S-0755.1 _______________________________________________
SENATE BILL 5797
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State of Washington 53rd Legislature 1993 Regular Session
By Senator Moore
Read first time 02/15/93. Referred to Committee on Labor & Commerce.
AN ACT Relating to the fiduciary duty of certain agents or brokers; amending RCW 48.17.480; and adding a new section to chapter 48.17 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 48.17 RCW to read as follows:
Every agent or broker who receives property of any kind as security for bail bond insurance is a fiduciary of the property and shall keep adequate records of the receipt, safekeeping, and disposition of the property. The records are subject to the requirements of RCW 48.17.470. Every agent and broker shall maintain a trust account in a federally insured financial institution located in this state. The agent or broker shall deposit into the trust account, prior to the end of the next business day, all moneys, including cash, checks, money orders, wire transfers, and credit card sales drafts received as security for bail bond insurance. Whenever an agent or broker receives property required to be deposited in the trust account, the agent or broker shall give the person delivering the property a receipt showing the amount of the property. The receipt shall state that the property is received in trust as security for a bail bond, shall identify the bail bond, and shall contain the account number of the trust account and the name, address, and telephone number of the institution that holds the trust account. Moneys maintained in the trust account shall be exempt from execution, attachment, or garnishment. An agent or broker shall not in any way encumber the corpus of the trust account or commingle any other moneys with moneys properly maintained in the trust account. Each agent and broker required to maintain a trust account shall report under oath annually to the commissioner the account number and prior December 31 balance of the trust account, and the name and address of the institution that holds the trust account.
Sec. 2. RCW 48.17.480 and 1988 c 248 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) An agent or any other representative of an insurer involved in the procuring or issuance of an insurance contract shall report to the insurer the exact amount of consideration charged as premium for such contract, and such amount shall likewise be shown in the contract and in the records of the agent. Each willful violation of this provision shall constitute a misdemeanor.
(2) All funds representing premiums or return premiums received by an agent, solicitor or broker, shall be so received in his or her fiduciary capacity, and shall be promptly accounted for and paid to the insured, insurer, or agent as entitled thereto.
(3) Any person licensed under this chapter who receives funds which belong to or should be paid to another person as a result of or in connection with an insurance transaction is deemed to have received the funds in a fiduciary capacity. The licensee shall promptly account for and pay the funds to the person entitled to the funds.
(((4) Any agent, solicitor, broker, adjuster
or other person licensed under this chapter who, not being lawfully entitled
thereto, diverts or appropriates funds received in a fiduciary capacity or any
portion thereof to his or her own use, shall be guilty of larceny by
embezzlement, and shall be punished as provided in the criminal statutes of
this state.))
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