Chapter 6 - Surplus Line Brokers

California Insurance Code — §§ 1760-1780

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Sections (48)

Repealed (in Sec. 1) and added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 713, Sec. 2. (AB 480) Effective January 1, 2013. Section operative January 1, 2018, by its own provisions.

(a)A home state insured, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 1760.1, may negotiate and effect insurance to protect himself, herself, or itself against loss, damage, or liability with any nonadmitted insurer.
(b)Every home state insured that effects insurance governed by this chapter shall pay the tax imposed by Part 7.5 (commencing with Section 13201) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(c)This section shall become operative on January 1,

2018.

Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 162, Sec. 103. (SB 1171) Effective January 1, 2013.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following definitions:

(a)“Certified” means an originally signed or sealed statement, dated not more than 60 days before submission, made by a public official or other person, attached to a copy of a document, that attests that the copy is a true copy of the original, and that the original is in the custody of the person making the statement.
(b)“Commercial insured” means any person purchasing commercial insurance that, at the time of placement, meets all of the following requirements:
(1)The person employs or retains a qualified risk manager to negotiate insurance coverage.
(2)The person has paid aggregate nationwide commercial property and casualty insurance premiums in excess of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in the immediately preceding 12 months.
(3)(A) The person meets at least one of the following criteria:
(i)The person possesses a net worth in excess of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000), as that amount is adjusted pursuant to subparagraph (B).

(ii) The person generates annual revenues in excess of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000), as that amount is adjusted pursuant to subparagraph (B).

(iii) The person employs more than 500 full-time or full-time equivalent employees per individual insured or is a member of an

affiliated group employing more than 1,000 employees in the aggregate.

(iv) The person is a not-for-profit organization or public entity generating annual budgeted expenditures of at least thirty million dollars ($30,000,000), as that amount is adjusted pursuant to subparagraph (B).

(v)The person is a municipality with a population in excess of 50,000 persons.

(B) Effective on January 1, 2015, and each fifth January 1 occurring thereafter, the dollar amounts in subparagraph (A) shall be adjusted to reflect the percentage change for that five-year period in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor. The commissioner shall issue a bulletin to all surplus line brokers advising of any adjustments and may adopt the calculations of

the NAIC or other entity in doing so.

(c)“Domiciliary jurisdiction” means the state, nation, or subdivision thereof under the laws of which an insurer is incorporated or otherwise organized.
(d)“Domiciliary state of the syndicate’s trust” means the state in which the syndicate’s trust fund is principally maintained and administered for the benefit of the syndicate’s policyholders in the United States.
(e)“Home state” means, except as provided in paragraphs (2) to (4), inclusive, any of the following, with respect to an insured or applicant:
(1)(A) The state in which the insured maintains its principal place of business or, in the case of an individual, the individual’s principal residence.
(B)If 100 percent of the insured risk is located outside the state referred to in subparagraph (A), the state to which the greatest percentage of the insured’s taxable premium for that insurance contract is allocated.
(2)“Principal place of business” means, with respect to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) determining the home state of the insured, (A) the state where the insured maintains its headquarters and where the insured’s high-level officers direct, control, and coordinate the business activities; or (B) if the insured’s high-level officers direct, control, and coordinate the business activities in more than one state, the state in which the greatest percentage of the insured’s taxable premium for that insurance contract is allocated; or (C) if the insured maintains its headquarters or the insured’s high-level officers direct, control, and coordinate the business activities outside any state, the state to which the

greatest percentage of the insured’s taxable premium for that insurance contract is allocated.

(3)“Principal residence” means, with respect to determining the home state of the insured, (A) the state where the insured resides for the greatest number of days during a calendar year; or (B) if the insured’s principal residence is located outside any state, the state to which the greatest percentage of the insured’s taxable premium for that insurance contract is allocated.
(4)Affiliated groups. If more than one insured from an affiliated group are named insureds on a single nonadmitted insurance contract, the term “home state” means the home state, as determined pursuant to subparagraph
(A)of paragraph (1), of the member of the affiliated group that has the largest percentage of premium attributed to it under such insurance contract.
(f)“Home state insured” or “home state insured applicant” means a person whose home state is California and who has received a certificate or evidence of coverage as set forth in Section 1764 or a policy as issued by an eligible surplus line insurer, or a person who is an applicant therefor.
(g)“IID” means the International Insurers Department of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
(h)“Insurer” means, unless the context indicates otherwise, “nonadmitted” insurers that are either “foreign” or “alien” insurers, as those terms are defined in Sections 25, 27, and 1580, and syndicates whose members consist of individual incorporated insurers who are not

engaged in any business other than underwriting as a member of the group and individual unincorporated insurers, provided all the members are subject to the same level of solvency regulation and control by the group’s domiciliary regulator. The term “insurer” includes all nonadmitted insurers selling insurance to or through purchasing groups as defined in the federal Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 3901 et seq.) and the California Risk Retention Act of 1991 (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 125) of Part 1), except insurers that are risk retention groups as defined by those acts.

(i)“ISI” means Insurance Solvency International.
(j)“Licensee” means a surplus line broker as defined in Section 47.
(k)“Multistate risk” means a risk covered by a nonadmitted insurer with insured exposures in more

than one state.

(l)“NAIC” means the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or its successor organization.
(m)“Nonadmitted insurance” means any property and casualty insurance permitted to be placed directly or through a surplus line broker with a nonadmitted insurer eligible to accept such insurance.
(n)“Nonadmitted insurer” means an insurer not licensed or admitted to engage in the business of insurance in this state in conformity with Section 700; but does not include a risk retention group, as that term is defined in Sections 130(k) and 2(a)(4) of the federal Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 3901(a)(4)).
(o)“Qualified risk manager” means, with respect to a policyholder of commercial insurance, a person who meets all

of the following requirements:

(1)The person is an employee of, or third-party consultant retained by, the commercial policyholder.
(2)The person provides skilled services in loss prevention, loss reduction, or risk and insurance coverage analysis, and purchase of insurance.
(3)The person has any of the following:
(A)A bachelor’s degree or higher degree from an accredited college or university in risk management, business administration, finance, economics, or any other field determined by the commissioner to demonstrate minimum competence in risk management and satisfies either of the following:
(i)Has three years of experience in risk financing, claims administration, loss

prevention, risk and insurance analysis, or purchasing commercial lines of insurance.

(ii) Has one of the following:

(I) A designation as a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) issued by the American Institute for CPCU and Insurance Institute of America.

(II) A designation as an Associate in Risk Management (ARM) issued by the American Institute for CPCU and Insurance Institute of America.

(III) A designation as Certified Risk Manager (CRM) issued by the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research.

(IV) A designation as a RIMS Fellow (RF) issued by the Global Risk Management Institute.

(V) Any other designation, certification, or license determined by the commissioner to demonstrate minimum competency in risk management.

(B) At least seven years of experience in risk financing, claims administration, loss prevention, risk and insurance coverage analysis, or purchasing commercial lines of insurance, and has any one of the designations specified in subclauses (I) to (V), inclusive, of clause (ii) of subparagraph (A).

(C) At least 10 years of experience in risk financing, claims administration, loss prevention, risk and insurance coverage analysis, or purchasing commercial lines of insurance.

(D) A graduate degree from an accredited college or university in risk management, business administration, finance, economics, or any other field determined by the commissioner to demonstrate minimum competence in risk management.

(p)“State” means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.
(q)“Verified” means a document or copy accompanied by an originally signed statement, dated not more than 60 days before submission, from a responsible executive or official who has authority to provide the statement and knowledge whereof he or she speaks, attesting either under oath before a notary public, or under the penalty of perjury under California law, that the assertions made in the document are true.

Added by Stats. 2011, Ch. 83, Sec. 10. (AB 315) Effective July 15, 2011. Operative July 21, 2011, by Sec. 34 of Stats. 2011, Ch. 83.

The surplus line broker shall be responsible for determining whether an applicant for nonadmitted insurance is a California home state insured. A surplus line broker who reasonably relies on information provided in good faith by the applicant, whether directly or through the producer, shall be deemed to be in compliance with this requirement.

Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 83, Sec. 11. (AB 315) Effective July 15, 2011. Operative July 21, 2011, by Sec. 34 of Stats. 2011, Ch. 83.

(a)The provisions of this chapter limiting the insurance that may be placed with nonadmitted insurers and requiring any report thereof shall not apply to:
(1)Reinsurance of the liability of an admitted insurer.
(2)Insurance against perils of navigation, transit, or transportation upon hulls, freights or disbursements, or other shipowner interests; upon goods, wares, merchandise, and all other personal property and interests therein, in the course of exportation from or importation into any country, or transportation coastwise, including transportation by land or water from point of origin to final destination and

including war risks; and marine builder’s risks, drydocks, and marine railways, including insurance of ship repairer’s liability, and protection and indemnity insurance, but excluding insurance covering bridges or tunnels.

(3)Aircraft or spacecraft insurance.
(4)Insurance on property or operations of railroads engaged in interstate commerce.
(b)The insurance specified in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of subdivision (a) may be placed with a nonadmitted insurer for a home state insured only by and through a special lines’ surplus line broker. The license of a special lines’ surplus line broker shall be applied for and procured and shall be subject to the same fees for filing on issuance in the same manner as the license of a surplus line broker, except that in lieu of the bond required by Section 1765, there shall be

delivered to the commissioner a bond in the form, amounts, and conditions specified in Sections 1663 and 1665 for an insurance broker and only one fee shall be collected from one person for both licenses. The licensee in respect to the business shall be subject to all the provisions of this chapter except Sections 1761, 1763, 1765.1, 1765.2, and 1775.5.

(c)The commissioner may address to any licensed special lines’ surplus line broker a written request for full and complete information respecting the financial stability, reputation, and integrity of any nonadmitted insurer with whom the licensee has dealt or proposes to deal in the transaction of insurance specified in paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of subdivision (a). The licensee so addressed

shall promptly furnish in written or printed form so much of the information requested as he or she can produce together with a signed statement identifying the same and giving reasons for omissions, if any. After due examination of the information and accompanying statement, the commissioner may, if he or she believes it to be in the public interest, order in writing the licensee to place no further insurance business for home state insureds with that nonadmitted insurer on behalf of any person. Any placement with that nonadmitted insurer made by a licensee after receipt of the order is a violation of this chapter. The commissioner may issue an order if he or she finds that a nonadmitted insurer with whom the licensee has dealt or proposes to deal in the transaction of insurance is in an unsound financial condition, is disreputable, or is lacking in integrity. The order shall also include notice of a hearing to be held at a time and place fixed therein, which shall be not less than 20 nor more than 30 days

from service of the order upon the licensee.

(d)The commissioner may, in respect to business written or placed under the provisions of this section, require information and reports thereof that the commissioner considers necessary, convenient, or advisable.
(e)Each placing of insurance in violation of this chapter is a misdemeanor.
(f)The commissioner may revoke, suspend, or deny any license granted pursuant to this code in accordance with the procedure provided in Article 13 (commencing with Section 1737) of Chapter 5, or any certificate of authority granted pursuant to this code in accordance with the procedure provided in Section 704 whenever the commissioner finds that the licensee or holder of the certificate has committed a violation of this section.
(g)The premium for insurance placed by or through a special lines’ surplus line broker pursuant to this section shall not be subject to the tax imposed upon the broker based upon gross premiums paid for insurance placed under authority conferred by the license.
(h)Special lines’ surplus line brokers may advertise and solicit in conformity with Section 1773, except that they are not subject to the limitation that any nonadmitted insurer’s name appearing in the advertisements or solicitations must be eligible under Section 1765.1.

Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 370, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1999.

For purposes of Section 1760.5, “spacecraft” means missiles, satellites, staffed and unstaffed space vehicles, any objects intended for launch, or objects launched or assembled in outer space, including, but not limited to, the space shuttle and any transportation, communication, information, or other system intended to be employed in outer space, together with related equipment, devices, components, and parts.

Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 83, Sec. 12. (AB 315) Effective July 15, 2011. Operative July 21, 2011, by Sec. 34 of Stats. 2011, Ch. 83.

In addition to the authority granted by Section 1760.5, the commissioner has the discretion to direct special lines’ surplus line brokers to not place further business for a home state insured with an insurer whose eligibility has been withdrawn pursuant to Section 1765.1.

Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 83, Sec. 13. (AB 315) Effective July 15, 2011. Operative July 21, 2011, by Sec. 34 of Stats. 2011, Ch. 83.

(a)Except as provided in Sections 1760 and 1760.5, and paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b), a person within this state shall not transact any insurance for a home state insured with nonadmitted insurers, except by and through a surplus line broker licensed under this chapter and upon the terms and conditions prescribed in this chapter.
(b)(1) An insurer domiciled in California may have common directors with an affiliated nonadmitted insurer provided these common directors do not constitute the majority of the voting authority of the nonadmitted insurer and do not perform any management functions for the nonadmitted insurer in California.
(2)An insurer domiciled in California may perform the following administrative services on behalf of an affiliated nonadmitted insurer that has qualified as an eligible surplus line insurer pursuant to Section 1765.1:
(A)Computer operations that are unrelated to the underwriting process, which may include such activities as development and maintenance of application software, databases, and servers, procurement of information technology and services, network operations, and Internet Web site development and support.
(B)Clerical and administrative staffing support, provided that this staff shall not have any contact or interaction with policyholders of the nonadmitted insurer.
(C)Human resources, provided that any decisions relating to the hiring,

firing, disciplinary actions, or compensation of any employee, officer, or both, of the nonadmitted insurer shall be made directly by the nonadmitted insurer.

(D)Claims adjusting, as described in Section 14021, except that all claims notices, claims-related decisions, including those relating to setting reserves and claims acceptance, claim payments, and settlements shall be made directly by the affiliated nonadmitted insurer.
(E)Managing investments such as buying, maintaining, and selling financial investment instruments, except that decisions relating to investment goals, risk assumptions such as capital preservation and protection of investment principal, determining liquidity needs, and diversification ratios shall be made by the affiliated nonadmitted insurer.
(3)Nothing in this section permits the

nonadmitted insurer to conduct any activity through its affiliate that constitutes the transaction of insurance or a violation of Section 700 or 703.

Added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 255, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2000.

For purposes of Sections 1764, 1764.1, and 1764.3, the term “certificate” means a surplus line broker certificate as defined in Section 48.

Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 162, Sec. 104. (SB 1171) Effective January 1, 2013.

(a)A surplus line broker may solicit and place insurance for a home state insured, other than as excepted in Section 1761, with nonadmitted insurers only if that insurance cannot be procured from insurers admitted for the particular class or classes of insurance and that actually write the particular type of insurance in this state. Each surplus line broker shall be responsible to ensure that a diligent search is made among insurers that are admitted to transact and are actually writing the particular type of insurance in this state before procuring the insurance for a home state insured from a nonadmitted insurer. Each surplus line broker shall file with the commissioner or his or her designee, within 60 days of placing any insurance for a home state insured with a nonadmitted insurer, a written report that shall be kept

confidential, regarding the insurance. This report shall include the name and address of the insured, verification that the insured is a home state insured, the identity of the insurer or insurers, a description of the subject and location of the risk, the amount of premium charged for the insurance, a copy of the declarations page of the policy or a copy of the surplus line broker’s certificate or binder evidencing the placement of insurance, and other pertinent information that the commissioner may reasonably require. In addition, each surplus line broker shall file a standardized form to be prescribed by the commissioner setting forth the diligent efforts to place the coverage with admitted insurers and the results of these efforts. The form shall be signed by a person licensed under this code who has made the diligent search required by this section or who supervised an unlicensed person or persons who actually conducted the search. The insurance shall not be placed with a nonadmitted insurer for the

purpose of procuring a rate lower than the lowest rate that will be accepted by any admitted insurer except as provided by subdivision (c). The commissioner may make and publish reasonable rules and regulations, consistent with this chapter, in respect to transactions governed thereby and the basis or bases for his or her determinations hereunder.

(b)It shall be prima facie evidence that a diligent search among admitted insurers has been made if the standardized form filed as required by subdivision (a) establishes that three admitted insurers that actually write the particular type of insurance in this state have declined the risk, or that fewer than three admitted insurers actually write the particular type of insurance. The commissioner, or his or her designee, may review the form for the accuracy of the information provided on it, including, but not limited to, whether the listed insurers actually write that type of insurance, and whether

the three insurers declined the risk. The commissioner may take disciplinary action against the person signing the form for any misrepresentation made in the form due to the negligence of or the result of an intentional act by that person or the person or persons who actually conducted the search. Those actions may include any action authorized to be taken against a licensed person by this code. Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude the commissioner or his or her designee from directing the surplus line broker to conduct a further or additional search among admitted insurers for similar placements in the future.

(c)It shall be conclusively presumed that insurance is placed in violation of this section if the insurance is actually placed with a nonadmitted insurer at a lower rate of premium or lower premium than the lowest rate of premium or the lowest premium that could be obtained from an admitted insurer unless, at the time the

insurance attaches, there is filed with the commissioner a statement describing the insurance, specifying the rate and the nearest procurable rates from admitted insurers. The statement shall include an explanation of the reasons that the insurance must be placed with a nonadmitted insurer even though it is available from an admitted insurer. Unless the commissioner, or his or her designee, within five days after that filing notifies the filing broker that in his or her opinion the placing of the insurance constitutes a violation of this section, the broker may thereafter maintain in effect that insurance. If within that five-day period the commissioner notifies the surplus line broker that the insurance is in violation of this section and orders the broker to effect termination of that insurance within 10 days from the notice, and the broker fails or refuses to effect that termination, that failure or refusal is a violation of this section.

(d)Statements filed under this section are not subject to public inspection unless the commissioner determines that the public interest or the welfare of the filing broker requires that any statement be made public.
(e)For purposes of this section, “type of insurance” means the hazard or combination of hazards covered by a contract of insurance.
(f)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), this section shall not apply to insurance issued or delivered in this state to a home state insured by a nonadmitted Mexican insurer by and through a surplus line broker affording coverage exclusively in the Republic of Mexico on property located temporarily or permanently in, or operations conducted temporarily or permanently within, the Republic of Mexico.
(g)This section does not apply to the extension of coverage by a

nonadmitted insurer, of or for the same risks, and to the same insured under an existing surplus lines policy. Such an extension may not exceed 90 days in the aggregate during any 12-month period. The extension may not include a change in coverage, terms, and conditions, or limits. Any additional premium charged for the extension shall be determined pro rata, based on the same rate of premium as the existing surplus lines policy.

(h)(1) The diligent search requirement set forth in subdivision (a) shall not apply to a commercial insured as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1760.1 when both of the following occur:

(A) The surplus line broker procuring or placing the surplus line insurance has disclosed in writing to the commercial insured that surplus insurance may or may not be available from the admitted market that may provide greater protection with

more regulatory oversight.

(B) The commercial insured has subsequently requested in writing that the surplus line broker procure or place surplus insurance from a nonadmitted insurer.

(2)The surplus line broker shall be responsible to ensure that the applicant is a commercial insured. A surplus line broker who reasonably relies on information provided in good faith by the applicant, whether directly or through a producer, shall be deemed to be in compliance with this requirement.

Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 477, Sec. 1. (AB 1641) Effective January 1, 2018.

(a)The commissioner may by order declare permissible for placement for a home state insured with a nonadmitted insurer and exempt from all requirements of Section 1763 except the filing of a confidential written report, any type of insurance coverage or risk for which he or she finds, after a public hearing, that there is not a reasonable or adequate market among admitted insurers or that the type of coverage is for new, innovative products for which a reasonable or adequate market among admitted insurers has not had time to develop. The commissioner or his or her designee shall maintain an export list showing all those exempt coverages and risks. Additions to the export list may be made after a hearing, which may take place one or more

times each year as deemed necessary by the commissioner. A public hearing shall be held annually or more often at the commissioner’s discretion and reasonable notice of a hearing shall be given to all interested parties including surplus line brokers, admitted insurers, trade associations representing admitted insurers, agents and brokers, and consumer groups. The hearing and findings shall not be required to be conducted in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) and Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. An order by the commissioner shall continue in effect until terminated by the commissioner. Where the commissioner receives written

comments or testimony or otherwise determines, prior to a hearing, that a type of insurance on the export list is more available, in the admitted market, the commissioner may remove the type of insurance from the list. The permissibility of any type of insurance to remain on the list is subject to an annual affirmative finding by the commissioner, however, when written comment or testimony is received prior to a hearing, the permissibility of that type of insurance to remain on the export list shall be reviewed at the next hearing and that type of insurance may not remain on the export list without an affirmative decision by the commissioner or his or her designee that there is not a reasonable or adequate market among admitted insurers. The commissioner or his or her designee shall notify all surplus line brokers of any removal. For purposes of this section, the commissioner shall not be

authorized to include on the export list as permissible for placement with a nonadmitted insurer, automobile or motor vehicle liability insurance, insurance on residential property, as defined under Section 10087, or any insurance written by the California FAIR plan.

(b)The surplus line advisory organization authorized by Chapter 6.1 (commencing with Section 1780.50) shall pay the costs for a maximum of two public hearings per year held by the commissioner or his or her designee pursuant to this section.
(c)Except for the removal of a type of insurance from the export list pursuant to subdivision (a), nothing in this section shall authorize the commissioner to declare any type of insurance impermissible for exportation.

Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 538, Sec. 457. Effective January 1, 2007.

(a)A licensed surplus line broker may originate surplus lines business, or may accept that business from any other originating licensee duly licensed for the type or types of insurance involved, and may compensate those licensees therefor.
(b)For any information involved in any insurance transaction described in subdivision (a), or involved in the eligibility of the risk for placement with a surplus line broker, the originating licensee shall use due care and diligence in the collection, preparation, and transmission of the information to the surplus line broker.

Added by Stats. 1993, Ch. 1134, Sec. 1.5. Effective January 1, 1994.

In addition to the requirements of Section 1763, no surplus line broker shall solicit from, or place with, any nonadmitted insurer, any insurance covering private passenger automobiles if that insurance contains in whole or in part the limits of coverage provided under the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan unless the surplus line broker, producing agent, broker, or insured has first submitted to the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan a properly completed and executed application in accordance with the requirements of the plan for the coverage provided by the plan and the plan itself has determined that the application is ineligible for the limits of coverage applied for and so notifies the surplus line broker or insured in writing.

For purposes of this section, a private passenger automobile includes motorcycles, but does not include a fleet of five or more automobiles rated for business use and used in a business.

Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 83, Sec. 16. (AB 315) Effective July 15, 2011. Operative July 21, 2011, by Sec. 34 of Stats. 2011, Ch. 83.

(a)A licensed surplus line broker may issue evidence of insurance for a home state insured, including binders, covernotes, and certificates evidencing the placement of insurance with an eligible nonadmitted insurer, and with prior written authority, may issue policies of the insurer.
(b)Certificates may be issued pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 1764.2. The certificates shall be in the name of the surplus line broker and not in the name of the nonadmitted insurer, shall be signed by the surplus line broker, and shall contain all of the matters specified in Insurance Code Section 381.
(c)Policies may only be issued pursuant to subdivision (a) of

Section 1764.2. The policies shall contain all of the matters specified in Section 381 and shall be countersigned by the surplus line broker.

Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 201, Sec. 9. (AB 1813) Effective January 1, 2020.

(a)(1) Every nonadmitted insurer, in the case of insurance to be purchased by a home state insured pursuant to Section 1760, and surplus line broker, in the case of any insurance with a nonadmitted carrier for a home state insured to be transacted by the surplus line broker, shall be responsible to ensure that, at the time of accepting an application for an insurance policy, other than a renewal of that policy, issued by a nonadmitted insurer, the signature of the applicant on the disclosure statement set forth in subdivision (b) is obtained. In fulfillment of this responsibility, the nonadmitted insurer and the surplus line broker may rely, if it is reasonable under all the circumstances to do so, on the disclosure statement received from a licensee involved in the transaction as prima facie evidence

that the disclosure statement and appropriate signature from the applicant have been obtained. The surplus line broker shall maintain a copy of the signed disclosure statement in the broker’s records for a period of at least five years. These records shall be made available to the commissioner and the insured upon request. This disclosure shall be signed by the applicant, and is not subject to a limited power of attorney agreement between the applicant and an agent or broker or a surplus line broker. The disclosure statement shall be in boldface 16-point type on a freestanding document. In addition, every policy issued by a nonadmitted insurer and every certificate evidencing the placement of insurance shall contain, or have affixed to it by the insurer or surplus line broker, the disclosure statement set

forth in subdivision (b) in boldface 16-point type on the front page of the policy.

(2)In a case in which the applicant has not received and completed the signed disclosure form required by this section, the applicant may cancel the insurance so placed. The cancellation shall be on a pro rata basis as to premium, and the applicant shall be entitled to the return of any broker’s fees charged for the placement.
(b)The following notice shall be provided to home state insureds and home state insured applicants for insurance as provided by subdivision (a), and shall be printed in English and in the language principally used by the surplus line broker and nonadmitted insurer to

advertise, solicit, or negotiate the sale and purchase of surplus line insurance. The surplus line broker and nonadmitted insurer shall use the appropriate bracketed language for application and issued policy disclosures:

1. The insurance policy that you [have purchased] [are applying to purchase] is being issued by an insurer that is not licensed by the State of California. These companies are called “nonadmitted” or “surplus line” insurers.

2. The insurer is not subject to the financial solvency regulation and enforcement that apply to California licensed insurers.

3. The insurer does not participate in any of the insurance guarantee funds created

by California law. Therefore, these funds will not pay your claims or protect your assets if the insurer becomes insolvent and is unable to make payments as promised.

4. The insurer should be licensed either as a foreign insurer in another state in the United States or as a non-United States (alien) insurer. You should ask questions of your insurance agent, broker, or “surplus line” broker or contact the California Department of Insurance at the toll-free number 1-800-927-4357 or internet website www.insurance.ca.gov. Ask whether or not the insurer is licensed as a foreign or non-United States (alien) insurer and for additional information about the insurer. You may also visit the NAIC’s internet website at www.naic.org. The NAIC—the National Association of Insurance Commissioners—is the regulatory support organization created and

governed by the chief insurance regulators in the United States.

5. Foreign insurers should be licensed by a state in the United States and you may contact that state’s department of insurance to obtain more information about that insurer. You can find a link to each state from this NAIC internet website: https://naic.org/state_web_map.htm.

6. For non-United States (alien) insurers, the insurer should be licensed by a country outside of the United States and should be on the NAIC’s International Insurers Department (IID) listing of approved nonadmitted non-United States insurers. Ask your agent, broker, or “surplus line” broker to obtain more information about that

insurer.

7. California maintains a “List of Approved Surplus Line Insurers (LASLI).” Ask your agent or broker if the insurer is on that list, or view that list at the internet website of the California Department of Insurance: www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/120-company/07-lasli/lasli.cfm.

8. If you, as the applicant, required that the insurance policy you have purchased be effective immediately, either because existing coverage was going to lapse within two business days or because you were required to have coverage within two business days, and you did not receive this disclosure form and a request for your signature until after coverage became effective, you have

the right to cancel this policy within five days of receiving this disclosure. If you cancel coverage, the premium will be prorated and any broker’s fee charged for this insurance will be returned to you.”

(c)When a contract is issued to an industrial insured, neither the nonadmitted insurer nor the surplus line broker is required to provide the notice required in this section except on the confirmation of insurance, the certificate of placement, or the policy, whichever is first provided to the insured, nor is the insurer or surplus line broker required to obtain the insured’s signature. The producer shall ensure that the notice affixed to the confirmation of insurance, certificate of placement, or the policy is provided to the insured. The producer shall insert the current toll-free telephone number of the Department of Insurance as provided in paragraph 4 of the notice.
(1)An industrial insured is an insured that does both of the following:
(A)Employs at least 25 employees on average during the prior 12 months.
(B)Has aggregate annual premiums for insurance for all risks other than workers’ compensation and health coverage totaling no less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or obtains insurance through the services of a full-time employee acting as an insurance manager or a continuously retained insurance consultant. A “continuously retained insurance consultant” does not include:
(i)an agent or broker through whom the insurance is being placed, (ii) a subagent or subproducer involved in the transaction, or (iii) an agent or broker that is a business organization employing or contracting with a person mentioned in clauses (i) and (ii).
(2)The surplus line broker shall be responsible for ensuring that the applicant is an industrial insured. A surplus line broker who reasonably relies on information provided in good faith by the applicant, whether directly or through the producer, shall be deemed to be in compliance with this requirement.
(d)For purposes of compliance with the requirement of subdivision (a) that the signature of the applicant be obtained, the following shall apply:
(1)If the insurance transaction is not conducted at an in-person, face-to-face meeting, the applicant’s signature on the disclosure form may be transmitted by the applicant to the agent or broker via facsimile or comparable electronic transmittal.
(2)In the case of commercial lines coverage, or personal

insurance coverage subject to Section 675 and any umbrella coverage associated therewith, where an applicant requires that insurance coverage be bound immediately, either because existing coverage will lapse within two business days of the time the insurance is bound or because the applicant is required to have coverage in place within two business days, and the applicant cannot meet in person with the agent or broker to sign the disclosure form, the agent or broker may obtain the signature of the applicant within five days of binding coverage, provided that the applicant may cancel the insurance so placed within five days of receiving the disclosure form from the agent or broker. The cancellation shall be on a pro rata basis, and the applicant shall be entitled to the rescission or return of any broker’s fees charged for the placement. When a policy is canceled, the broker shall inform the applicant that the broker’s fee must be returned and that the premium must be prorated.

(e)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), this section shall not apply to insurance issued or delivered in this state by a nonadmitted Mexican insurer by and through a surplus line broker affording coverage exclusively in the Republic of Mexico on property located temporarily or permanently in, or operations conducted temporarily or permanently within, the Republic of Mexico.

Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 83, Sec. 18. (AB 315) Effective July 15, 2011. Operative July 21, 2011, by Sec. 34 of Stats. 2011, Ch. 83.

No surplus line broker shall issue any evidence of insurance or cause or purport to cause any risk to be insured by a nonadmitted insurer or advise any home state insured or home state insured applicant for insurance that coverage has been or will be obtained from a nonadmitted insurer unless:

(a)The broker has prior written authority from the nonadmitted insurer to cause the risk to be insured;
(b)The broker has received advice in the ordinary course of business that the coverage has been obtained; or
(c)A policy of insurance covering the insured for the risk has actually

been issued by the nonadmitted insurer and delivered to the insured or his or her representative.

Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 83, Sec. 19. (AB 315) Effective July 15, 2011. Operative July 21, 2011, by Sec. 34 of Stats. 2011, Ch. 83.

If the surplus line broker acts in reliance on advice received in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 1764.2, the broker shall deliver the policy to the home state insured or his or her representative, and, if the delivery is not made within 30 days after the date of the issuance of the certificate or upon which the risk has been bound or the home state insured or the home state insured applicant has been advised that coverage has been or will be obtained, he or she shall deliver to the insured either of the following:

(a)A photostatic copy of evidence that the insurance has been bound.
(b)If the nonadmitted insurer is located

outside the United States, a cover note, placing slip, or similar document evidencing coverage issued or certified to by any broker located outside the United States who actually placed that insurance with the nonadmitted insurer.

Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 454, Sec. 103.

The prior written authority, policy of insurance or copy of evidence that insurance has been bound referred to in Section 1764.2, shall contain authentication by all persons assuming any risk of loss, and, if there is more than one such person, both it and any document issued or certified by the placing broker pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1764.3 , shall contain a specification of whether their obligation is joint or several, and if the latter, the proportion of the obligation assumed by each person.

Added by Stats. 1953, Ch. 467.

If insurance results from a transaction in which any provision of Sections 1764.2 to 1764.4 is violated, such insurance is subject to cancellation by the insured or by order of the commissioner. Such cancellation shall be without penalty to the insured.

Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 210. (AB 109) Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.

Any person who willfully violates Section 1760.5, 1761, 1763, 1764, 1764.1, 1764.2, 1764.3, 1764.4, 1765.1, 1765.2, 1767, or 1780 is guilty of a public offense and punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, or in a county jail for not exceeding one year or by fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both.

Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 534, Sec. 46. (AB 1699) Effective January 1, 2018.

(a)A license under this chapter shall be applied for and renewed by the filing with the commissioner of a written application therefor, in accordance with Section 1652.
(b)Subject to subdivision (f), the commissioner shall issue a license authorizing any applicant who is trustworthy and competent to transact an insurance brokerage business in a manner as to safeguard the interest of the insured, to act as a surplus line broker from the date of the license until the expiration date specified in Section 1630.
(c)An applicant for a surplus line broker’s license shall, as part of the application and a condition of the issuance of the license, file a bond to the people of the State of California in the

sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), conditioned that the licensee will fully and faithfully comply with the requirements of this chapter, and all applicable provisions of this code. The bond shall be subject to Sections 1662 and 1663. A surplus line broker bond is not required for an individual licensed as a surplus line broker who transacts only on behalf of a licensed surplus line broker organization.

(d)Every applicant for a business entity license, as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 1765.2, shall provide the names of all persons who may exercise the power and perform the duties under the license. Whenever an organization licensed as a surplus line broker desires to change, remove, or add to the natural person or persons who are to transact insurance under authority of its license, it shall immediately file an application or notice with the commissioner for an endorsement changing its license accordingly, on a form prescribed by

the commissioner. The fee for adding or removing from any surplus line broker’s license issued to an organization the name of any natural person, named thereon, shall be twenty-nine dollars ($29). The commissioner shall require that the qualifying examination provided by subdivision (a) of Section 1676 be taken by any natural person named by the organization to exercise its agency or brokerage powers who would be required to take and pass the qualifying examination. That natural person or persons and the organization are in all other respects subject to the provisions of this chapter and the insurance laws.

(e)The department is authorized to collect additional license fees resulting from the increases in license fees provided by Chapter 29 of the Statutes of 2008 and shall credit any overpayment resulting from reductions in license fees provided by that act.
(f)A business entity

licensed under this chapter shall provide two hours of appropriate training to its employees who solicit, negotiate, or effect insurance coverage placed by a nonadmitted insurer. The training shall be given to each eligible employee every five years. The surplus line advisory organization authorized pursuant to Chapter 6.1 (commencing with Section 1780.50) shall develop the curriculum for the training.

(g)The license shall be renewed in accordance with, and subject to, Sections 1717, 1718, 1719, and 1720.
(h)The commissioner may deny, suspend, or revoke any license applied for or granted pursuant to this chapter on all or any one of the grounds and in accordance with the procedures provided in Article 6 (commencing with Section 1666) and Article 13 (commencing with Section 1737) of Chapter 5, whenever the commissioner finds that the applicant or licensee has committed a

violation of any provision of this code.

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