FAIA has recently received several calls asking about a five-digit company code appearing on auto insurance ID cards. The lack of the company code on some ID cards appears to be causing problems for a few Florida consumers and FAIA member agencies.
The Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS), formerly the Department of Insurance, assigns each company authorized to do business in Florida a unique five-digit company code. Most companies put this company code on insurance ID cards, however sometimes it does not appear. Additionally, the CSR at the agency may manually type an ID card and may not have the code. If the local "tag office" does not see the company code on the ID card they should be able to look it up on their computers --- two different county tag offices told FAIA they look it up when the code is missing.
There is no statutory requirement, nor any Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle requirement that the company code appear on the insurance ID card, but it certainly does help matters a lot when the code is present. If you don't have the company code there are several ways to obtain it. The easiest may be to contact your companies and ask them to provide a list of the codes. Keep that list handy for use when your clients call or when you prepare the ID card in the agency. Remember too, many companies have subsidiaries and each has their own unique code. You can also obtain a company code from the DFS web site, http://www.fldfs.com. From the home page click on "Consumers"; and then "Company Search."You'll then be able to input the name of the company in question and select from a list of hits.The company code will be shown for each company. |
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