624.318 Conduct of examination or investigation; access to records; correction of accounts; appraisals.
624.318 Conduct of examination or investigation; access to records; correction of accounts; appraisals.
(1) The examination or investigation may be conducted by the accredited examiners or investigators of the department or office at the offices wherever located of the person being examined or investigated and at such other places as may be required for determination of matters under examination or investigation. In the case of alien insurers, the examination may be so conducted in the insurer’s offices and places in the United States, except as otherwise required by the department or office.
(2) Every person being examined or investigated, and its officers, attorneys, employees, agents, and representatives, shall make freely available to the department or office or its examiners or investigators the accounts, records, documents, files, information, assets, and matters in their possession or control relating to the subject of the examination or investigation. An agent who provides other products or services or maintains customer information not related to insurance must maintain records relating to insurance products and transactions separately if necessary to give the department or office access to such records. If records relating to the insurance transactions are maintained by an agent on premises owned or operated by a third party, the agent and the third party must provide access to the records by the department or office.
(3) If the department or office finds any accounts or records to be inadequate, or inadequately kept or posted, it may employ experts to reconstruct, rewrite, post, or balance them at the expense of the person being examined if such person has failed to maintain, complete, or correct such records or accounting after the department or office has given her or him notice and a reasonable opportunity to do so.
(4) If the office deems it necessary to value any asset involved in such an examination of an insurer, it may make written request of the insurer to designate one or more competent appraisers acceptable to the office, who shall promptly make an appraisal of the asset and furnish a copy thereof to the office. If the insurer fails to designate such an appraiser or appraisers within 20 days after the request of the office, the office may designate the appraiser or appraisers. The reasonable expense of any such appraisal shall be a part of the expense of examination, to be borne by the insurer.
(5) Neither the department, the office, nor any examiner shall remove any record, account, document, file, or other property of the person being examined from the offices of such person except with the written consent of such person given in advance of such removal or pursuant to an order of court duly obtained.
(6) Any individual who willfully obstructs the department, the office, or the examiner in the examinations or investigations authorized by this part is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished as provided in s. 624.15.
(7)(a) The department or office or its examiners or investigators may electronically scan accounts, records, documents, files, and information, relating to the subject of the examination or investigation, in the possession or control of the person being examined or investigated.
(b) The provisions of this subsection are applicable to all investigations and examinations authorized by any provision of the Florida Insurance Code.
History. s. 33, ch. 59-205; ss. 13, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 28, 37, 809(1st), ch. 82-243; ss. 187, 188, ch. 91-108; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 180, ch. 97-102; s. 1, ch. 2001-142; s. 773, ch. 2003-261; s. 2, ch. 2005-257.