(a) A provider entering into a life settlement contract with any owner of a policy, wherein the insured is terminally ill, shall first obtain the following:

(1) If the owner is the insured, a written statement from a licensed attending physician that the owner is of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence to enter into a settlement contract.

(2) A document in which the insured consents to the release of his or her medical records to a provider, settlement broker, or insurance producer and, if the policy was issued less than two years from the date of application for a settlement contract, to the insurance company that issued the policy.

(b) The insurer shall respond to a request for verification of coverage submitted by a provider, settlement broker, or life insurance producer not later than 30 calendar days of the date the request is received. The request for verification of coverage must be made on a form approved by the commissioner. The insurer shall complete and issue the verification of coverage or indicate in which respects it is unable to respond. In its response, the insurer shall indicate whether, based on the medical evidence and documents provided, the insurer intends to pursue an investigation at this time regarding the validity of the insurance contract.

(c) Before or at the time of execution of the settlement contract, the provider shall obtain a witnessed document in which the owner consents to the settlement contract, represents that the owner has a full and complete understanding of the settlement contract and a full and complete understanding of the benefits of the policy, acknowledges that the owner is entering into the settlement contract freely and voluntarily, and, for persons with a terminal illness or condition, acknowledges that the insured has a terminal illness and that the terminal illness or condition was diagnosed after the policy was issued.

(d) The insurer shall not unreasonably delay effecting change of ownership or beneficiary with any life settlement contract lawfully entered into in this state or with a resident of this state.

(e) If a settlement broker or life insurance producer performs any of these activities required of the provider, the provider is deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of this section.

(f) If a broker performs those verification of coverage activities required of the provider, the provider is deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of this section.

(g) Within 20 days after an owner executes the life settlement contract, the provider shall give written notice to the insurer that issued that insurance policy that the policy has become subject to a life settlement contract. The notice shall be accompanied by the documents required by subdivision (d) of Section 10113.2.

(h) All medical information solicited or obtained by any licensee shall be subject to the applicable provision of state law relating to confidentiality of medical information, if not otherwise provided in this act.

(i) All life settlement contracts entered into in this state shall provide that the owner may rescind the contract on or before 30 days after the date it is executed by all parties thereto, and the owner has received all required disclosures, or 15 days from receipt by the owner of the full payment of the proceeds as specified below, whichever is sooner. Rescission, if exercised by the owner, is effective only if both notice of the rescission is given, and the owner repays all proceeds and any premiums, loans, and loan interest paid on account of the provider within the rescission period. If the insured dies during the rescission period, the contract shall be deemed to have been rescinded subject to repayment by the owner or the owner’s estate of all proceeds and any premiums, loans, and loan interest to the provider.

(j) Within three business days after receipt from the owner of documents to effect the transfer of the insurance policy, the provider shall pay the proceeds of the settlement to an escrow or trust account managed by a trustee or escrow agent in a state or federally chartered financial institution pending acknowledgment of the transfer by the issuer of the policy. The trustee or escrow agent shall be required to transfer the proceeds due to the owner within three business days of acknowledgment of the transfer from the insurer.

(k) Failure to tender the life settlement contract proceeds to the owner by the date disclosed to the owner renders the contract voidable by the owner for lack of consideration until the time the proceeds are tendered to and accepted by the owner. A failure to give written notice of the right of rescission hereunder shall toll the right of rescission until 30 days after the written notice of the right of rescission has been given.

(l) Any fee paid by a provider, party, individual, or an owner to a broker in exchange for services provided to the owner pertaining to a life settlement contract shall be computed as a percentage of the offer obtained, not the face value of the policy. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting a broker from reducing the broker’s fee below this percentage if the broker so chooses.

(m) No person at any time prior to, or at the time of, the application for, or issuance of, a policy, or during a two-year period commencing with the date of issuance of the policy, shall enter into a life settlement regardless of the date the compensation is to be provided and regardless of the date the assignment, transfer, sale, devise, bequest, or surrender of the policy is to occur.

(1) This prohibition shall not apply if the owner certifies to the provider that the policy was issued upon the owner’s exercise of conversion rights arising out of a group or individual policy, provided the total of the time covered under the conversion policy plus the time covered under the prior policy is at least 24 months. The time covered under a group policy must be calculated without regard to a change in insurance carriers, provided the coverage has been continuous and under the same group sponsorship.

(2) This prohibition shall not apply if the owner submits independent evidence to the provider that one or more of the following conditions have been met within the two-year period:

(A) The owner or insured is terminally ill.

(B) The owner or insured disposes of his or her ownership interests in a closely held corporation, pursuant to the terms of a buyout or other similar agreement in effect at the time the insurance policy was initially issued.

(C) The owner’s spouse dies.

(D) The owner divorces his or her spouse.

(E) The owner retires from full-time employment.

(F) The owner becomes physically or mentally disabled and a physician determines that the disability prevents the owner from maintaining full-time employment.

(G) A final order, judgment, or decree is entered by a court of competent jurisdiction, on the application of a creditor of the owner, adjudicating the owner bankrupt or insolvent, or approving a petition seeking reorganization of the owner or appointing a receiver, trustee, or liquidator to all or a substantial part of the owner’s assets.

(3) (A) Copies of the independent evidence required by paragraph (2) shall be submitted to the insurer when the provider submits a request to the insurer for verification of coverage. The copies shall be accompanied by a letter of attestation from the provider that the copies are true and correct copies of the documents received by the provider. Nothing in this section shall prohibit an insurer from exercising its right to contest the validity of any policy.

(B) If the provider submits to the insurer a copy of independent evidence provided for in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) when the provider submits a request to the insurer to effect the transfer of the policy to the provider, the copy shall be deemed to establish that the settlement contract satisfies the requirements of this section.

(4) This prohibition shall apply only to policies issued on or after the effective date of this section.

(n) An insurer shall not:

(1) Engage in any transaction, act, or practice that restricts, limits, or impairs the lawful transfer of ownership, change of beneficiary, or assignment of a policy.

(2) Make any false or misleading statement for the purpose of dissuading an owner or insured from a lawful life settlement contract.

(o) No person providing premium financing shall receive any proceeds, fees, or other consideration from the policy or owner of the policy that are in addition to the amounts required to pay principal, interest, and any reasonable costs or expenses incurred by the lender or borrower in connection with the premium finance agreement, except for the event of a default, unless either the default on the loan or transfer of the policy occurs pursuant to an agreement or understanding with any other person for the purpose of evading regulation under this act.

(p) If there is more than one owner on a single policy, and the owners are residents of different states, the life settlement contract shall be governed by the law of the state in which the owner having the largest percentage ownership resides or, if the owners hold equal ownership, the state of residence of one owner agreed upon in writing by all of the owners. The law of the state of the insured shall govern in the event that equal owners fail to agree in writing upon a state of residence for jurisdictional purposes.

(q) A provider from this state who enters into a life settlement contract with an owner who is a resident of another state that has enacted statutes or adopted regulations governing life settlement contracts shall be governed in the effectuation of that life settlement contract by the statutes and regulations of the owner’s state of residence. If the state in which the owner is a resident has not enacted statutes or regulations governing life settlement contracts, the provider shall give the owner notice that neither state regulates the transaction upon which he or she is entering. For transactions in those states, however, the provider is to maintain all records required if the transactions were executed in the state of residence. The forms used in those states need not be approved by the department.

(r) If there is a conflict in the laws that apply to an owner and a purchaser in any individual transaction, the laws of the state that apply to the owner shall take precedence and the provider shall comply with those laws.

(s) It is a fraudulent life settlement act and a violation of this section for any person to do any of the following, or any of the acts listed in subdivision (g) of Section 10113.1:

(1) Enter into a life settlement contract if a person knows or reasonably should have known that the life insurance policy was obtained by means of a false, deceptive, or misleading application for the policy.

(2) Engage in any transaction, practice, or course of business if a person knows or reasonably should have known that the intent was to avoid the notice requirements of this section.

(3) Engage in any fraudulent act or practice in connection with any transaction relating to any settlement involving an owner who is a resident of this state.

(4) Fail to provide the disclosures or file the required reports with the commissioner as required by this act.

(5) Issue, solicit, or market, the purchase of a new life insurance policy for the purpose of, or with a primary emphasis on, settling the policy.

(6) Enter into a premium finance agreement with any person or agency, or any person affiliated with a person or agency that is prohibited under subdivision (o).

(7) With respect to any settlement contract or insurance policy and a broker, knowingly solicit an offer from, effectuate a life settlement contract with, or make a sale to any provider, financing entity, or related provider trust that is controlling, controlled by, or under common control with a broker, unless the relationship has been fully disclosed to the owner.

(8) With respect to any life settlement contract or insurance policy and a provider, knowingly enter into a life settlement contract with an owner, if, in connection with a life settlement contract, anything of value will be paid to a broker that is controlling, controlled by, or under common control with a provider or the financing entity, or related provider trust that is involved in a settlement contract, unless the relationship has been fully disclosed to the owner.

(9) With respect to a provider, enter into a life settlement contract unless the life settlement promotional, advertising, and marketing materials, as may be prescribed by regulation, have been filed with the commissioner. In no event shall any marketing materials expressly reference that the insurance is “free” for any period of time. The inclusion of any reference in the marketing materials that would cause an owner to reasonably believe that the insurance is free for any period of time shall be considered a violation of this act; or with respect to any life insurance producer, insurance company, broker, or provider make any statement or representation to the applicant or policyholder in connection with the sale or financing of a life insurance policy to the effect that the insurance is free or without cost to the policyholder for any period of time unless provided in the policy.

(t) Life settlement contracts and applications for life settlement contracts, regardless of the form of transmission, shall contain the following statement or a substantially similar statement:

“Any person who knowingly presents false information in an application for insurance or for a life settlement contract may be subject to criminal or civil liability.”

(1) The lack of a statement as required by this subdivision does not constitute a defense in any prosecution for a fraudulent life settlement act.

(2) This act shall not:

(A) Preempt the authority or relieve the duty of other law enforcement or regulatory agencies to investigate, examine, and prosecute suspected violations of law.

(B) Preempt, supersede, or limit any provision of any state securities law or any rule, order, or notice issued thereunder.

(C) Prevent or prohibit a person from disclosing voluntarily information concerning life settlement fraud to a law enforcement or regulatory agency other than the insurance department.

(D) Limit the powers granted elsewhere by the laws of this state to the commissioner or an insurance fraud unit to investigate and examine possible violations of law and to take appropriate action against wrongdoers.

(u) A provider lawfully transacting business in this state prior to the effective date of this act may continue to do so, pending approval or disapproval of that person’s application for a license as long as the application is filed with the commissioner not later than 30 days after publication by the commissioner of an application form and instructions for licensure of providers. If the publication of the application form and instructions is prior to the effective date of this chapter, then the filing of the application shall not be later than 30 days after the effective date of this act. During the time that an application is pending with the commissioner, the applicant may use any form of life settlement contract that has been filed with the commissioner pending approval thereof, provided that the form is otherwise in compliance with the provisions of this act. Any person transacting business in this state under this provision shall be obligated to comply with all other requirements of this act. A person who has lawfully acted as a broker and negotiated life settlement contracts between any owner residing in this state and one or more providers for at least one year immediately prior to the effective date of this act may continue to do so pending approval or disapproval of that person’s application for a license, as long as the application is filed with the commissioner not later than 30 days after publication by the commissioner of an application form and instructions for licensure of brokers. If the publication of the application form and instructions is prior to the effective date of this chapter, then the filing of the application shall not be later than 30 days after the effective date of this act. Any person transacting business in this state under this provision shall be obligated to comply with all other requirements of this act.

(Added by Stats. 2009, Ch. 343, Sec. 6. (SB 98) Effective January 1, 2010.)