South Carolina Code 38-51-20. License required of administrator
Any person who acts as an administrator without a license is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, and is subject to revocation of any insurance licenses issued by the director or his designee.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 38-51-20
- administrator: means any person who collects charges or premiums from, or who adjusts or settles claims on, residents of this State in connection with life or health insurance coverage or annuities other than:
(1) an employer on behalf of its employees or the employees of one or more subsidiaries or affiliated corporations of an employer;
(2) a union on behalf of its members;
(3) an insurer which is either licensed in this State or acting as an insurer with respect to a policy lawfully issued and delivered by it pursuant to the laws of a state in which the insurer was authorized to do insurance business, or a health maintenance organization licensed in this State;
(4) a life or health agent or broker licensed in this State whose activities are limited exclusively to the sale of insurance;
(5) a creditor on behalf of its debtors with respect to insurance covering a debt between the creditor and its debtors;
(6) a trust, its trustees, agents, and employees acting thereunder, established in conformity with 29 U. See South Carolina Code 38-51-10 - Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Department: means the Department of Insurance of South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Director: means the person who is appointed by the Governor upon the advice and consent of the Senate and who is responsible for the operation and management of the department. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- insurance: includes annuities. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- License: means a document issued by the state's director or his designee authorizing a person to act as an insurance producer for the lines of authority specified in the document. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
- Person: means a corporation, agency, partnership, association, voluntary organization, individual, or another entity, organization, or aggregation of individuals. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
Application for a license must be upon forms prescribed by the director or his designee and must be accompanied by an initial license fee of one hundred dollars, annual financial statements or reports for the two preceding calendar years, and any other documents that the director or his designee may require to ensure that the administrator meets the requirements for licensure set forth in this section. Thereafter, the administrator shall pay to the department a license renewal fee of one hundred dollars by March first of each year.
Before granting any license, the director or his designee must be satisfied that the administrator is competent, trustworthy, financially responsible, has a good personal and business reputation, has not had an insurance license revoked, suspended, or denied in any jurisdiction within the preceding five years, and has not been convicted of a crime involving fraud, dishonesty, or moral turpitude in any jurisdiction. For purposes of this section, "convicted" includes a plea of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere.
The director or his designee may revoke or suspend any license issued to an administrator when he finds that any condition exists which would have prohibited issuance of the original license, that the administrator has violated any provision of this chapter, or that the administrator has deceived or dealt unjustly with the citizens of this State. In lieu of revocation or suspension of license, the director or his designee may impose an administrative monetary penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars for each offense.