A. The superintendent may refuse to issue a license as an insurance producer to a resident of another state or country, who is otherwise qualified under Chapter 59A, Article 12 NMSA 1978 for license as an insurance producer in New Mexico, if under the laws of the other state or country licensed residents of this state are prohibited or prevented from acting as an insurance producer because of their residence.

B. As part of an application for a license, the nonresident applicant shall appoint the superintendent, on a form prescribed and furnished by the superintendent, as agent on whom may be served all legal process issued by a court in this state in any action against or involving the licensee as to transactions under the license. The appointment shall be irrevocable and continue for so long as an action could arise or exist. Duplicate copies of process shall be served upon the superintendent or other individual in apparent charge of the office of superintendent of insurance during the superintendent's absence, accompanied by payment of the process service fee specified in Section 59A-6-1 NMSA 1978. Upon service the superintendent shall promptly forward a copy by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the licensee at the licensee's last address of record with the superintendent. Process served and copy forwarded as so provided shall for all purposes constitute personal service upon the licensee.

C. The licensee shall likewise file with the superintendent written agreement to appear before the superintendent pursuant to notice of hearing, show cause order or subpoena issued by the superintendent and deposited, postage paid, by certified mail in a letter depository of the United States post office, addressed to the licensee at the licensee's last address of record with the superintendent, and that upon failure of the licensee to appear the licensee thereby consents to any subsequent suspension, revocation or refusal of the superintendent to continue the license.

History: Laws 1984, ch. 127, § 226; 1999, ch. 272, § 15; 1999, ch. 289, § 16; 2016, ch. 89, § 43.

The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, replaced "agent", "broker" and "solicitor" with "insurance producer"; in the catchline, deleted "brokers, nonresident agents and nonresident solicitors" and added "insurance producers"; in Subsection A, after "may refuse to issue a license as", deleted "a broker, agent or solicitor" and added "an insurance producer", after "otherwise qualified under", deleted "this article" and added "Chapter 59A, Article 12 NMSA 1978", after "for license as", deleted "a broker, agent or solicitor" and added "an insurance producer"; in Subsection B, after "in apparent charge of the", added "office of superintendent of", after "insurance", deleted "division", and after "to the licensee at", deleted "his" and added "the licensee's"; and in Subsection C, after "addressed to the licensee at", deleted "his" and added "the licensee's".

Severability. — Laws 2016, ch. 89, § 71 provided that if any part or application of Laws 2016, ch. 89 is held invalid, the remainder or its application to other situations or persons shall not be affected.

The 1999 amendment, rewrote Subsection A; deleted former Subsection B, which required nonresident brokers or agents to place insurance of residents only with insurers authorized in this state; deleted former Subsection C, which read "Both the nonresident licensee and the placing resident agent must be so licensed as to all the kinds of insurance so placed"; redesignated former Subsections D and E as Subsections B and C; and in Subsection B, substituted "agent on whom" for "attorney on whom" in the first sentence, and substituted "division" for "department" and updated the statutory reference in the third sentence.