Westmont Wire

House Bill 220, recently signed into law by the Governor of North Carolina makes significant changes to North Carolina’s surplus lines requirements.

HB 220 removes the North Carolina Surplus Line Association’s obligation to submit an annually updated list of surplus lines licensees. The Bill also requires that the record of each contract which a surplus lines licensee places and maintains in its office, include a copy of the compliance agreement. Furthermore, HB 220 provides for a complete repeal of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 58-21-80, removing a surplus lines licensee’s quarterly reporting requirement. Reporting is no longer required to be on standardized forms prescribed by the Commissioner.

Additionally, HB 220 modifies the Department of Insurance’s ability to suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a license. Under the amended N.C. Gen. Stat. § 58-21-95, the Department may no longer impose such penalties on a licensee for removing their office from North Carolina. The Bill further clarifies the Department’s powers to suspend or revoke a license by removing “Failure to maintain the required bond” from the list of punishable offenses and replacing that with “Failure to pay the stamping fee to the stamping office”. A bond is no longer required in North Carolina.

For any questions regarding House Bill 220, or for surplus lines regulatory inquiries, please contact Westmont Associates, Inc.

On July 26, 2019, Governor Roy Cooper signed House Bill 220, imposing a limit on the amount a domestic insurer may invest in its affiliates. After finding a loophole in the North Carolina Code, HB 220 amends N.C. Gen. Stat. § 58-19-10 to now state a domestic insurer may invest in the stock of one or more “affiliates or” subsidiaries, amounts that do not exceed the lesser of 10% of admitted assets or 50% of policyholders surplus. North Carolina’s investment laws, which had originally only focused on investments in subsidiaries, now apply to investments in an insurer’s affiliates as well.

For questions regarding North Carolina’s investment limitation, or any inquiries about insurance investment regulations, please contact Westmont Associates, Inc.

856-216-0220

info@westmontlaw.com

https://westmontlaw.com/ 

All Insurance Licensees, Producers, and Adjusters will be subject to a new requirement in Hawaii in order to use a trade name. Effective October 1, 2019 all licensees will need to register the trade name with the Business Registration Division (“BREG”), Department of Commerce and Consumer affairs prior to the use or change of a trade name to sell, solicit, or negotiate insurance in Hawaii.

Once registered with BREG, the licensee can apply to the Insurance Division’s Licensing Branch to add or remove a trade name on an active insurance license.

Any existing licensees using unregistered trade names will need to register their trade name with BREG. It will be the responsibility of the licensee to take the appropriate action (no additional notice will come from the Insurance Division).

Contact Westmont today for assistance in registering your trade name in Hawaii.