On October 15, 2018, Florida Insurance Commissioner David
Altmaier issued an Emergency Order (the "Order")
affecting insurers writing insurance in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin,
Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty,
Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla, and Washington Counties (the
"Counties"), which were impacted by Hurricane Michael.
Among other things, the Order prohibits insurers from cancelling or
non-renewing policies, extends grace periods, tolls the time period
for which filings would be deemed approved, and suspends "use
and file" filings until January 7, 2019.
The Order's requirements relating to rates and forms do not
apply to surplus lines carriers. Nevertheless, the Office of
Insurance Regulation ("OIR") prefers that surplus lines
carriers adhere to the Order's requirements.
