(1) The department shall deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to continue the license of any adjusting firm if it finds, as to any adjusting firm or as to any majority owner, partner, manager, director, officer, or other person who manages or controls the firm, that any of the following grounds exist:

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

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

(2) The department may, in its discretion, deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to continue the license of any adjusting firm if it finds that any of the following applicable grounds exist with respect to the firm or any owner, partner, manager, director, officer, or other person who is otherwise involved in the operation of the firm:

(a) Any cause for which issuance of the license could have been refused had it then existed and been known to the department.

(b) Violation of any provision of this code or of any other law applicable to the business of insurance.

(c) Violation of an order or rule of the department, office, or commission.

(d) An owner, partner, manager, director, officer, or other person who manages or controls the firm having been found guilty of or having pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to a felony or a crime punishable by imprisonment of 1 year or more under the laws of the United States or of any state or under the laws of any other country, without regard to whether adjudication was made or withheld by the court.

(e) Failure to inform the department in writing within 30 days after a pleading by an owner, partner, manager, director, officer, or other person managing or controlling the firm of guilty or nolo contendere to, or being convicted or found guilty of, any felony or a crime punishable by imprisonment of 1 year or more under the laws of the United States or of any state, or under the laws of any other country, without regard to whether adjudication was made or withheld by the court.

(f) Knowingly aiding, assisting, procuring, advising, or abetting any person in the violation of or to violate a provision of the insurance code or any order or rule of the department, office, or commission.

(g) Knowingly employing any individual in a managerial capacity or in a capacity dealing with the public who is under an order of revocation or suspension issued by the department.

(h) Committing any of the following acts with such a frequency as to have made the operation of the adjusting firm hazardous to the insurance-buying public or other persons:

1. Misappropriation, conversion, or unlawful or unreasonable withholding of moneys belonging to insurers or insureds or beneficiaries or claimants or to others and received in the conduct of business under the license.

2. Misrepresentation or deception with regard to the business of insurance, dissemination of information, or advertising.

3. Demonstrated lack of fitness or trustworthiness to engage in the business of insurance adjusting arising out of activities related to insurance adjusting or the adjusting firm.

(i) Failure to appoint a primary adjuster.

(3) In lieu of discretionary refusal, suspension, or revocation of an adjusting firm’s license, the department may impose an administrative penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation or ground provided under this section, not to exceed an aggregate amount of $10,000 for all violations or grounds.

(4) If any adjusting firm, having been licensed, thereafter has such license revoked or suspended, the firm shall terminate all adjusting activities while the license is revoked or suspended.

History.—s. 27, ch. 92-146; s. 983, ch. 2003-261; s. 63, ch. 2004-390; s. 38, ch. 2012-209.