§431E-3 - Licensing requirements.
[§431E-3] Licensing requirements. (a) No person, wherever located, shall act as a provider or broker with an owner who is a resident of this State, without first having obtained a license from the commissioner.
(b) Application for a provider or broker license shall be made to the commissioner by the applicant on a form prescribed by the commissioner, and the application shall be accompanied by a fee in the amount provided by section 431:7-101.
(c) A life insurance producer who has been duly licensed as a resident insurance producer with a life line of authority in this State or the producer's home state for at least one year and is licensed as a nonresident producer in this State shall be deemed to meet the licensing requirements of this section and shall be permitted to operate as a broker.
(d) Not later than thirty days from the first day of operating as a broker, the life insurance producer shall notify the commissioner that the life insurance producer is acting as a broker on a form prescribed by the commissioner, and shall pay a fee in the amount provided by section 431:7-101. Notification shall include an acknowledgment by the life insurance producer that the life insurance producer will operate as a broker in accordance with this chapter.
(e) The insurer that issued the policy that is the subject of a life settlement contract shall not be responsible for any act or omission of a broker, provider, or purchaser, arising out of or in connection with the life settlement transaction, unless the insurer receives compensation for the placement of a life settlement contract from the provider, purchaser, or broker in connection with the life settlement contract.
(f) A person licensed as an attorney, certified public accountant, or financial planner accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation agency, who is retained to represent the owner, and whose compensation is not paid directly or indirectly by the provider or purchaser, may negotiate life settlement contracts on behalf of the owner without obtaining a license as a broker.
(g) Licenses may be renewed every year on their anniversary date upon payment of fees in the amounts required under section 431:7-101. Failure to pay the fees within the terms prescribed shall result in the automatic inactivation of the license.
(h) The applicant shall provide such information as the commissioner may require on forms prepared by the commissioner. The commissioner shall have authority, at any time, to require such applicant to fully disclose the identity of its stockholders, other than stockholders owning fewer than ten per cent of the shares of an applicant whose shares are publicly traded, and the identity of its partners, officers, and employees. The commissioner may, in the exercise of the commissioner's sole discretion, refuse to issue such a license in the name of any person if not satisfied that any officer, employee, stockholder, or partner thereof who may materially influence the applicant's conduct meets the standards under subsection (j).
(i) A license issued to a partnership, corporation, or other entity authorizes all members, officers, and designated employees to act as a licensee under the license, if those persons are named in the application and any supplements to the application.
(j) Upon the filing of an application and the payment of the license fee, the commissioner shall make an investigation of each applicant and may issue a license if the commissioner finds that the applicant:
(1) If a provider, has provided a detailed plan of operation;
(2) Is competent and trustworthy and intends to transact its business in good faith;
(3) Has a good business reputation and has had experience, training, or education so as to be qualified in the business for which the license is applied;
(4) If a legal entity is formed or organized pursuant to the laws of this State or is a foreign legal entity authorized to transact business in this State, or provides a certificate of good standing from the state of its domicile; and
(5) Has provided to the commissioner an anti-fraud plan that meets the requirements of section 431E-48.
(k) The commissioner shall not issue any license to a nonresident applicant unless a written designation of an agent for service of process is filed and maintained with the commissioner or unless the applicant has filed with the commissioner the applicant's written irrevocable consent that any action against the applicant may be commenced against the applicant by service of process on the commissioner.
(l) Each licensee shall file with the commissioner on or before the first day of March of each year an annual statement containing the information as the commissioner by rule may prescribe.
(m) A provider may not use any person to perform the functions of a broker unless the person holds a current, valid license as a broker.
(n) A broker may not use any person to perform the functions of a provider as defined in this chapter unless such person holds a current, valid license as a provider, and as provided in this section.
(o) A provider or broker shall provide to the commissioner new or revised information about officers, ten per cent or more stockholders, partners, directors, members, or designated employees within thirty days of the change.
(p) An individual licensed as a broker shall complete on a biennial basis fifteen hours of training related to life settlements and life settlement transactions, as required by the commissioner; provided that a life insurance producer who is operating as a broker pursuant to this section shall not be subject to the requirements of this subsection. Any person failing to meet the requirements of this subsection shall be subject to the penalties imposed by the commissioner. [L 2008, c 177, pt of §1]