 2, ch. 2020-54; s. 48, ch. 2021-51.

F.S. 631.54 on Google Scholar

F.S. 631.54 on Casetext

Amendments to 631.54

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 631.54

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

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 631.54.

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 631.54

Total Results: 20

FLORIDA INSURANCE GUARANTY ASSOCIATION v. YANICET REYES

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2020-09-30

Snippet: "a 'covered claim' as defined by § 631.54(3), [Florida Statutes (2011),]1" and that

PHYLIS HEID v. FLORIDA INSURANCE GUARANTY ASSOC.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2019-10-11

Snippet: responded that fees were precluded under section 631.54(3)(c) because the fees were "in connection

Pupo v. Florida Insurance Guaranty Association

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2017-05-12

Citation: 218 So. 3d 999, 2017 WL 1969690, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 6775

Snippet: amended definition of “covered claim” in section 631.54(3)(e), Florida Statutes (2011), does not apply

Leandro de la Fuente v. Florida Insurance Guaranty Association

Court: Supreme Court of Florida | Date Filed: 2016-10-20

Citation: 202 So. 3d 396, 41 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 473, 2016 Fla. LEXIS 2327

Snippet: DOES THE DEFINITION OF “COVERED CLAIM” IN SECTION 631.54(3), FLORIDA STATUTES, EFFECTIVE MAY 17, 2011, APPLY

Miller v. Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, Inc.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2016-07-15

Citation: 200 So. 3d 200, 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 10868, 2016 WL 3766630

Snippet: was specifically precluded by language in section 631.54(3)(c), Florida Statutes (2012), which excludes

Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, Inc. v. Mendoza and Llanes

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2016-04-13

Citation: 193 So. 3d 940, 2016 WL 1445424, 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 5583

Snippet: “covered claims,” as that term is defined in section 631.54(3) of the-Florida Statutes. On December 6

Florida Insurance Guaranty v. Monaghan

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-06-26

Citation: 167 So. 3d 511, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 9740, 2015 WL 3903576

Snippet: claim’ for sinkhole loss as defined by Fla. Stat. § 631.54(3)(c) (2011).” We believe that this was an admission

Florida Insurance Guaranty Ass'n v. Rodriguez

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-06-17

Citation: 170 So. 3d 89, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 9245, 2015 WL 3760813

Snippet: DOES THE DEFINITION OF “COVERED CLAIM” IN SECTION 631.54(3), FLORIDA STATUTES, EFFECTIVE MAY 17, 2011, APPLY

Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, Inc. v. Lustre

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-04-24

Citation: 163 So. 3d 624, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 6026, 2015 WL 1874445

Snippet: unavailable under the 2011 amendment to section 631.54(3), Florida Statutes. At the conclusion of the

Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, Inc. v. Maya

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-04-22

Citation: 162 So. 3d 1118, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 5812, 2015 WL 1809563

Snippet: definition of “covered claim” contained in section 631.54(3), Florida Statutes, FIGA argued that appraisal

Florida Insurance Guaranty Ass'n v. Kirschner

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-03-27

Citation: 159 So. 3d 1030, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 4393, 2015 WL 1400970

Snippet: not available under the 2011 amendment to section 631.54(3), Florida Statutes, applicable to this case.

Florida Insurance Guaranty Ass'n v. Hunnewell

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-03-13

Citation: 173 So. 3d 988, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 3614, 2015 WL 1088469

Snippet: with section 631.54(3), Florida Statutes (2011). FIGA alleged that under section 631.54(3)(c), it was

Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, Inc. v. Frank

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-02-20

Citation: 158 So. 3d 745, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 2352, 2015 WL 719056

Snippet: that appraisal is not appropriate under section 631.54(3)(c), Florida Statutes (2011). Part of the FIGA

Florida Insurance Guaranty Ass'n v. Simmons

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-02-13

Citation: 157 So. 3d 506, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 1915

Snippet: to the definition of “covered claim” in section 631.54(3), Florida Statutes (2011), apply to a sinkhole

Florida Insurance Guaranty Association v. de la Fuente

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2015-01-07

Citation: 158 So. 3d 675, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 102

Snippet: rejected by any other state guaranty fund.... § 631.54(3), Fla. Stat. (2008). The legislature amended

Florida Insurance Guaranty v. Sill

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2014-12-12

Citation: 154 So. 3d 422, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 20156, 2014 WL 6990579

Snippet: directly pay the insureds in contravention of section 631.54(3), Florida Statutes (2011). Our scope of review

Florida Insurance Guaranty Ass'n v. Branco

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2014-09-19

Citation: 148 So. 3d 488, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 14602

Snippet: the insured directly, in contravention of section 631.54(3)(c); having to pay more than the "covered losses

Florida Insurance Guaranty Ass'n v. Bernard

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2014-05-14

Citation: 140 So. 3d 1023, 2014 WL 1921745, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 7160

Snippet: the 2010 definition of “covered claim” in section 631.54(3), Florida Statutes, rather than the more restrictive

Florida Insurance Guaranty Ass'n v. Karelas

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2012-12-05

Citation: 106 So. 3d 1, 2012 WL 6049111, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 20814

Snippet: required by the unambiguous language of section 631.54(6) which provides that an “insolvent insurer,”

Alessio v. Florida Insurance Guaranty Ass'n

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2012-07-06

Citation: 91 So. 3d 910, 2012 WL 2614355, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10888

Snippet: 2003)). However, under the plain language of section 631.54(3), Florida Statutes (2008), a claim is a “covered