Rhode Island General Laws 27-46-12. Duty of agents or brokers or insurance producers to obtain license
(a) Risk retention groups. No person, firm, association, or corporation shall act or aid in any manner in soliciting, negotiating, or procuring liability insurance in this state from a risk retention group unless that person, firm, association, or corporation is licensed as an insurance agent or broker or producer in accordance with applicable provisions of law.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 27-46-12
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Insurance: means primary insurance, excess insurance, reinsurance, surplus lines insurance, and any other arrangement for shifting and distributing risk, which is determined to be insurance under the laws of this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-46-2
- person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
- Purchasing group: means any group which:
(i) Has as one of its purposes the purchase of liability insurance on a group basis;
(ii) Purchases the insurance only for its group members and only to cover their similar or related liability exposure, as described in subsection (10)(iii);
(iii) Is composed of members whose business or activities are similar or related with respect to the liability to which members are exposed by virtue of any related, similar, or common business, trade, product, services, premises, or operations; and
(iv) Is domiciled in any state. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-46-2
- Risk retention group: means any corporation or other limited liability association:
(i) Whose primary activity consists of assuming and spreading all, or any portion, of the liability exposure of its group members;
(ii) Which is organized for the primary purpose of conducting the activity described under subsection (11)(i);
(iii) Which:
(A) Is chartered and licensed as a liability insurance company and authorized to engage in the business of insurance under the laws of any state; or
(B) Before January 1, 1985, was chartered or licensed and authorized to engage in the business of insurance under the laws of Bermuda or the Cayman Islands and, before that date, had certified to the insurance commissioner of at least one state that it satisfied the capitalization requirements of that state, except that the group shall be considered to be a risk retention group only if it has been engaged in business continuously since that date and only for the purpose of continuing to provide insurance to cover product liability or completed operations liability, as the terms were defined in the Product Liability Risk Retention Act of 1981 before the date of the enactment of the Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986, Rhode Island General Laws 27-46-2
- State: means any state of the United States or the District of Columbia. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-46-2
(b) Purchasing groups.
(1) No person, firm, association, or corporation shall act or aid in any manner in soliciting, negotiating, or procuring liability insurance in this state for a purchasing group from an authorized insurer or a risk retention group chartered in a state unless that person, firm, association, or corporation is licensed as an insurance agent or broker or producer in accordance with applicable provisions of law;
(2) No person, firm, association, or corporation shall act or aid in any manner in soliciting, negotiating, or procuring liability insurance coverage in this state for any member of a purchasing group under a purchasing group’s policy unless that person, firm, association, or corporation is licensed as an insurance agent or broker or producer in accordance with applicable provisions of law;
(3) No person, firm, association, or corporation shall act or aid in any manner in soliciting, negotiating, or procuring liability insurance from an insurer not authorized to do business in this state on behalf of a purchasing group located in this state unless that person, firm, association, or corporation is licensed as a surplus lines agent or excess line broker in accordance with applicable provisions of law.
(c) Residency. For the purposes of acting as an agent or broker or insurance producer for a risk retention group or purchasing group pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the requirement of residence in this state shall not apply.
(d) Notice requirements. Every person, firm, association, or corporation licensed pursuant to the provisions of law relating to agents or brokers or insurance producers shall inform each prospective insured on business placed with risk retention groups or written through a purchasing group of the provisions of the notice required by § 27-46-4(7) in the case of a risk retention group and § 27-46-9(c) in the case of a purchasing group.
History of Section.
P.L. 1991, ch. 348, § 1.