Whenever any insurance company, or employee or representative of such company, or any other person licensed or registered under Articles 1 through 67 of this Chapter knows or has reasonable cause to believe that any other person has violated N.C. Gen. Stat. § 58-2-161, 58-2-162, 58-2-164, 58-2-180, 58-8-1, 58-24-180(e), or whenever any insurance company, or employee or representative of such company, or any other person licensed or registered under Articles 1 through 67 of this Chapter knows or has reasonable cause to believe that any entity licensed by the Commissioner is financially impaired, it is the duty of such person, upon acquiring such knowledge, to notify the Commissioner and provide the Commissioner with a complete statement of all of the relevant facts and circumstances. Such report is a privileged communication, and when made without actual malice does not subject the person making the same to any liability whatsoever. The Commissioner may suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the license of any licensee who willfully fails to comply with this section. (1945, c. 382; 1987, c. 752, s. 2; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1054, s. 2; 2007-443, s. 4.)