Florida lawmakers want more sunlight on pet insurance. A new measure in the state Senate, SB 158, would expand the disclosure rules carriers face and tighten oversight of how policies are reported and sold.
The bill orders insurers to refresh written disclosures with a clear summary of policy features.
That includes coverage caps, deductibles, waiting periods, exclusions, and rules for preexisting conditions. Lawmakers say pet owners should see upfront what they’re buying, not discover gaps later.
Insurers authorized in the state would also have fresh reporting duties. Each year by March 1 they’d need to submit detailed filings to the Office of Insurance Regulation.
Those reports would cover how many policies were issued, renewed, or canceled, premium volume, aggregate claims, and statistics on denials or repeals.
Insurers would also have to disclose waiting periods, exclusion practices, and wellness program offerings.
The proposal adds one more layer: education. Agents selling pet insurance would need to complete two hours of coursework on the line as part of their standard biennial continuing education.
Florida only just created a formal framework for the pet insurance market earlier this year, setting definitions and disclosure requirements to shape the industry.
SB 158 looks like a second step, meant to sharpen those rules and make them stick in practice.
Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat from Miami-Dade who introduced the bill, hasn’t yet commented publicly. But the push suggests lawmakers see this niche product gaining momentum fast enough to demand tougher guardrails.
SB 158 proposes amendments to Florida statutes concerning pet insurance. It adds a new requirement to s. 626.2815, F.S., that any insurance licensee who sells pet-insurance products must complete 2 hours of continuing education in pet insurance during each biennial compliance period.
The bill revises s. 627.71545, F.S., concerning “Pet insurance; non-insurance wellness programs.”
Under the revised disclosure rules, at the time a pet insurance policy is issued or delivered the insurer must provide the policyholder with a written disclosure in at least 12-point type that includes, among other things: insurer contact information, the agent’s address and customer-service number, and a “summary of the key policy features” using plain language and a form adopted by rule.
That summary must cover coverage limits, deductibles, waiting periods, exclusions, pre-existing condition rules, and whether the policy includes wellness benefits.
Additionally, the bill creates a new subsection (10) under s. 627.71545 requiring each authorized pet insurer to file by March 1 annually a report with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR).
That report must cover the preceding calendar year and include:
- the number of pet-insurance policies issued, renewed and canceled;
- aggregate premium and claims data; data on policy denials and rescissions including reasons;
- information on waiting periods, exclusions and wellness-program offerings;
- and any other data required by rule.
The effective date of SB 158 is set for July 1, 2026.
The sponsor of the measure is Shevrin D. “Shev” Jones (D). The bill was filed October 9, 2025.
Its purpose is to enhance transparency around pet-insurance products, professionalize the agent pool (via continuing education), and provide the regulator (OIR) with greater reporting data to monitor trends in issuance, claims, cancellations, denials, rescissions, wellness-program uptake and exclusions in the pet-insurance sector.
We think the legislation reflects concern about rapid growth in the pet-insurance market and the fact that consumers may not always fully understand key terms like pre-existing conditions, waiting periods or wellness benefit exclusions.
The annual reporting requirement signals regulatory intent to track the market dynamics (policies in force, premiums, claims, cancellations and rescissions) rather than leave the sector lightly regulated.
For insurers and agents active in Florida, SB 158 would require updates to disclosure materials, forms, training programs and operational data flows to OIR.
