SB395: relative to wireless communications equipment insurance.

SB 395 - AS INTRODUCED

2004 SESSION

04-3113

01/10

SENATE BILL 395

AN ACT relative to wireless communications equipment insurance.

SPONSORS: Sen. Clegg, Dist 14; Sen. Green, Dist 6; Sen. Odell, Dist 8; Sen. Flanders, Dist 7; Rep. Giuda, Graf 13; Rep. Gilman, Graf 9; Rep. Letourneau, Rock 77

COMMITTEE: Insurance

ANALYSIS

This bill exempts a business entity applying for a wireless communication specialty license and its employees and sales representatives from prelicensing education and examination provided certain conditions are met.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

04-3113

01/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Four

AN ACT relative to wireless communications equipment insurance.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Paragraphs; Producer Licensing; Wireless Communication; Definitions Added. Amend RSA 402-J:2 by inserting after paragraph XVII the following new paragraphs:

XVIII. "Wireless communication equipment" means wireless handsets, pagers, personal digital assistants, wireless telephones or wireless telephone batteries and other wireless devices and accessories related to such devices that are used to access wireless communications services and includes wireless communication services.

XIX. "Wireless communication specialty license" means a license issued to a business entity that permits the business entity and its salaried employees or its sales representatives to solicit the purchase of insurance to cover the loss, theft, mechanical failure, or malfunction of, or damage to, wireless communication equipment.

2 New Paragraph; Producer Licensing; Wireless Communication; Exemption From Examination. Amend RSA 402-J:9 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:

III. A business entity applying for a wireless communication specialty license and its employees and its sales representatives shall be exempt from prelicensing education and examination provided that:

(a) The completed application of the business entity is accomplished by a certification by an insurer authorized to do business in this state that:

(1) Is signed by an officer of the insurer and affirmed as true under the penalties of perjury; and

(2) States that the insurer has satisfied itself that the named applicant is trustworthy and competent to act as the insurer's agent for the solicitation of wireless communication insurance.

(b) Employees and sales representatives of the business entity are:

(1) Trained pursuant to training materials provided by the insurer and approved by the commissioner;

(2) Acting on behalf of and under the supervision of the license holder; and

(3) Not compensated based primarily on the amount of wireless communication insurance sold by the employee or sales representative.

(c) Prospective purchasers of wireless communication equipment insurance are informed that, except as may be specifically provided by another law of this state or the United States, the purchase of wireless communication insurance is not required in order to complete the associated consumer transaction.

(d) At each location at which sales of wireless communication insurance occurs, brochures, or other written materials are prominently displayed and readily available to the prospective consumer that:

(1) Summarize, clearly and correctly, the material terms of insurance coverage offered to consumers, including the identity of the insurer;

(2) Disclose, if applicable, that the policies offered by the license holder may provide a duplication of coverage already provided by a consumer's personal auto insurance policy, homeowner's insurance policy, personal liability insurance policy, or other source of coverage;

(3) Describe the process for filing a claim in the event the consumer elects to purchase coverage and in the event of a claim; and

(4) Contain any additional information on the price, benefits, exclusions, conditions, or other limitations of the policies required by the commissioner by rule.

(e) A wireless communication specialty license holder treats premiums collected from a consumer purchasing insurance when completing an associated consumer transaction as money received in a fiduciary capacity unless:

(1) The insurer represented by the specialty license holder has consented in writing, signed by an officer of the insurer, that premiums need not be segregated from money received by the license holder on account of the associated consumer transaction; and

(2) The charges for insurance coverage are itemized but not billed to the consumer separately from the charges for the associated consumer transaction.

(f) A wireless communication specialty license holder does not in any manner advertise, represent, or otherwise hold out the license holder or any employee or sales representative of the license holder as a licensed insurance producer under this or any other title of these statutes unless the entity or individual actually holds the applicable license.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.