(a) The commissioner may place on probation, suspend, revoke, or refuse to issue or renew an independent adjuster’s license, an apprentice independent adjuster’s license, or the registration of an emergency independent adjuster, or may levy a civil penalty in accordance with subsection (d), or any combination of these actions, for any one or more of the following causes:

Attorney's Note

Under the Alabama Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Violationup to 30 daysup to $200
For details, see Ala. Code § 13A-5-7
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Terms Used In Alabama Code 27-9A-12

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • 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.
  • following: means next after. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • writing: includes typewriting and printing on paper. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
(1) Providing incorrect, misleading, incomplete, or materially untrue information in the license application.
(2) Violating any insurance laws, rules, subpoena, or order of the commissioner or of another state‘s insurance regulator.
(3) Obtaining or attempting to obtain a license or registration through misrepresentation or fraud.
(4) Improperly withholding, misappropriating, or converting any monies or properties received in the course of acting as an adjuster of any type or in otherwise doing insurance business in this state or elsewhere.
(5) Intentionally misrepresenting the terms of an actual insurance contract.
(6) Having been convicted of a felony.
(7) Having admitted or been found to have committed any insurance unfair trade practice or fraud.
(8) Using fraudulent, coercive, or dishonest practices, or demonstrating incompetence, untrustworthiness, or financial irresponsibility, in the course of acting as an adjuster of any type or otherwise in the conduct of business in this state or elsewhere.
(9) Having an independent adjuster license, company or employee adjuster license, public adjuster license, emergency adjuster license or registration or its equivalent, or insurance producer license or its equivalent suspended, revoked, or refused in any other state, province, district, or territory.
(10) Forging another’s name to any document related to an insurance transaction or in connection with a claim being adjusted by the adjuster.
(11) Cheating, including improperly using notes or any other reference material, to complete an examination for a license.
(12) Failing to comply with an administrative or court order imposing a child support obligation.
(13) Failing to pay state income tax or comply with any administrative or court order directing payment of state income tax which remains unpaid.
(b) In the event the action by the commissioner is to refuse application for licensure or renewal of an existing license, the commissioner shall notify the applicant or licensee in writing, advising of the reason for the refusal. The applicant or licensee may make written demand upon the commissioner within 30 days for a hearing before the commissioner to determine the reasonableness of the refusal. The hearing shall be held pursuant to Chapter 2 of this title.
(c) If the commissioner finds, after a hearing, that an individual licensee’s violation occurred while acting on behalf of or representing the business entity and that the violation was known by one or more of the business entity’s partners in the partnership, corporate officers in a corporation, or managers of the limited liability company and that the violation was neither reported to the commissioner nor was corrective action taken in relation thereto, the licenses of such individual employees or personnel of a business entity may be placed on probation, suspended, or revoked.
(d) In the absence of a greater fine specifically provided elsewhere in this title, and in addition to or in lieu of any applicable probation, suspension, revocation, or refusal, a person may, in the sole discretion of the commissioner after a hearing, additionally be subject to a civil fine in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per violation.
(e) The commissioner shall retain the authority to enforce the provisions of and impose any penalty or remedy authorized by this chapter or elsewhere in this title against any person who is under investigation for or charged with a violation of this chapter or this title even if the person’s license or registration has been surrendered or has expired by operation of law.
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