Title 38, Insurance

(A) Every agency, whether corporation, partnership, association, person, or other aggregation of individuals, transacting or purporting to transact the business of an insurance producer under a corporate or trade name must be licensed by the director or his designee. The term "pr…

A license issued by the director or his designee pursuant to Chapter 5 of this title gives to the insurer obtaining it the right to appoint any number of producers to take risks or transact any business of insurance in the State. The notification to the director or his designee m…

When, pursuant to the written or oral request of an insured or applicant for insurance, an insurance producer or agency advances all or any part of the premium for an insurance policy to the insurer in behalf of the insured or applicant for insurance, the producer or agency is en…

Advances made by a producer, agency, or producer of record in behalf of an insured or applicant for insurance and any lien arising therefrom under this must be confined to premiums for policies desired by the insured or applicant for insurance and no charges other than those set …

Extension to the insured or applicant for insurance of his credit with an insurer by a producer, agency, or producer of record constitutes the advancing of premiums within the meaning of this article and the premiums are considered to have been advanced as of the effective date o…

(A) If the insured or applicant for insurance fails to pay one or more installments within five days after the due date under any memorandum of the transaction delivered to him by the producer, agency, or producer of record, the producer, agency, or producer of record may call up…

Any excess of return premium paid by the insurer to a producer, agency, or producer of record in discharge of the lien provided by this article over the amount of unpaid balance and accrued service charges must be held by the producer, agency, or producer of record in his or its …

Insurance agencies owned, beneficially owned, or controlled, in whole or part, directly or indirectly, by an insurer, the management of an insurer, or related interests are not entitled to the provisions of this article. An insurer is not chargeable with knowledge that an insuran…

(A) Agreements or arrangements for the advancing of insurance premiums by an insurance producer, agency, or producer of record under this article are not subject to Section 38-55-50, relating to the incorporation of collateral agreements effecting the insurance into the policies …

(A) The director or his designee may promulgate reasonable regulations that are necessary or proper to carry out the purposes of this chapter. (B) If any provisions of this chapter, or the application of a provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held invalid, the remain…

(A) All applicants for a limited lines or special producer's license must be vouched for by an official or a licensed representative of the insurer for which the applicant proposes to act, who shall certify whether the applicant has been appointed a producer to represent it and t…

(A) As used in this section: (1) "Limited license" means the authority of a person or entity authorized to sell certain coverage relating to the rental of motor vehicles pursuant to the provisions of this section; (2) "Rental agreement" means a written agreement setting forth the…

(A) When a contract of a producer is canceled by the insurer represented, that insurer shall notify the department of the cancellation within the following guidelines and time period required of this section. The records furnished by insurers are for the use of the department sol…

All business done in this State by insurers doing the business of insurance as defined in this title must be transacted by their regularly authorized producers licensed in this State or through applications of the producers. Except as provided in Section 38-43-70, it is unlawful …

For the purposes of this article: (1) "Licensee" means a person who holds a limited license. (2) "Limited license" means the authority of a person authorized to sell certain insurance pursuant to the provisions of this article. (3) "Rental agreement" means a written agreement set…

The director or his designee may issue a limited license to an owner who has complied with the requirements of this article.

(A) Before issuing a limited license, an application for a limited license must be filed with the director, signed by an officer of the applicant, on a form prescribed by the department. An applicant for a limited license must be approved and vouched for by an official or license…

(A) A licensee must be the owner of a self-service rental facility or his employee or agent. (B) A licensee only may sell or offer to sell insurance in connection with, and incidental to, the rental of a self-storage space in the owner's facility. This insurance only may provide …

(A) Prior to issuing a policy under the provisions of this chapter, a licensee shall provide a written document that: (1) summarizes clearly and correctly the material terms of coverage offered to an occupant, including the identity of the insurer; (2) discloses that the coverage…

(A) The employee or agent of an owner who is a licensee may act individually on behalf, and under the supervision of, the owner-licensee with respect to providing coverage for which the licensee is authorized to provide, but only if the owner instructs the employee or agent about…

Notwithstanding another provision of this chapter, a regulation promulgated by the department, or an order issued by the director, a licensee, his employee, and agent must not be required to: (1) act as a fiduciary of money received from the sale of insurance authorized to be sol…

The director may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, respond to a violation of a provision of this chapter under the provisions of Section 38-2-10 by: (1) revoking or suspending a limited license; or (2) imposing other penalties, including suspending the transaction of i…

(A) Unless denied licensure pursuant to Section 38-43-130, a nonresident person shall receive a nonresident producer license with the same lines of authority held in the home state if the: (1) person is currently licensed as a resident and in good standing in his home state; (2) …

This article must be known and may be cited as the "Limited Lines Travel Insurance Act".

(A) This article applies to travel insurance sold, solicited, negotiated, or offered in this State that covers a resident in this State and is delivered or issued for delivery in this State. It does not apply to cancellation fee waivers and travel assistance services except as ex…

For the purposes of this article: (1) "Aggregator site" means a website that provides access to information regarding insurance products from more than one insurer, including product and insurer information, for use in purchasing an insurance product. (2) "Blanket travel insuranc…

(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, travel insurance must be classified and filed for purposes of rates and forms as inland marine insurance; provided, however, that travel insurance that provides coverage for sickness, accident, disability, or death occurring …

(A) A travel retailer only may offer and disseminate travel insurance under a limited lines travel insurance producer license if: (1) the limited lines travel insurance producer or travel retailer provides purchasers of travel insurance the following information on a form prescri…

A travel retailer, whose insurance-related activities are limited to offering and disseminating travel insurance on behalf of and under the direction of a limited lines travel insurance producer, may receive compensation for these activities upon registration by the limited lines…

(A) Unless denied licensure pursuant to Section 38-43-130, persons who have met the requirements of Section 38-43-100 must be issued an insurance producer license. An insurance producer may receive qualification for a license in one or more of the following lines of insurance: (1…

As the insurer designee, the limited lines travel insurance producer is responsible for the acts of the travel retailer and shall use reasonable means to ensure compliance by the travel retailer with this article.

The director may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, respond to a violation of a provision of this article by a limited lines travel insurance producer or by the travel retailer offering and disseminating travel insurance under the provisions of Section 38-2-10 by: (1) r…

(A) A travel insurer shall pay premium tax pursuant to Section 38-7-20 on travel insurance premiums paid by: (1) an individual primary policyholder who is a resident of this State; (2) a primary certificate holder who is a resident of this State who elects coverage under a group …

Travel protection plans may be offered for one price for the combined features that the travel protection plan offers in this State if: (1) the travel protection plan clearly discloses to the consumer at or prior to the time of purchase that it includes travel insurance, travel a…

(A)(1) Unless otherwise changed by regulation or statute, the following fees are applicable to producer licenses, agency licenses, and insurer appointments: (a) initial producer license fee: twenty-five dollars; biennial producer license renewal fee: twenty-five dollars; (b) loca…

(A) A person offering travel insurance to residents of this State is subject to the provisions of Chapter 57 of this title, except as otherwise provided in this article. In the event of a conflict between this article and other provisions of this title regarding the sale and mark…

(A) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this title, no person may act or represent himself as a travel administrator for travel insurance in this State unless that person: (1) is a licensed property and casualty insurance producer in this State for activities permitted under …

The department may promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this article.

No license fee may be charged by the State or any county or municipality to a resident, practicing physician in this State, duly licensed to practice by the State Board of Medical Examiners, for making medical examinations for life insurers or fraternal orders.

This chapter may be cited as the "Managing General Agents Act".

As used in this chapter: (1) "Actuary" means a person who is a member in good standing of the American Academy of Actuaries. (2) "Insurer" means a domestic insurer as defined in Section 38-1-20(17). (3)(a) "Managing general agent", MGA, means a person who: (i) manages all or part…

(A) No person may act in the capacity of a MGA with respect to risks located in this State for an insurer licensed in South Carolina unless the person is licensed as an agent for that insurer in this State. (B) No person may act in the capacity of a MGA representing an insurer do…

No person acting in the capacity of a MGA may place business with an insurer unless there is in force a written contract between the parties which sets forth the responsibilities of each party with both parties sharing responsibility for a particular function, specifies the divis…

(A) The insurer shall file annually with the department not later than June first an annual independent financial examination of each MGA with which it has done business, prepared by a certified public accountant in a form acceptable to the director or his designee. (B) If a MGA …

The acts of the MGA are considered to be the acts of the insurer on whose behalf it is acting. A MGA may be examined as if it were the insurer.

(A) If the director or his designee finds after a hearing conducted in accordance with Insurance Department Regulation 69-31 that a person has violated this chapter, the director or his designee may order: (1) for each separate violation, a penalty as provided in Section 38-2-10;…