601.45 Examination costs.

(1) Costs to be paid by examinees. The reasonable costs of examinations and audits under ss. 601.43, 601.44, and 601.83 (5) (f) shall be paid by examinees except as provided in sub. (4), either on the basis of a system of billing for actual salaries and expenses of examiners and other apportionable expenses, including office overhead, or by a system of regular annual billings to cover the costs relating to a group of companies, or a combination of such systems, as the commissioner may by rule prescribe. Additional funding, if any, shall be governed by s. 601.32. The commissioner shall schedule annual hearings under s. 601.41 (5) to review current problems in the area of examinations.

(2) Duty to pay. The amount payable under sub. (1) shall become due 10 days after the examinee has been served a detailed account of the costs.

(3) Deposit. The commissioner may require any examinee, before or from time to time during an examination, to deposit with the secretary of administration such deposits as the commissioner deems necessary to pay the costs of the examination. Any deposit and any payment made under subs. (1) and (2) shall be credited to the appropriation account under s. 20.145 (1) (g) 1.

(4) Exemptions. On the examinee's request or on the commissioner's own motion, the commissioner may pay all or part of the costs of an examination from the appropriation under s. 20.145 (1) (g) 1., whenever the commissioner finds that because of the frequency of examinations or other factors, imposition of the costs would place an unreasonable burden on the examinee. The commissioner shall include in his or her annual report information about any instance in which the commissioner applied this subsection.

(5) Retaliation. Deposits and payments under this section shall not be deemed to be a tax or license fee within the meaning of any statute. If any other state charges a per diem fee for examination of examinees domiciled in this state, any examinee domiciled in that other state shall be required to pay the same fee when examined by the insurance office of this state.

History: 1977 c. 29; 1979 c. 102; 1981 c. 20; 2003 a. 33; 2007 a. 20; 2011 a. 32; 2017 a. 138.