Chapter 33, Chapter 33

(a) A third-party claimant may not bring a private cause of action or any other action against any person for an unfair claims settlement practice. A third-party claimant's sole remedy against a person for an unfair claims settlement practice or the bad faith settlement of a clai…

(a) There is hereby created a special account in the state Treasury designated the Unfair Claims Settlement Practice Trust Fund, which shall be an interest-bearing account and may be invested in the manner permitted by section nine, article six, chapter twelve of this code, with …

(a) No person may: (1) 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 the creditor is to acquire or finance, negotiate any policy or contract of…

Solicitation for the purchase or sale of any insurance product by any person, including an employee or agent of a financial institution, shall be conducted only by individuals who have complied with all applicable state insurance licensing and appointment laws and regulations and…

(a) As used in this section: (1) "Replacement" means any transaction in which new life insurance is to be purchased and by reason of such transaction existing life insurance has been or is to be: (A) Lapsed, forfeited, surrendered or otherwise terminated; (B) Converted to reduced…

If, after notice and hearing, the Commissioner determines that any person has engaged in or is engaging in any method of competition, act or practice in violation of the provisions of this article or any rules or regulations promulgated by the Commissioner thereunder, the Commiss…

(a) Solicitation for the purchase or sale of insurance by a financial institution shall be conducted only by individuals whose responsibilities do not include loan transactions or other transactions involving the extension of credit: Provided, That for a financial institution loc…

If, after notice and hearing, the commissioner determines that any person transacting insurance is engaging in this state in any method of competition or act or practice in the transaction of such insurance which is not defined in this article, and that such method of competition…

(a) A person who is not licensed to sell insurance may refer a customer who seeks to purchase, or seeks an opinion or advice on, any insurance product to a person, or provide the phone number of a person, who sells or provides opinions or advice on such product, only if the perso…

(a) No person shall require or imply that the purchase of an insurance product from a financial institution by a customer or prospective customer of the institution is required as a condition of the lending of money or extension of credit. (b) No financial institution may offer a…

If, after notice and hearing, the commissioner determines that any person has violated a cease and desist order issued by the commissioner and which such order is still in effect, the commissioner may at his discretion order any one or more of the following: (a) Require the payme…

The powers vested in the commissioner by this article, shall be additional to any other powers to enforce any penalties, fines or forfeitures authorized by law with respect to the methods, acts and practices hereby declared to be unfair or deceptive.

(a) A financial institution soliciting the purchase of or selling insurance, and any person soliciting the purchase of or selling insurance on the premises of, in connection with a product offering of, or using a name identifiable with, a financial institution, shall prominently …

It is hereby found and determined by the Legislature that it is essential to the best interests of the citizens of this state that the contractual relationship between insurance agents and insurance companies be established; and that this article is enacted for the purpose of pro…

(a) “Automated claims adjudication system” means a preprogrammed computer system designed for the collection, data entry, calculation, and final resolution of portable electronics insurance claims which: (1) May only be used by a licensed adjuster, licensed producer, or supervise…

This article governs the qualifications and procedures for the licensing of insurance producers. It simplifies and organizes some statutory language to improve efficiency, permits the use of new technology and reduces costs associated with issuing and renewing insurance licenses.…

This article shall be known and may be cited as "The Nonadmitted Insurance Act".

(a) The commissioner may, in his or her discretion, fix the dates of expiration of respective licenses for all adjusters in any manner as is considered by him or her to be advisable for an efficient distribution of the workload of his or her office. If the expiration date so fixe…

(a) An eligible surplus lines insurer may be sued upon a cause of action arising in this state under a surplus lines insurance contract made by it or evidence of insurance issued or delivered by the surplus lines licensee. A policy issued by the eligible surplus lines insurer sha…

The fee for an individual insurance producer's license shall be $25, the fee for a solicitor's license shall be $25 and the fee for an insurance agency producer license shall be $200. The commissioner shall receive the following fees from individual insurance producers, solicitor…

(a) An adjuster shall report to the commissioner any administrative action taken against the adjuster in another jurisdiction or by another governmental agency in this state within thirty days of the final disposition of the matter, including decertification or other action relat…

(a) The commissioner may examine and investigate the business affairs and conduct of persons applying for or holding an adjuster license to determine whether such person is trustworthy and competent or has been or is engaged in any violation of the insurance laws or rules of this…

(a) On or before March 1, 2004, and on or before March 1 thereafter, each surplus lines licensee shall file, on a form prescribed by the commissioner, a report under oath, setting forth facts from which it may be determined whether the requirements of section five of this article…

No contract of insurance covering a subject of insurance, resident, located or to be performed in this state, shall be executed, issued or delivered by any insurer unless the contract or, in the case of an interstate risk, a countersignature endorsement carrying full information …

(a) Upon placing surplus lines insurance, the surplus lines licensee shall promptly deliver to the insured the policy, or if the policy is not then available, a certificate as described in subsection (d) of this section, cover note, binder or other evidence of insurance. The cert…

The commissioner may propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code to implement the provisions of this article.

(a) Unless denied licensure pursuant to section twenty-four, a nonresident person shall receive a nonresident producer license if: (1) The person is currently licensed as a resident and in good standing in his or her home state; (2) The person has submitted the proper request for…

(a) The purpose of this section is to provide continuing education requirements for individual adjusters under guidelines established by the commissioner’s office in conjunction with the Board of Insurance Agent Education as provided in §33-12-7 of this code. (b) This section app…

(a) No contract of insurance placed by a surplus lines licensee under this article shall be binding upon the insured and no premium or fee charged shall be due and payable until the surplus lines licensee shall have notified the insured in writing, in a form acceptable to the com…

An agent who has his or her residence in an urban community composed of two immediately contiguous municipal corporations not separated by a river or other stream, one of which is located in this state and the other located in another state, shall be considered a resident of this…

A payment of premium to a surplus lines licensee acting for a person other than itself in procuring, continuing or renewing any policy of insurance procured under this section shall be deemed to be payment to the insurer, whatever conditions or stipulations may be inserted in the…

(a) Each adjuster shall file with the commissioner the complete address of his principal place of business and the complete address of his residence including the name and number of the street, or if the street where the business is located is not numbered, the number of the post…

(a) An individual who applies for an insurance producer license in this state who was previously licensed for the same lines of authority in another state may not be required to complete any prelicensing education or examination. This exemption is only available if the individual…

The effective date of the amendments made to this article during the 2020 regular legislative session is July 1, 2021.

A surplus lines licensee may originate surplus lines insurance or accept such insurance from any other individual insurance producer duly licensed as to the kinds of insurance involved, and the surplus lines licensee may compensate the individual insurance producer for the busine…

An insurance producer doing business under any name other than the producer's legal name is required to notify the Insurance Commissioner prior to using the assumed name.

(a) The Insurance Commissioner may issue an individual a temporary insurance producer license for a period not to exceed one hundred eighty days without requiring an examination if the Insurance Commissioner considers that the temporary license is necessary for the servicing of a…

(a) Each surplus lines licensee shall keep in this state a full and true record of each surplus lines insurance contract placed by or through the licensee, including a copy of the policy, certificate, cover note or other evidence of insurance showing each of the following items a…

(a) On or before May 1, 2004, and on or before May 1 thereafter, the end of the month following each year, each surplus lines licensee shall file with the commissioner, on forms prescribed by the commissioner, a verified report in duplicate of all surplus lines insurance transact…

(a) The commissioner may, in his or her discretion, fix the dates of expiration of respective licenses for individual insurance producers and solicitors in any manner as is considered by him or her to be advisable for an efficient distribution of the work load of his or her offic…

(a) A person who in this state represents or aids a nonadmitted insurer in violation of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, may be fined not more than $10,000 per each act or sentenced to not less than ten days nor more than one year, or both fin…

(a) An individual insurance producer may not act as an agent of an insurer unless the individual insurance producer becomes an appointed agent of that insurer. An individual insurance producer who is not acting as an agent of an insurer is not required to become appointed. (b) To…

A solicitor shall solicit and receive applications for insurance only for the duly licensed agent who appointed such solicitor, and shall report all business through the agent. The expiration, cancellation, suspension or revocation of the license of the appointing agent shall aut…

Whenever the commissioner believes, from evidence satisfactory to him or her, that a person is violating or about to violate the provisions of this article, the commissioner may cause a complaint to be filed in the circuit court of Kanawha County for restitution and to enjoin and…

For the purpose of this article: (a) "Business entity" means a corporation, association, partnership, limited liability company, or other legal entity. (b) "Home state" means the District of Columbia and any state or territory of the United States in which an insurance producer m…

(a) No person may act or hold himself, herself, or itself out as a company adjuster, an independent adjuster, or a public adjuster in this state unless the person is licensed in accordance with this article or is exempt from licensure under this article. (b) The license shall con…

This article shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes which include: (a) Protecting persons seeking insurance in this state; (b) Permitting surplus lines insurance to be placed with reputable and financially sound nonadmitted insurers and export…

As used in this article: (a) "Insurance company" means any individual, firm or corporation engaged in the business of selling insurance in this state, excepting only: (1) Clubs or associations organized under the laws of this state which sell insurance to their members and (2) co…

Any agent who participates directly or indirectly in effecting any insurance contract, except authorized reinsurance, upon any subject of insurance resident, located or to be performed in this state, where the insurer is not licensed to transact insurance in this state, shall be …

(a) Any act of transacting insurance by an unauthorized person or a nonadmitted insurer is equivalent to and shall constitute an irrevocable appointment by the unauthorized person or insurer, binding upon it, its executor or administrator, or successor in interest of the Secretar…