Litigation

The State of Florida sees the paying of production based referral fees to unlicensed persons or entities as a major problem . Florida has issued a warning to all licensed agents through its Pulse newsletter"

"Paying for Referrals Agents, agencies, and other licensees cannot pay referral fees that are based on production. We still see this major problem in our investigations."

Section 626.112(8) of the 2009 Florida Statutes reads " No insurance agent, insurance agency, or other person licensed under the Insurance Code may pay any fee or other consideration to an unlicensed person other than an insurance agency for the referral of prospective purchasers to an insurance agent which is in any way dependent upon whether the referral results in the purchase of an insurance product". 

The law would seem to apply to external payments made by structured settlement brokers and settlement planners as well as internal payments to independent contractor affiliates.  Check for a current license!