Chapter 431 — Chapter 431

§431:11-109 Rules and regulations. The commissioner may, upon notice and opportunity for all interested persons to be heard, issue such rules and orders as shall be necessary to carry out the provisions of this article. [L 1987, c 349, pt of §8]

§431:11-110 Injunctions; prohibitions against voting securities; sequestration of voting securities. (a) Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any insurer or any director, officer, employee, or agent thereof has committed or is about to commit a violation of this article o…

§431:11-111 Sanctions. (a) Any insurer failing, without just cause, to file any registration statement as required in this article shall be required, after notice and hearing, to pay a fine in an amount of not less than $100 and not more than $500 for each day's delay, to be reco…

§431:11-112 Receivership. Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any person has committed a violation of this article which so impairs the financial condition of a domestic insurer as to threaten insolvency or make the further transaction of business by it hazardous to its …

§431:11-113 Recovery. (a) If an order for liquidation or rehabilitation of a domestic insurer has been entered, the receiver appointed under the order shall have a right to recover on behalf of the insurer: Where the distribution or payment pursuant to items (1) or (2) is made at…

§431:11-114 Revocation, suspension, or nonrenewal of insurer's license. Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any person has committed a violation of this article which makes the continued operation of an insurer contrary to the interests of policyholders or the public, th…

§431:11-115 Judicial review; mandamus. (a) Any person aggrieved by any act, determination, rule or order or any other action of the commissioner pursuant to this article may appeal therefrom to the circuit court of the first judicial circuit. The court shall conduct its review wi…

§431:11-116 Conflict with other laws. All laws and parts of laws of this State inconsistent with this article are hereby superseded with respect to matters covered by this article. [L 1987, c 349, pt of §8]

§431:11-117 Severability of provisions. If any provision of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this article which can be given effect without the invalid provi…

[ARTICLE 11A] BUSINESS TRANSACTED WITH PRODUCER CONTROLLED PROPERTY/CASUALTY INSURER §431:11A-101 Definitions. For purposes of this article: "Accredited state" means a state in which the insurance department or regulatory agency meets the minimum financial regulatory standards pr…

ARTICLE 12 MASS MERCHANDISING OF INSURANCE §431:12-101 Definitions. As used in this article: "Employees" includes compensated officers, managers, and employees of a firm, corporation, partnership, sole proprietor, trust, estate, or members of an unincorporated association or nonp…

§431:12-102 Applicability. This article shall apply to motor vehicle insurance and to property and casualty insurance as defined in sections 431:1-206 and 431:1-209. The provisions of this article are in addition to, and not in substitution for, other applicable requirements of l…

§431:12-103 Mass merchandising authorized. An insurer may mass merchandise motor vehicle, property and casualty insurance to the employees of any employer under a mass merchandising plan audited by the commissioner; provided that such mass merchandising is agreed to by the employ…

§431:12-104 Mass merchandising prohibited; when. (a) No insurer shall mass merchandise insurance to members of any association or organization formed principally for the purpose of obtaining the benefits of mass merchandising. (b) No insurer shall mass merchandise insurance to em…

§431:12-105 Mass merchandising requirements. Mass merchandising of insurance and every mass merchandising plan shall be subject to the following conditions:

§431:12-106 Disclosure. Every insurer selling insurance on a mass merchandising basis shall, prior to sale, make full and fair disclosures to prospective insureds of all features of the plan, including but not limited to premium rates, claims procedure, benefits, duration of cove…

§431:12-107 Payroll deductions and premium collections. A mass merchandising agreement may provide for the collection of premiums from employees by payroll deductions, assessments, or otherwise, and the remittance of the same to the insurer by the employer; provided that:

§431:12-108 Employer's failure to remit premiums. If any employer is required under a mass merchandising agreement to collect the premiums from its employees and remit the same to the insurer, its failure to so collect and remit as to any employee for any reason, including termin…

§431:12-109 Cancellation and nonrenewal. Except as provided by section 431:12-108, no policy of an individual employee or participation of an employee in a group policy shall be cancelled or its renewal denied unless a thirty-day written notice of cancellation or renewal is given…

§431:12-110 Premium rates. Premium rates for insurance sold on a mass merchandising basis shall comply with the standards in article 10C for motor vehicle insurance and in article 14 for property and casualty insurance including the standards that rates not be excessive, inadequa…

§431:12-111 Readjustment of premiums; dividends. (a) Any mass merchandising agreement may provide for the readjustment of the rate of premium based on experience at the end of the first year for any subsequent year of insurance, and such readjustment may be made retroactive only …

§431:12-112 Underwriting standards. Every plan of mass merchandising and all rules and standards applicable to mass merchandising of insurance shall be subject to audit by the commissioner upon written request to the insurer. No underwriting standard for risk selection under a ma…

§431:12-113 Statistics. Every insurer mass merchandising insurance shall keep and maintain data on its experience under each plan, including data on premium income, losses, and expenses. The data shall be kept and maintained separately from any experience data on insurance sold b…

§431:12-114 Licenses. No person shall act as an insurance producer in connection with mass merchandising of insurance, unless the person is licensed as such under article 9A. [L 1987, c 347, pt of §2; am L 2002, c 155, §79]

§431:12-115 Establishment and maintenance of office. (a) Every insurer selling insurance on a mass merchandising basis shall establish and maintain at all times an office in the State to conduct the administration of its business and handle claims. (b) Establishment and maintenan…

§431:12-116 Rules. The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article. [L 1987, c 347, pt of §2]

ARTICLE 13 UNFAIR METHODS OF COMPETITION AND UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ACTS AND PRACTICES IN THE BUSINESS OF INSURANCE PART I. GENERAL PROVISIONS §431:13-101 Purpose. The purpose of this article is to regulate trade practice in the business of insurance in accordance with the intent o…

§431:13-102 Unfair methods of competition; unfair or deceptive acts or practices prohibited. No person shall engage in this State in any trade practice which is defined in this article as, or determined pursuant to section 431:13-106 to be, an unfair method of competition or an u…

§431:13-103 Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices defined. (a) The following are defined as unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the business of insurance: (b) The commissioner shall by certified mail notify …

§431:13-104 Favored producer or insurer; coercion of debtors. (a) No person may require as a condition precedent to the lending of money or extension of credit, or any renewal thereof, that the person to whom such money or credit is extended or whose obligation a creditor is to a…

§431:13-105 Power of commissioner. The commissioner may examine and investigate into the affairs of every person engaged in the business of insurance in this State in order to determine whether the person has been or is engaged in any unfair method of competition or in any unfair…

§431:13-106 Hearings. (a) Whenever the commissioner shall have reason to believe that any person has been engaged or is engaging in this State in any unfair method of competition or any unfair or deceptive act or practice, whether or not defined in section 431:13-103, and that a …

§431:13-107 Commissioner's right of action. All remedies, penalties and proceedings set forth in this article are to be invoked solely and exclusively by the commissioner. [L 1987, c 347, pt of §2]

§431:13-108 Reimbursement for accident and health or sickness insurance benefits. (a) This section applies to accident and health or sickness insurers issuing comprehensive medical plans under part I of article 10A of chapter 431, mutual benefit societies under article 1 of chapt…

PART II. PENALTIES AND JUDICIAL REVIEW §431:13-201 Cease and desist and penalty orders; judicial review. (a) If, after the hearing, the commissioner shall determine that the person charged has engaged in an unfair method of competition or an unfair or deceptive act or practice, t…

§431:13-202 Penalty for violation of cease and desist orders. (a) Any person who violates a cease and desist order of the commissioner under section 431:13-201 may be subject at the discretion of the commissioner, after notice and hearing and upon order of the commissioner, to ei…

§431:13-203 Rules. The commissioner may adopt reasonable rules in accordance with chapter 91, as are necessary or proper to identify specific methods of competition or acts or practices which are prohibited by section 431:13-103 or 431:13-104, but the rules shall not enlarge upon…

§431:13-204 Provisions of sections additional to existing laws. The powers vested in the commissioner by this article shall be additional to any other power to enforce penalties or fines authorized by law with respect to the methods, acts, and practices hereby declared to be unfa…

ARTICLE 14 RATE REGULATION PART I. CASUALTY, SURETY, PROPERTY, MARINE AND TRANSPORTATION RATE REGULATION §431:14-101 Purpose. The purpose of this article is to promote the public welfare by regulating insurance rates to the end that they shall not be excessive, inadequate, or unf…

§431:14-101.5 Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires: "Developed losses" means losses (including loss adjustment expenses) adjusted, using standard actuarial techniques, to eliminate the effect of differences between current payment or reserve…

§431:14-102 Scope. (a) This article shall apply to all classes, types, or forms of general casualty insurance as defined in section 431:1-209, surety insurance as defined in section 431:1-210, motor vehicle insurance, and workers' compensation and employers' liability insurance, …

§431:14-103 Making of rates. (a) Rates shall be made in accordance with the following provisions: (b) In cases of workers' compensation insurance, all rates made in accordance with this section shall be given due consideration for good safety records of employers. By premium redu…

§431:14-103.3 Rate adjustment mandates. (a) Except as otherwise provided by law, the commissioner may mandate insurers to submit new filings for any type of insurance under section 431:14-102 when the commissioner has actuarially sound information that current rates may be excess…

§431:14-104 Rate filings. (a) Every insurer shall file with the commissioner every manual of classifications, rules, and rates, every rating plan, every other rating rule, and every modification of any of the foregoing that it proposes to use; provided that filings with regard to…

§431:14-104.5 Loss cost filings. When required by the commissioner, the rating organization or advisory organization shall file for approval all prospective loss costs, supplementary rating information, and every change, amendment, or modification thereto proposed for use in this…

§431:14-105 Policy revisions that alter coverage. (a) Any policy revisions that alter coverage in any manner shall be filed with the commissioner and shall include an analysis of the impact each revision has on rates or loss costs. (b) After review by the commissioner, the commis…

§431:14-105.5 Standing to intervene in rate filing and ratemaking proceedings. In any workers' compensation insurance rate filing and ratemaking proceeding before the commissioner under article 14, an insured who is covered by workers' compensation insurance shall have the right …

§431:14-106 Disapproval of filings. (a) If, within the waiting period or any extension of the waiting period as provided in section 431:14-104(j), the commissioner finds that a filing does not meet the requirements of this article, the commissioner shall send to the insurer, rati…

§431:14-107 Rating organizations. (a) A corporation, an unincorporated association, a partnership, or an individual, whether located within or outside this State, may make application to the commissioner for license as a rating organization for such classes of insurance or subdiv…

§431:14-107.1 Rating and advisory organizations, permitted activity. In addition to other activities not expressly prohibited by this article, rating organizations and advisory organizations are authorized, on behalf of their members and subscribers, to: