(a) Any insurer failing, without just cause, to file any registration statement as required in this chapter shall be required, after notice and hearing, to pay a penalty of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each day's delay, to be recovered by the commissioner and the penalty so recovered shall be paid into the state General Fund. The maximum penalty under this section is fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). The commissioner may reduce the penalty if the commissioner, in the commissioner's sole discretion, determines it is equitable to do so or the insurer demonstrates to the commissioner that the imposition of the penalty would constitute a financial hardship to the insurer.
(b) Every director or officer of an insurance holding company system who knowingly violates, participates in, or permits any of the officers or agents of the insurer to engage in transactions or make investments that have not been properly reported or submitted pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 27-29-4, subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of Section 27-29-5, or subsection (g) of Section 27-29-5, or which violate this chapter, shall pay, in their individual capacity, a civil forfeiture of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per violation, after notice and hearing before the commissioner. In determining the amount of the civil forfeiture, the commissioner shall take into account the appropriateness of the forfeiture with respect to the gravity of the violation, the history of previous violations, and such other matters as justice may require. A director or officer of an insurance holding company system acts knowingly when he or she has actual and not constructive or apparent knowledge of the nature of conduct described in this section or that a circumstance exists as described in this section.
(c) Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any insurer subject to this chapter or any director, officer, employee, or agent thereof has engaged in any transaction or entered into a contract which is subject to Section 27-29-5 and which would not have been approved had the approval been requested, the commissioner may order the insurer to cease and desist immediately any further activity under that transaction or contract. After notice and hearing, the commissioner may also order the insurer to void any contracts and restore the status quo if the action is in the best interest of the policyholders, creditors, or the public.
(d) Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any insurer or any director, officer, employee, or agent thereof has committed a willful violation of this chapter, the commissioner may cause criminal proceedings to be instituted by the district attorney for the county in which the principal office of the insurer is located, or if such insurer has no such office in the state, then by the District Attorney for Montgomery County, against such insurer or the responsible director, officer, employee, or agent thereof. Any insurer which willfully violates this chapter may upon conviction be fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000). Any individual who willfully violates this chapter may upon conviction be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or, if such willful violation involves the deliberate perpetration of a fraud upon the commissioner, imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
(e) Any officer, director, or employee of an insurance holding company system who willfully and knowingly subscribes to or makes or causes to be made any false statements or false reports or false filings with the intent to deceive the commissioner in the performance of his or her duties under this chapter, upon conviction, shall be imprisoned for not more than five years or fined not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or both. Any fines imposed shall be paid by the officer, director, or employee in his or her individual capacity.
(f) Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any person has committed a violation of Section 27-29-3 and which prevents the full understanding of the enterprise risk to the insurer by affiliates or by the insurance holding company system, the violation may serve as an independent basis for disapproving dividends or distributions and for placing the insurer under an order of supervision in accordance with Section 27-2-33.
Last modified: May 3, 2021