(a) (1) Every nonadmitted insurer, in the case of insurance to be purchased by a home state insured pursuant to Section 1760, and surplus line broker, in the case of any insurance with a nonadmitted carrier for a home state insured to be transacted by the surplus line broker, shall be responsible to ensure that, at the time of accepting an application for an insurance policy, other than a renewal of that policy, issued by a nonadmitted insurer, the signature of the applicant on the disclosure statement set forth in subdivision (b) is obtained. In fulfillment of this responsibility, the nonadmitted insurer and the surplus line broker may rely, if it is reasonable under all the circumstances to do so, on the disclosure statement received from a licensee involved in the transaction as prima facie evidence that the disclosure statement and appropriate signature from the applicant have been obtained. The surplus line broker shall maintain a copy of the signed disclosure statement in his or her records for a period of at least five years. These records shall be made available to the commissioner and the insured upon request. This disclosure shall be signed by the applicant, and is not subject to a limited power of attorney agreement between the applicant and an agent or broker or a surplus line broker. The disclosure statement shall be in boldface 16-point type on a freestanding document. In addition, every policy issued by a nonadmitted insurer and every certificate evidencing the placement of insurance shall contain, or have affixed to it by the insurer or surplus line broker, the disclosure statement set forth in subdivision (b) in boldface 16-point type on the front page of the policy.
(2) In a case in which the applicant has not received and completed the signed disclosure form required by this section, he or she may cancel the insurance so placed. The cancellation shall be on a pro rata basis as to premium, and the applicant shall be entitled to the return of any broker’s fees charged for the placement.
(b) The following notice shall be provided to home state insureds and home state insured applicants for insurance as provided by subdivision (a), and shall be printed in English and in the language principally used by the surplus line broker and nonadmitted insurer to advertise, solicit, or negotiate the sale and purchase of surplus line insurance. The surplus line broker and nonadmitted insurer shall use the appropriate bracketed language for application and issued policy disclosures:
1. THE INSURANCE POLICY THAT YOU [HAVE PURCHASED] [ARE APPLYING TO PURCHASE] IS BEING ISSUED BY AN INSURER THAT IS NOT LICENSED BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. THESE COMPANIES ARE CALLED “NONADMITTED” OR “SURPLUS LINE” INSURERS.
2. THE INSURER IS NOT SUBJECT TO THE FINANCIAL SOLVENCY REGULATION AND ENFORCEMENT THAT APPLY TO CALIFORNIA LICENSED INSURERS.
3. THE INSURER DOES NOT PARTICIPATE IN ANY OF THE INSURANCE GUARANTEE FUNDS CREATED BY CALIFORNIA LAW. THEREFORE, THESE FUNDS WILL NOT PAY YOUR CLAIMS OR PROTECT YOUR ASSETS IF THE INSURER BECOMES INSOLVENT AND IS UNABLE TO MAKE PAYMENTS AS PROMISED.
4. THE INSURER SHOULD BE LICENSED EITHER AS A FOREIGN INSURER IN ANOTHER STATE IN THE UNITED STATES OR AS A NON-UNITED STATES (ALIEN) INSURER. YOU SHOULD ASK QUESTIONS OF YOUR INSURANCE AGENT, BROKER, OR “SURPLUS LINE” BROKER OR CONTACT THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE AT THE FOLLOWING TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER ____ OR INTERNET WEB SITE WWW.INSURANCE.CA.GOV. ASK WHETHER OR NOT THE INSURER IS LICENSED AS A FOREIGN OR NON-UNITED STATES (ALIEN) INSURER AND FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSURER. YOU MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NAIC’S INTERNET WEB SITE AT WWW.NAIC.ORG.
5. FOREIGN INSURERS SHOULD BE LICENSED BY A STATE IN THE UNITED STATES AND YOU MAY CONTACT THAT STATE’S DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE TO OBTAIN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT INSURER.
6. FOR NON-UNITED STATES (ALIEN) INSURERS, THE INSURER SHOULD BE LICENSED BY A COUNTRY OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES AND SHOULD BE ON THE NAIC’S INTERNATIONAL INSURERS DEPARTMENT (IID) LISTING OF APPROVED NONADMITTED NON-UNITED STATES INSURERS. ASK YOUR AGENT, BROKER, OR “SURPLUS LINE” BROKER TO OBTAIN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT INSURER.
7. CALIFORNIA MAINTAINS A LIST OF APPROVED SURPLUS LINE INSURERS. ASK YOUR AGENT OR BROKER IF THE INSURER IS ON THAT LIST, OR VIEW THAT LIST AT THE INTERNET WEB SITE OF THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE: WWW.INSURANCE.CA.GOV.
8. IF YOU, AS THE APPLICANT, REQUIRED THAT THE INSURANCE POLICY YOU HAVE PURCHASED BE BOUND IMMEDIATELY, EITHER BECAUSE EXISTING COVERAGE WAS GOING TO LAPSE WITHIN TWO BUSINESS DAYS OR BECAUSE YOU WERE REQUIRED TO HAVE COVERAGE WITHIN TWO BUSINESS DAYS, AND YOU DID NOT RECEIVE THIS DISCLOSURE FORM AND A REQUEST FOR YOUR SIGNATURE UNTIL AFTER COVERAGE BECAME EFFECTIVE, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL THIS POLICY WITHIN FIVE DAYS OF RECEIVING THIS DISCLOSURE. IF YOU CANCEL COVERAGE, THE PREMIUM WILL BE PRORATED AND ANY BROKER’S FEE CHARGED FOR THIS INSURANCE WILL BE RETURNED TO YOU.”
(c) When a contract is issued to an industrial insured, neither the nonadmitted insurer nor the surplus line broker is required to provide the notice required in this section except on the confirmation of insurance, the certificate of placement, or the policy, whichever is first provided to the insured, nor is the insurer or surplus line broker required to obtain the insured’s signature. The producer shall ensure that the notice affixed to the confirmation of insurance, certificate of placement, or the policy is provided to the insured. The producer shall insert the current toll-free telephone number of the Department of Insurance as provided in paragraph 4 of the notice.
(1) An industrial insured is an insured that does both of the following:
(A) Employs at least 25 employees on average during the prior 12 months.
(B) Has aggregate annual premiums for insurance for all risks other than workers’ compensation and health coverage totaling no less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or obtains insurance through the services of a full-time employee acting as an insurance manager or a continuously retained insurance consultant. A “continuously retained insurance consultant” does not include: (i) an agent or broker through whom the insurance is being placed, (ii) a subagent or subproducer involved in the transaction, or (iii) an agent or broker that is a business organization employing or contracting with a person mentioned in clauses (i) and (ii).
(2) The surplus line broker shall be responsible for ensuring that the applicant is an industrial insured. A surplus line broker who reasonably relies on information provided in good faith by the applicant, whether directly or through the producer, shall be deemed to be in compliance with this requirement.
(d) For purposes of compliance with the requirement of subdivision (a) that the signature of the applicant be obtained, the following shall apply:
(1) If the insurance transaction is not conducted at an in-person, face-to-face meeting, the applicant’s signature on the disclosure form may be transmitted by the applicant to the agent or broker via facsimile or comparable electronic transmittal.
(2) In the case of commercial lines coverage, or personal insurance coverage subject to Section 675 and any umbrella coverage associated therewith, where an applicant requires that insurance coverage be bound immediately, either because existing coverage will lapse within two business days of the time the insurance is bound or because the applicant is required to have coverage in place within two business days, and the applicant cannot meet in person with the agent or broker to sign the disclosure form, the agent or broker may obtain the signature of the applicant within five days of binding coverage, provided that the applicant may cancel the insurance so placed within five days of receiving the disclosure form from the agent or broker. The cancellation shall be on a pro rata basis, and the applicant shall be entitled to the rescission or return of any broker’s fees charged for the placement. When a policy is canceled, the broker shall inform the applicant that the broker’s fee must be returned and that the premium must be prorated.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), this section shall not apply to insurance issued or delivered in this state by a nonadmitted Mexican insurer by and through a surplus line broker affording coverage exclusively in the Republic of Mexico on property located temporarily or permanently in, or operations conducted temporarily or permanently within, the Republic of Mexico.
(f) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2017.
(Repealed (in Sec. 12) and added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 348, Sec. 13. (AB 1515) Effective January 1, 2016. Section operative January 1, 2017, by its own provisions.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018