6.1 FSLSO Filing, Quarterly Affidavits & Insurer Reports

Outline items I.D and II.B.2 overlap: both cite s. 626.921, and I.D adds s. 626.931. Together they define the reporting cycle every surplus lines agent runs: file each transaction with the FSLSO, then certify the quarter with an affidavit and pay the tax and service fee. Insurers have their own reporting duty, and the FSLSO reconciles the two.

Step 1: File Every Transaction

Section 626.921(2) requires each agent to report and file a copy of, or information on, each surplus lines policy or document as the plan of operation provides. The FSLSO's filing rule implements that duty:

• Every premium-bearing transaction placed with a surplus lines insurer, taxable or non-taxable, must be submitted electronically through SLIP+ or by approved XML or CSV batch file.
• The deadline is 30 days from the transaction's effective date, counting the effective date as day one. A policy effective October 1 must be filed by October 30.
• New policies, renewals, additional-premium endorsements, audits, and cancellations or return-premium transactions all flow through the same system, so the tax and fee credits and debits follow the policy.

Because s. 626.921(3)(d) requires the FSLSO to reconcile insurer reports against agent filings, an unfiled policy will be caught. The FSLSO must then report its particulars to DFS immediately (s. 626.921(2)).

Step 2: Quarterly Affidavit, Tax, and Fee

The affidavit: s. 626.931(1) and (2)

Each surplus lines agent that transacted business during a calendar quarter must, on or before the 45th day after the quarter ends, file with the FSLSO an affidavit, on the FSLSO's form, stating that all surplus lines insurance transacted during the quarter has been submitted to the FSLSO as required. The FSLSO accepts it electronically on the Compliance tab in SLIP+.

The statute still says the affidavit "shall include efforts made to place coverages with authorized insurers and the results thereof" (s. 626.931(2)). That language survived the 2025 repeal of diligent effort, so complete the affidavit exactly as the FSLSO's current form prescribes.

The money: ss. 626.932(2) and 626.9325(2)

• The surplus lines tax for each quarter's reported business is made payable to the department and remitted to the FSLSO at the same time as the quarterly affidavit. The FSLSO forwards the tax, and any interest, to DFS within 10 days of receipt.
• The service fee is paid to the FSLSO on or before the 45th day following each quarter for all policies reported during the prior quarter.
• The EMPA surcharge and any Citizens or FHCF emergency assessment are remitted to the FSLSO at the same time as the tax (s. 252.372; s. 627.351(6); s. 215.555(6)).
• The FSLSO also delivers quarterly reports of each agent's business to that agent (s. 626.921(3)(c)), which serve as the invoice.

The 45-day calendar

The 45th day after March 31 is May 15, and the 45th day after June 30 is August 14.

Insurer Reporting: s. 626.931(3) to (6)

The department may waive these insurer filing requirements (s. 626.931(5)). The FSLSO's published insurer schedule currently allows foreign insurers 90 days after each quarter. Reports must be in a computer-readable format set by the FSLSO, or on its forms, and must list, for each agent, all policies, certificates, cover notes, and confirmations with their identifying numbers (s. 626.931(6)).

An eligible insurer that fails to file a required report may be fined up to $500 per day and may lose its eligibility (s. 626.9361).

Other Housekeeping

• Leaving an agency. An agent leaving an agency with active surplus lines policies must transfer them to a new broker of record, and the FSLSO provides a Transfer of Business form for this.
• Address changes. Update SLIP+ within 30 days, which the FSLSO requests, and notify DFS within 30 days, which s. 626.551 requires.
• Copies on request. Furnish copies within 30 days of a DFS or FSLSO request (s. 626.923).

Worked Example

An agent binds three policies effective February 10, March 3, and March 28, 2027.

• Filing deadlines, counting the effective date as day one: March 11, April 1, and April 26, 2027.
• All three are first-quarter business. The Q1 affidavit, tax, and service fee are due May 15, 2027.
• The FSLSO forwards the tax to DFS within 10 days of receiving it.
• If the affidavit arrives 5 days late, the agent faces a possible fine of up to $50 per day for those 5 days, or $250 (s. 626.936(1)). If the tax is late as well, a separate fine of up to $500 per day plus 9% annual interest applies (s. 626.936(2)).