AN ACT Relating to the
process of applying for a license or solicitation permit from the insurance
commissioner; amending RCW 48.06.040, 48.17.090, 48.15.070, 48.56.030, and
48.102.015; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 48.06.040 and 1967 c
150 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
To apply for a
solicitation permit the person shall:
(1) File with the
commissioner a request ((therefor)) showing((,)):
(a) Name, type,
and purpose of insurer, corporation, or syndicate proposed to be formed;
(b) Names,
addresses, fingerprints for submission to the Washington state patrol, the
federal bureau of investigation, and any governmental agency or entity
authorized to receive this information for a state and national criminal
history background check, and business records of each person associated or
to be associated in the formation of the proposed insurer, corporation, or
syndicate;
(c) Full
disclosure of the terms of all understandings and agreements existing or
proposed among persons so associated relative to the proposed insurer,
corporation, or syndicate, or the formation thereof;
(d) The plan
according to which solicitations are to be made; and
(e) ((such)) Additional
information as the commissioner may reasonably require.
(2) File with the
commissioner((,)):
(a) Original and
copies in triplicate of proposed articles of incorporation, or syndicate
agreement; or, if the proposed insurer is a reciprocal, original and duplicate
of the proposed subscribers' agreement and attorney in fact agreement;
(b) Original and
duplicate copy of any proposed bylaws;
(c) Copy of any
security proposed to be issued and copy of application or subscription
agreement ((therefor)) for that security;
(d) Copy of any
insurance contract proposed to be offered and copy of application ((therefor))
for that contract;
(e) Copy of any
prospectus, advertising, or literature proposed to be used; and
(f) Copy of
proposed form of any escrow agreement required.
(3) Deposit with the
commissioner the fees required by law to be paid for the application including
fees associated with the state and national criminal history background check,
for filing of the articles of incorporation of an insurer, for filing the
subscribers' agreement and attorney in fact agreement if the proposed insurer
is a reciprocal, for the solicitation permit, if granted, and for filing
articles of incorporation with the secretary of state.
Sec. 2. RCW 48.17.090 and 2001 c
56 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Application for ((any
such)) a license to be an agent, broker, solicitor, or adjuster
shall be made to the commissioner upon forms ((as prescribed and))
furnished by the commissioner. As a part of or in connection with any such
application, the applicant shall furnish information concerning his or
her identity, including fingerprints for submission to the Washington state
patrol, the federal bureau of investigation, and any governmental agency or
entity authorized to receive this information for a state and national criminal
history background check, personal history, experience, business record,
purposes, and other pertinent facts, as the commissioner may reasonably
require.
(2) Persons resident in
the United States but not in Washington may apply for such a license on a form
prepared by the national association of insurance commissioners or others, if
those forms are approved by the commissioner by rule. An applicant shall also
furnish any other information required to be submitted but not provided for in
that form.
(3) Any person
willfully misrepresenting any fact required to be disclosed in any such
application shall be liable to penalties as provided by this code.
(4) If in the process
of verifying fingerprints under subsection (1) of this section, business
records, or other information the commissioner's office incurs fees or charges
from another governmental agency or from a business firm, the amount of such
fees or charges shall be paid to the commissioner's office by the applicant ((and
shall be considered the recovery of a previous expenditure)).
Sec. 3. RCW 48.15.070 and 1994 c
131 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
Any individual while a
resident of this state, or any firm or any corporation that has in its employ a
qualified individual who is a resident of this state and who is authorized to
exercise the powers of the firm or corporation, deemed by the commissioner to
be competent and trustworthy, and while maintaining an office at a designated
location in this state, may be licensed as a surplus line broker in accordance
with this section.
(1) Application to the
commissioner for the license shall be made on forms furnished by the
commissioner. As part of, or in connection with, this application, the
applicant shall furnish information concerning his or her identity, including
fingerprints for submission to the Washington state patrol, the federal bureau
of investigation, and any governmental agency or entity authorized to receive
this information for a state and national criminal history background check;
personal history; experience; business records; purposes; and other pertinent
information, as the commissioner may reasonably require.
(2) The license shall
expire if not timely renewed. Surplus line brokers licenses shall be valid for
the time period established by the ((commission)) commissioner
unless suspended or revoked at an earlier date.
(3) Prior to issuance
of license the applicant shall file with the commissioner a bond in favor of
the state of Washington in the penal sum of twenty thousand dollars, with
authorized corporate sureties approved by the commissioner, conditioned that he
or she will conduct business under the license in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter and that he or she will promptly remit the
taxes provided by RCW 48.15.120. The licensee shall maintain such bond in
force for as long as the license remains in effect.
(4) Every applicant for
a surplus line broker's license or for the renewal of a surplus line broker's
license shall file with the application or request for renewal a bond in favor
of the people of the state of Washington, executed by an authorized corporate
surety approved by the commissioner, in the amount of one hundred thousand
dollars and shall be the bonding requirement for new licensees. The licensee
shall maintain such bond in force while so licensed. The bond may be
continuous in form, and total aggregate liability on the bond may be limited to
the amount stated in the bond. The bond shall be contingent on the accounting
by the surplus line broker to any person requesting such broker to obtain
insurance, for moneys or premiums collected in connection therewith. A bond
issued in accordance with RCW 48.17.250 or with this subsection will satisfy
the requirements of both RCW 48.17.250 and this subsection if the limit of
liability is not less than the greater of the requirement of RCW 48.17.250 or
the requirement of this subsection.
(5) Any bond issued
pursuant to subsection (3) or (4) of this section shall remain in force until
the surety is released from liability by the commissioner, or until the bond is
canceled by the surety. Without prejudice to any liability accrued prior to
such cancellation, the surety may cancel the bond upon thirty days' advance
notice in writing filed with the commissioner.
(6) If in the
process of verifying fingerprints under subsection (1) of this section,
business records, or other information the commissioner's office incurs fees or
charges from another governmental agency or from a business firm, the amount of
the fees or charges shall be paid to the commissioner's office by the
applicant.
(7)
For the purposes of this section, a "qualified individual" is a
natural person who has met all the requirements that must be met by an
individual surplus line broker.
Sec. 4. RCW 48.56.030 and 1969
ex.s. c 190 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) No person shall
engage in the business of financing insurance premiums in the state without
first having obtained a license as a premium finance company from the
commissioner. Any person who shall engage in the business of financing
insurance premiums in the state without obtaining a license as provided
hereunder shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be
subject to the penalties provided in this chapter.
(2)(a) Application
to the commissioner for the license shall be made on forms furnished by the
commissioner. As part of, or in connection with, this application, the
applicant and, at the commissioner's discretion, any or all stockholders,
directors, partners, officers, and employees of the business shall furnish
information concerning his or her identity, including fingerprints for
submission to the Washington state patrol, the federal bureau of investigation,
and any governmental agency or entity authorized to receive this information
for a state and national criminal history background check; personal history;
experience; business records; purposes; and other pertinent information, as the
commissioner may reasonably require.
(b) The annual
license fee shall be one hundred dollars. Licenses may be renewed from year to
year as of the first day of May of each year upon payment of the fee of one
hundred dollars. The fee for ((said)) the license shall be paid
to the insurance commissioner.
(3) The person to whom
the license or the renewal ((thereof)) may be issued shall file sworn
answers, subject to the penalties of perjury, to such interrogatories as the
commissioner may require. The commissioner shall have authority, at any time,
to require the applicant ((fully)) to disclose fully the identity
of all stockholders, directors, partners, officers, and employees and ((he))
may, in his or her discretion, refuse to issue or renew a license in the
name of any firm, partnership, or corporation if he ((is not satisfied))
or she finds that any officer, employee, stockholder, or partner ((thereof))
who may materially influence the applicant's conduct ((meets)) does
not meet the standards of this chapter.
(4) This section shall
not apply to any savings and loan association, bank, trust company, ((small
loan company,)) consumer loan company, industrial loan company or
credit union authorized to do business in this state but RCW 48.56.080 through
48.56.130 and any rules ((promulgated)) adopted by the
commissioner pertaining to such sections shall be applicable to such
organizations, if otherwise eligible, under all premium finance transactions
wherein an insurance policy, other than a life or disability insurance policy,
or any rights thereunder is made the security or collateral for the repayment
of the debt, however, neither this section nor the provisions of this chapter
shall be applicable to the inclusion of insurance in a retail installment
transaction or to insurance purchased in connection with a real estate
transaction, mortgage, deed of trust, or other security instrument or an
insurance company authorized to do business in this state unless the insurance
company elects to become a licensee.
(5) If in the
process of verifying fingerprints under subsection (2) of this section,
business records, or other information the commissioner's office incurs fees or
charges from another governmental agency or from a business firm, the amount of
the fees or charges shall be paid to the commissioner's office by the
applicant.
Sec. 5. RCW 48.102.015 and 1995
c 161 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The commissioner
may suspend, revoke, or refuse to issue or renew the license of any
viatical settlement broker or viatical settlement provider if the commissioner
finds that:
(a) There was any
misrepresentation, intentional or otherwise, in the application for the license
or for renewal of a license;
(b) The applicant for,
or holder of any such license, is or has been subject to a final administrative
action for being, or is otherwise shown to be, untrustworthy or incompetent to
act as either a viatical settlement broker or a viatical settlement provider;
(c) The applicant for,
or holder of any such license, demonstrates a pattern of unreasonable payments
to viators;
(d) The applicant for,
or holder of any such license, has been convicted of a felony or of any
criminal misdemeanor of which criminal fraud is an element; or
(e) The applicant for,
or holder of any such license, has violated any provision of this title.
(2) The commissioner
may ((from time to time)) require an applicant or the holder of
any license issued under this chapter to supply current information on the
identity or capacity of stockholders, partners, officers, and employees,
including but not limited to the following: Fingerprints, personal history,
business experience, business records, and any other information which the
commissioner may require. If required, the applicant or licensee shall
furnish his or her fingerprints for submission to the Washington state patrol,
the federal bureau of investigation, and any governmental agency or entity
authorized to receive this information for a state and national criminal
history background check.
(3) Before the
commissioner suspends or revokes any license issued under this chapter, ((or
refuses to issue any such license,)) the commissioner shall conduct a
hearing, if the applicant or licensee requests this in writing. The hearing
shall be in accordance with chapters 34.05 and 48.04 RCW.
(4) After a hearing or
with the consent of any party licensed under this chapter and in addition to or
in lieu of the suspension, revocation, or refusal to renew any license under
this chapter, the commissioner may levy a fine upon the viatical settlement
provider in an amount not more than ten thousand dollars, for each violation of
this chapter. The order levying the fine shall specify the period within which
the fine shall be fully paid, and that period shall not be less than fifteen
nor more than thirty days from the date of the order. Upon failure to pay the
fine when due, the commissioner may revoke the license if not already revoked,
and the fine may be recovered in a civil action brought in behalf of the
commissioner by the attorney general. Any fine so collected shall be deposited
into the general fund.
(5) If in the
process of verifying fingerprints under subsection (2) of this section,
business records, or other information the commissioner's office incurs fees or
charges from another governmental agency or from a business firm, the amount of
the fees or charges shall be paid to the commissioner's office by the applicant
or licensee.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 6. This act is necessary for
the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support
of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect
immediately.
