Sec. 21.27.010. License required.

AK Stat § 21.27.010 (2019) (N/A)
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(a) Except as provided otherwise in this chapter, a person may not act as or represent to be an insurance producer, managing general agent, reinsurance intermediary broker, reinsurance intermediary manager, surplus lines broker, or independent adjuster in this state or relative to a subject resident, located, or to be performed in this state unless licensed under this chapter. A person may not act as or represent to be a managing general agent, reinsurance intermediary broker, or reinsurance intermediary manager representing an insurer domiciled in this state regarding a risk located outside this state unless licensed by this state.

(b) An insurance producer, a managing general agent, a reinsurance intermediary broker, a reinsurance intermediary manager, or a surplus lines broker may not solicit or take applications for, procure, place for others, or otherwise transact business for a kind or class of insurance for which the person is not licensed.

(c) A third-party administrator is not required to be licensed as a managing general agent if the third-party administrator

(1) is registered under AS 21.27.630 - 21.27.660; or

(2) only investigates and adjusts claims and is licensed under this chapter as an independent adjuster.

(d) A licensee may not use a fictitious name or alias unless the licensee's legal name and fictitious name or alias are on the license.

(e) An employee of an insurer who responds to requests from existing policyholders on existing policies is not required to be licensed under this section if the employee

(1) is not directly compensated based on volume of premiums that may result from those services; and

(2) does not transact insurance.

(f) A person who performs management services under a written contract for an admitted insurer is not required to be licensed as a managing general agent if

(1) either

(A) the person is a United States manager of the United States branch of an alien admitted insurer; or

(B) the person's compensation is not based on the volume of premium written; and

(2) the person

(A) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the admitted insurer;

(B) wholly owns the admitted insurer; or

(C) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the insurance holding company subject to AS 21.22 that owns or controls the admitted insurer.

(g) A person who performs management services for an admitted reinsurer is not required to be licensed as a reinsurance intermediary manager if

(1) the person's compensation is not based on the volume of premium written and the person

(A) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the admitted insurer;

(B) wholly owns the admitted insurer; or

(C) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of an insurance holding company subject to AS 21.22 that owns or controls the admitted insurer;

(2) the person is a United States manager of the United States branch of an alien admitted insurer; or

(3) the person is the manager of a group, association, pool, or organization of insurers that does joint underwriting and that is subject to examination by its resident insurance regulator in a state that

(A) the director has determined has enacted provisions substantially similar to those contained in this chapter; and

(B) is accredited by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

(h) This chapter does not apply to a person

(1) licensed to practice as an attorney at law while the person is acting as an attorney at law; or

(2) who sells, solicits, or negotiates a

(A) service contract on a motor vehicle subject to registration under AS 28.10.011; or

(B) home warranty; in this subparagraph, “home warranty” has the meaning given in AS 21.03.021(e)(2)(C).

(i) A person licensed under AS 21.75 as an attorney-in-fact, or a person who meets the requirements for exemption from licensure under AS 21.75, is not required to be additionally licensed under this chapter while acting on behalf of subscribers and within the scope and authority of a subscribers agreement of a reciprocal insurer or exchange licensed under AS 21.75.

(j) This section does not apply to a person who

(1) is employed on salary or hourly wage by a person licensed under this section solely for the performance of accounting, clerical, stenographic, and similar office duties;

(2) only secures and forwards information required for the purposes of, and does not receive a commission for, any of the following services:

(A) performing administrative services related to

(i) group life insurance;

(ii) group property and casualty insurance;

(iii) group annuities;

(iv) group or blanket accident and health insurance;

(B) enrolling individuals under plans for the types of insurance or annuities specified in (A) of this paragraph;

(C) issuing certificates under plans for the types of insurance or annuities specified in (A) of this paragraph, or otherwise assisting in administering those plans;

(D) performing administrative services related to mass-marketed property and casualty insurance;

(3) is employed on salary by a licensee at the licensee's place of business, is supervised by and reports directly to a licensee in the firm, and who, after explaining that the matter must be reviewed by a licensee, may

(A) furnish premium estimates from published or printed lists of standard rates if the person does not advise, counsel, or suggest what coverage may be needed, or otherwise solicit insurance coverage;

(B) arrange appointments for a licensee if the person does not solicit insurance coverage;

(C) record information from an applicant or policyholder and complete for the licensee's personal review and signature, a certificate of insurance that is not a contract of insurance; the licensee's signature may be by facsimile;

(D) inform a policyholder of the type of coverage shown in the licensee's policy record if the person does not advise that an event or hypothetical event is or is not covered; or

(E) in the physical presence of the licensee, record information from an applicant or policyholder and complete for a licensee's personal review and personal signature, applications, binders, endorsements, or identification cards if the person discloses to the applicant or policyholder that the applicant or policyholder may review the matter with a licensee;

(4) is an employee of an insurer or an organization employed by an insurer and is engaged in the inspection, rating, or classification of risks, or in the supervision of the training of insurance producers and is not individually engaged in the sale, solicitation, or negotiation of insurance;

(5) advertises in this state through printed publications or electronic mass media, the distribution of which is not limited to residents of this state, if the person

(A) performs no other insurance-related activities in this state;

(B) does not intend to solicit in this state; and

(C) does not sell, solicit, or negotiate insurance of risks resident, located, or to be performed in this state;

(6) is not a resident of this state, but sells, solicits, or negotiates commercial property and casualty insurance for an insured with risks located in more than one state if the person is licensed as an insurance producer in the state where the insured maintains its principal place of business and the contract of insurance covers risks located in that state;

(7) is a salaried full-time employee who counsels or advises the person's employer regarding the insurance interests of the employer or of the subsidiaries or business affiliates of the employer, if the employee does not sell or solicit insurance or receive a commission from the sale or solicitation of insurance;

(8) is an employer or association or the employer's or association's officer, director, employee, or the trustee of an employee trust plan, if the person is not compensated, directly or indirectly, for transacting insurance and is engaged in the administration or operation of a plan offering employee benefits for the employer's or association's own employees, or the employees of its subsidiaries or affiliates; to qualify under this paragraph, the plan must include insurance for employees;

(9) is an officer, director, or employee of an admitted insurer who does not receive a commission on policies written or sold to risks resident, located, or to be performed in this state if the officer's, director's, or employee's functions are executive, administrative, managerial, clerical, or a combination of these and are only indirectly related to the transaction of insurance; relate to underwriting or loss control; or are in the capacity of an agency supervisor where the activities are limited to providing technical assistance to insurance producers and whose activities do not include transacting insurance;

(10) is an employee of a licensed independent adjuster or an employee of an affiliate of a licensed independent adjuster with not more than 25 people under the supervision of one licensed independent adjuster or licensed producer who collects or furnishes claim information for portable electronics insurance issued under AS 21.36.515 to insureds or claimants and enters the information into an automated claims adjudication system; the automated claims adjudication system must be a preprogrammed computer system designed for the collection, data entry, calculation, and final resolution of portable electronics insurance claims that

(A) may be used only by a licensed independent adjuster, licensed agent, or supervised individuals operating under this section;

(B) must comply with the claims payment requirements of this title; and

(C) must be certified as compliant with this paragraph by a licensed independent adjuster that is an officer of a licensed entity under this chapter.

(k) In addition to the business activities expressly exempt from licensing under this section, the director may adopt regulations that exempt other activities from the licensing requirements of this section.