[No. 124.] AN ACT defining general, district, state and special agents, agents for insurance companies authorized to transact business in the State of Michigan and solicitors for agents, requiring them to be licensed annually by the Commissioner of Insurance, prescribing the form of application for such license, fixing the fees to be paid therefor, and the duties and powers of the Commissioner of Insurance in relation thereto, and providing penalties for the transaction of business in the State of Michigan in violation of the provisions hereof. The People of the State of Michigan enact: defined. counter defined. SECTION 1. A general, district, state or special agent is General agent hereby defined to be a person, firm or corporation acting under authority, express or implied, from any insurance company authorized to transact business in the State of Michigan to supervise and appoint agents, inspect risks, and otherwise transact business for and as a representative of such insurance corporation within the State of Michigan: Provided however, That any such general, district, state or Proviso. special agent not a resident of this State shall not counter signing sign any policy or be paid any commission or compensation policies. for solicitation based upon the premium received. An agent Agent is hereby defined as a person, firm or corporation acting under express authority from any insurance corporation authorized to transact business in the State of Michigan, to solicit insurance and or write and countersign policies of insurance and collect premiums therefor within this State on behalf of such company. A solicitor is hereby defined Solicitor as any person acting under express authority from an agent, having authority to appoint solicitors, of an insurance company authorized to transact business in the State of Michigan, to solicit insurance for such agent, but without the power or authority to issue or countersign policies or otherwise bind any company of which such agent may be the duly authorized representative. defined. to agent. SEC. 2. No general, district, state or special agent shall License represent any insurance company authorized to transact business in the State of Michigan in the supervising, inspecting or otherwise transacting any business of such company until the Commissioner of Insurance has issued, and such general, district, state or special agent is in possession of, a license authorizing such general, district, state or special agent to represent such insurance company within the State of Michigan. Such license shall be issued only on the requi How issued. sition of an executive officer or head of a department of such insurance corporation or association, if it be a corporation organized under the laws of any state of the United States, or of the United States manager of any foreign insurance Residence of agent. Retaliatory fee. Unlawful agency. to state. Residence. How issued. company that may be authorized to transact business in the State of Michigan. It shall not be required that such general, district, state or special agent be a resident of this State. The fee for the issuance of the license provided by this section shall be retaliatory. SEC. 3. It shall not be lawful for any person, firm or corporation to act as agent for any insurance company authorized to transact business in the State of Michigan until a license shall have been issued to him or it by the Commissioner of Insurance authorizing him or it to act as such What license agent, which license shall specifically set forth the name of the person, firm or corporation so authorized to act as such agent, the name of the corporation or association for which the agent is authorized to act, the name and address of the attorney of such corporation on whom process may be served in this State, if such corporation be not organized under the laws of the State of Michigan, and the class or classes of insurance for which said agent is authorized to solicit and or countersign policies, and or otherwise transact business. Licenses as agents shall be issued only to persons who are bona fide residents of the State of Michigan, or to corporations organized and existing under the laws of this State, a majority of whose board of directors and executive officers shall be residents of the State of Michigan. Licenses may be issued by the Commissioner of Insurance on requisition signed by an executive officer or head of a department of the insurance company for which the agent is empowered to act: Provided, That the authority to make requisitions for delegation of agents' licenses may be delegated to the general, district, state or special agents of such insurance company, such delegation to be in writing signed by an executive officer or head of a department of the company or the United States manager of a foreign corporation, and filed in the office of the Commissioner of Insurance. The fee to be charged to any insurance company for each agent's license shall be the same as the fee that would be charged a Michigan corporation for like licenses issued to its agents in the state under the laws of which such insurance corporation is organized, or in which it may have its principal United States deposit if it be of a foreign corporation. When such a license shall be issued to any firm or corporation, it shall designate the members of such firm or the officers of such corporation, to-wit: The president, secretary, treasurer and general manager or corresponding officers, who shall be empowered to act thereunder, and only one such license shall be required for any firm or corporation. But no fee shall be charged a Michigan corporation. Proviso, authority. Fee. Solicitors. SEC. 4. Any agent duly authorized as such, and representing one or more insurance corporations within this State may employ such solicitors as he may desire to represent him and his agency, but such solicitors shall not represent themselves, by advertisement or otherwise as agents of in surance companies for which their employer may be the agency. SEC. 5. After the first day of March, nineteen hundred Unlawful sixteen, it shall not be lawful for any person to act in this State as general, district, state agent, special agent, agent, solicitor, or otherwise, in procuring or receiving applications or in any manner directly or indirectly to aid in transacting any business for or in behalf of any insurance company, corporation or association authorized to transact business within this State, until he shall have procured from the Commissioner of Insurance a license as herein provided. Nor shall it be lawful for any insurance company, corporation or association to appoint or employ any general, district, state or special agent or directly or indirectly to authorize any person to transact any insurance business or in any manner to receive the benefit of any business done or services rendered by any such agent or person within this State in any other manner than as herein provided: Provided, how- Proviso. ever, That the terms of this act shall not extend to include or prohibit the employment of or the acting by any regularly admitted attorney-at-law for or in behalf of any client by whom he shall have been regularly retained: Provided Proviso, new further. That no. new license shall be issued after this act takes effect except in accordance with the provisions hereof. SEC. 6. Any authorized agent of an insurance company Insurance of transacting business in this State shall have the right to procure the insurance of risks or parts of risks, that have been refused by companies represented by him in other like companies duly authorized to transact business in this State. but such insurance shall only be consummated through a duly licensed resident agent of the company taking the risk: Provided, however, That nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize the conducting of any insurance brokerage business in this State. attorneys. licenses. refused risks. Proviso, brokerage. to apply. license. SEC. 7. The provisions of this act shall apply only to in- How act surance companies transacting business on a stock plan, and to all mutual or co-operative life and health and accident corporations, except fraternal beneficiary societies. SEC. 8. The Commissioner of Insurance shall have power Refusal of after a hearing to refuse to grant any license requested under the provisions of this act, should he be satisfied that the person, firm or corporation for whom the requisition is made. is not a proper or fit person, firm or corporation to be permitted to transact business within this State, and the Commissioner of Insurance shall at once, notify the insurance Notice. Revocation. Proviso, review of action. Clerical help. Application for license. Statements. company or agent making such requisition of his refusal to issue the license and the reason therefor. The Commissioner of Insurance shall have power to revoke for cause shown and upon hearing given to all parties concerned, any license issued by him under the provisions of this act: Provided, That any action taken by the Commissioner of Insurance under the provisions of this section shall be subject to review by any court of competent jurisdiction. SEC. 9. Nothing in this act shall be held to extend to or include any clerical help that may be necessary in performing any of the functions provided for agents, general, district, state or special agents, nor to require such clerical help to be licensed in the same manner as their employers. No such clerical help shall solicit the business unless licensed as an agent or solicitor. SEC. 10. No license shall be granted under this act until the person, or if a firm or corporation, then the persons representing the firm or corporation for which requisition is made, shall have filed with the Commissioner of Insurance an application duly signed and verified by him, which application shall be in the following form, to-wit: To the Commissioner of Insurance of the State of Michigan : Agency as. following statement on oath: and make the First, I will not knowingly violate any of the insurance laws of this State during the term of the license applied for if issued; Second, I will not knowingly deceive any applicant for insurance, or misrepresent any of the terms or conditions of any insurance policy or the financial responsibility of any insurance company; Third, I will not persuade or attempt to persuade by any incomplete comparison or mis-representation, any person to drop or discontinue any insurance that he may have with any company or association during the term of such insurance for the purpose of taking insurance in any like company or association that I may represent; Fourth, During the past year I have represented the following companies: Fifth, I am not indebted to any insurance company or general agent by virtue of any contract as former agent except as follows:.. Sixth, I have had........years of experience in the. insurance business and have lived in Michigan for the past . years; Seventh, I expect to devote my time... ance business; ..to the insur Eighth, In what other business are you engaged and in what capacity? (Explain fully.) Ninth, I have never had a license refused or revoked by the department of insurance of this or any other state. Except..... ... Tenth, I understand that it is against the laws of this State: (a) To act as an insurance agent or solicitor without a license from the Department of Insurance; (b) To misrepresent the conditions of any policy; (c) To estimate future dividends that may be paid by a company; (d) To make any discrimination between citizens of this State or to rebate any part of the premium or commission or offer any valuable consideration as an inducement to take insurance other than that clearly expressed in the policy; (e) To twist or attempt to twist insurance policies by misrepresentation and or unfair comparisons. The Commissioner of Insurance shall have authority to address any additional inquiries to such applicant and the entire application shall be sworn to and signed by the applicant. SEC. 11. Any person violating any of the provisions of Penalty. this act shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than ninety days or both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court; and upon the conviction of any agent, state or special agent, or solicitor, of any violation of the provisions of this act the Commissioner of Insurance shall suspend the authority of such agent, state or special agent, or solicitor, to transact any insurance business within the State of Michigan for a period of not less than three months; any insurance company employing an agent, state or special agent, and failing to procure a license required by this act, or permitting such agent, or state or special agent, to transact business for it within the State before such certificate has been procured, shall pay to the Commissioner of Insurance for the use of the State a penalty of twenty-five dollars for each offense, and in the event of failure to pay such penalty within ten days after notice from the Commissioner of Insurance, Revocation the authority of such company shall be revoked by the Com- of authority. missioner of Insurance until such penalty is paid, and no such company shall be re-admitted until it shall have complied with all of the terms and conditions imposed for admission in the first instance: Provided, That any action Proviso, taken by the Commissioner of Insurance under the pro- review visions of this section shall be subject to review by any court of competent jurisdiction. Approved May 6, 1915. 27 by |