Liability of succeeding insurer on replacement of group, blanket, or franchise health insurance policy.

Upon replacement of a group, blanket, or franchise health insurance policy:

(1) Each person who was covered by the prior insurer must be covered by the succeeding insurer; however, the prior insurer is liable for any extension of benefits in accordance with s. 627.667.

(2) The succeeding insurer, in applying any deductible, out-of-pocket limitation, or waiting period in its plan, shall give credit for the satisfaction or partial satisfaction of the same or similar provisions under a prior plan. As to deductible provisions, the credit applies for expenses actually incurred and applied against the deductible provisions of the prior insurer’s plan during the 90 days preceding the effective date of the succeeding insurer’s plan, but only to the extent that the expenses actually incurred are recognized under the terms of the succeeding insurer’s plan and are subject to a similar deductible provision.

(3) If a determination of the prior insurer’s benefit is required by the succeeding insurer, the prior insurer shall, at the succeeding insurer’s request, furnish a statement of the benefits available or pertinent information sufficient to permit verification of the benefit determination, or the determination itself, by the succeeding insurer. For the purposes of this subsection, benefits of the prior plan must be determined in accordance with all of the definitions, conditions, and covered expense provisions of the prior plan, rather than in accordance with the comparable provisions of the succeeding plan. The benefit determination must be made as if coverage had not been replaced by the succeeding insurer.

(4) This section also applies upon the issuance of an insurance policy to a group whose benefits had previously been self-insured or to a self-insurer providing coverage to a group that had been previously covered by an insurer or another self-insurer.