STATE OF MICHIGAN

96TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2011

Introduced by Senator Schuitmaker

ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 24

AN ACT to amend 1956 PA 218, entitled “An act to revise, consolidate, and classify the laws relating to the insurance and surety business; to regulate the incorporation or formation of domestic insurance and surety companies and associations and the admission of foreign and alien companies and associations; to provide their rights, powers, and immunities and to prescribe the conditions on which companies and associations organized, existing, or authorized under this act may exercise their powers; to provide the rights, powers, and immunities and to prescribe the conditions on which other persons, firms, corporations, associations, risk retention groups, and purchasing groups engaged in an insurance or surety business may exercise their powers; to provide for the imposition of a privilege fee on domestic insurance companies and associations and the state accident fund; to provide for the imposition of a tax on the business of foreign and alien companies and associations; to provide for the imposition of a tax on risk retention groups and purchasing groups; to provide for the imposition of a tax on the business of surplus line agents; to provide for the imposition of regulatory fees on certain insurers; to provide for assessment fees on certain health maintenance organizations; to modify tort liability arising out of certain accidents; to provide for limited actions with respect to that modified tort liability and to prescribe certain procedures for maintaining those actions; to require security for losses arising out of certain accidents; to provide for the continued availability and affordability of automobile insurance and homeowners insurance in this state and to facilitate the purchase of that insurance by all residents of this state at fair and reasonable rates; to provide for certain reporting with respect to insurance and with respect to certain claims against uninsured or self-insured persons; to prescribe duties for certain state departments and officers with respect to that reporting; to provide for certain assessments; to establish and continue certain state insurance funds; to modify and clarify the status, rights, powers, duties, and operations of the nonprofit malpractice insurance fund; to provide for the departmental supervision and regulation of the insurance and surety business within this state; to provide for regulation over worker’s compensation self-insurers; to provide for the conservation, rehabilitation, or liquidation of unsound or insolvent insurers; to provide for the protection of policyholders, claimants, and creditors of unsound or insolvent insurers; to provide for associations of insurers to protect policyholders and claimants in the event of insurer insolvencies; to prescribe educational requirements for insurance agents and solicitors; to provide for the regulation of multiple employer welfare arrangements; to create an automobile theft prevention authority to reduce the number of automobile thefts in this state; to prescribe the powers and duties of the automobile theft prevention authority; to provide certain powers and duties upon certain officials, departments, and authorities of this state; to provide for an appropriation; to repeal acts and parts of acts; and to provide penalties for the violation of this act,” by amending section 1505 (MCL 500.1505).

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 1505. (1) The commissioner may revoke or suspend the license of a premium finance company if after investigation it appears to the commissioner that any of the following has occurred:

(a) Any license issued to the company was obtained by fraud.

(b) There was any misrepresentation in the application for the license.

(c) The holder of the license has otherwise shown himself or herself untrustworthy or incompetent to act as a premium finance company.

(d) The company has violated any of the provisions of this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated under this chapter.

(e) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4), the company has remunerated any insurance producer or any employee of an insurance producer or any other person as an inducement to the financing of any insurance policy with the premium finance company. Except, that if the insurance producer prepares the premium finance agreement, the premium finance company may pay him or her a service fee not to exceed $2.00.

(2) Before the commissioner revokes, suspends, or refuses to renew the license of a premium finance company, he or she shall give to the person an opportunity to be fully heard and to introduce evidence on its behalf. Instead of revoking or suspending the license for any of the reasons listed in subsection (1), after a hearing, the commissioner may subject the company to a penalty of not more than $200.00 for each offense with a total not to exceed $1,000.00 when in his or her judgment the commissioner finds that the public interest would not be harmed by the continued operation of the company. The amount of any penalty shall be paid by the company through the office of financial and insurance regulation to the state treasury. At any hearing provided by this section, the commissioner shall have authority to administer oaths to witnesses. Anyone testifying falsely, after having been administered an oath, is subject to the penalty of perjury.

(3) If the commissioner refuses to issue or renew a license or if an applicant or licensee is aggrieved by any action of the commissioner, the applicant or licensee shall have the right to a hearing and court proceeding as provided for in section 244.

(4) Subsection (1)(e) does not prohibit a premium finance company that is majority owned by insurance producers from remunerating any of its insurance producer owners. This subsection does not apply to a premium finance company that is involved in any manner in financing life insurance or annuity policies or contracts.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Secretary of the Senate

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Approved

Governor