§ 58-33-30. License requirements. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 58‑33‑30. License requirements.

The Commissioner shall notissue or continue any license of an agent, broker, limited representative,adjuster, or motor vehicle damage appraiser except as follows:

(a)        Application. – Theapplicable license application requirements of G.S. 58‑33‑31 shallbe satisfied.

(b),(c)  Repealed by SessionLaws 2001‑203, s. 7, effective July 1, 2002.

(d)        Education andTraining. –

(1)        Each applicant musthave had special education, training, or experience of sufficient duration andextent reasonably to satisfy the Commissioner that the applicant possesses thecompetence necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of an agent, broker,limited representative, adjuster, or motor vehicle damage appraiser.

(2)        All individualapplicants for licensing as agents under G.S. 58‑33‑26(c1)(1), (2),(4), (6), or (7) shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the Commissioner ofsuccessful completion of at least 20 hours of instruction for each license,which shall in all cases include the general principles of insurance and anyother topics relevant to the license that the Commissioner establishes byadministrative rules. Any applicant who submits satisfactory evidence of havingsuccessfully completed an agent training course that has been approved by the Commissionerand that is offered by or under the auspices of a property or liability or lifeor health insurance company admitted to do business in this State or aprofessional insurance association shall be deemed to have satisfied theeducational requirements of this subdivision.

(3)        Each residentapplicant for a Medicare supplement and long‑term care insurance licenseshall furnish evidence satisfactory to the Commissioner of successfulcompletion of 10 hours of instruction, which shall in all cases include theprinciples of Medicare supplement and long‑term care insurance andfederal and North Carolina law relating to such insurance. A resident applicantwho submits satisfactory evidence of having successfully completed an agenttraining course that has been approved by the Commissioner and that is offeredby or under the auspices of a licensed life or health insurer or a professionalinsurance association satisfies the educational requirements of thissubdivision.

(e)        Examination.

(1)        After completion andfiling of the application with the Commissioner, the Commissioner shall requireeach applicant for license as an agent or an adjuster to take an examination asto the applicant's competence to be licensed. The applicant must take and passthe examination according to requirements prescribed by the Commissioner.

(2)        The Commissioner mayrequire any licensed agent, adjuster, or motor vehicle damage appraiser to takeand successfully pass an examination in writing, testing his competence andqualifications as a condition to the continuance or renewal of his license, ifthe licensee has been found guilty of any violation of any provision of thisChapter. If an individual fails to pass such an examination, the Commissionershall revoke all licenses issued in his name and no license shall be issueduntil such individual has passed an examination as provided in this Article.

(3)        Each examinationshall be as the Commissioner prescribes and shall be of sufficient scope totest the applicant's knowledge of:

a.         The terms andprovisions of the policies or contracts of insurance the applicant proposes toeffect; or

b.         The types of claimsor losses the applicant proposes to adjust; and

c.         The duties andresponsibilities of the license; and

d.         The current laws ofthis State applicable to the license.

(4)        The answers of theapplicant to the examination shall be provided by the applicant under theCommissioner's supervision. The Commissioner shall give examinations at suchtimes and places within this State as the Commissioner considers necessaryreasonably to serve the convenience of both the Commissioner and applicants:Provided that the Commissioner may contract directly with persons for theprocessing of examination application forms and for the administration andgrading of the examinations required by this section; the Commissioner maycharge a reasonable fee in addition to the registration fee charged under G.S.58‑33‑125, to offset the cost of the examination contractauthorized by this subsection; and such contracts shall not be subject toArticle 3 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.

(5)        The Commissionershall collect in advance the examination and registration fees provided in G.S.58‑33‑125 and in subsection (4) of this section. The Commissionershall make or cause to be made available to all applicants, for a reasonablefee to offset the costs of production, materials that he considers necessaryfor the applicants' proper preparation for examinations. The Commissioner maycontract directly with publishers and other suppliers for the production of thepreparatory materials, and contracts so let by the Commissioner shall not besubject to Article 3 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.

(6)        In addition to theexaminations for the kinds of insurance specified in G.S. 58‑33‑25(c)(1)and (2), before any resident may sell Medicare supplement or long‑termcare insurance policies defined respectively in Articles 54 and 55 of thisChapter, the resident must take and pass a supplemental written examinationaccording to requirements prescribed by the Commissioner.

(7)        An individual whofails to appear for the examination as scheduled or fails to pass theexamination shall reapply for an examination and remit all required fees andforms before being rescheduled for another examination.

(f)         Brokers.

(1)        Bond. – Prior toissuance of a license as a broker, the applicant shall file with theCommissioner and thereafter, for as long as the license remains in effect,shall keep in force a bond in favor of the State of North Carolina for the useof aggrieved parties in the sum of not less than fifteen thousand dollars($15,000), executed by an authorized corporate surety approved by theCommissioner. The aggregate liability of the surety for any and all claims onany such bond shall in no event exceed the sum thereof. The bond shall beconditioned on the accounting by the broker (i) to any person requesting thebroker to obtain insurance for moneys or premiums collected in connectiontherewith, (ii) to any licensed insurer or agent who provides coverage for suchperson with respect to any such moneys or premiums, and (iii) to any premiumfinance company or to any association of insurers under any plan or plans forthe placement of insurance under the laws of North Carolina which afforded coveragefor such person with respect to any such moneys or premiums. No such bond shallbe terminated unless at least 30 days' prior written notice thereof is given bythe surety to the licensee and the Commissioner. Upon termination of thelicense for which the bond was in effect, the Commissioner shall notify thesurety within 10 business days. A person required by this subdivision tomaintain a bond may, in lieu of that bond, deposit with the Commissioner theequivalent amount in cash, in certificates of deposit issued by banks organizedunder the laws of the State of North Carolina, or any national bank having itsprincipal office in North Carolina, or securities, which shall be held inaccordance with Article 5 of this Chapter. Securities may only be obligationsof the United States or of federal agencies listed in G.S. 147‑69.1(c)(2)guaranteed by the United States, obligations of the State of North Carolina, orobligations of a city or county of this State. Any proposed deposit of anobligation of a city or county of this State is subject to the prior approvalof the Commissioner.

(2)        Other Requirements.– An applicant must hold a valid agent's license at the time of application forthe broker's license and throughout the duration of the broker's license. Abroker's license shall be issued to cover only those kinds of insuranceauthorized by his agent's license. Suspension or revocation of the agent'slicense shall cause immediate revocation of the broker's license.

(g)        Denial of License. –If the Commissioner finds that the applicant has not fully met the requirementsfor licensing, the Commissioner shall refuse to issue the license and shallnotify in writing the applicant and the appointing insurer, if any, of thedenial, stating the grounds for the denial. The application may also be deniedfor any reason for which a license may be suspended or revoked or not renewedunder G.S. 58‑33‑46. In order for an applicant to be entitled to areview of the Commissioner's action to determine the reasonableness of theaction, the applicant must make a written demand upon the Commissioner for areview no later than 30 days after service of the notification upon theapplicant. The review shall be completed without undue delay, and the applicantshall be notified promptly in writing of the outcome of the review. In orderfor an applicant who disagrees with the outcome of the review to be entitled toa hearing under Article 3A of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes, theapplicant must make a written demand upon the Commissioner for a hearing nolater than 30 days after service upon the applicant of the notification of theoutcome.

(h)        Resident‑NonresidentLicenses. – The Commissioner shall issue a resident or nonresident license toan agent, broker, limited representative, adjuster, or motor vehicle damageappraiser as follows:

(1)        Resident.

Anindividual may qualify for a license as a resident if he resides in this State.Any license issued pursuant to an application claiming residency in this Stateshall be void if the licensee, while holding a resident license in this State,also holds or makes application for a resident license in, or thereafter claimsto be a resident of, any other state, or ceases to be a resident of this State;provided, however, if the applicant is a resident of a county in another state,the border of which county is contiguous with the state line of this State, theapplicant may qualify as a resident for licensing purposes in this State.

(2)        Nonresident.

a.         An individual mayqualify for a license under this Article as a nonresident if he holds a likelicense in another state or territory of the United States. An individual mayqualify for a license as a nonresident motor vehicle damage appraiser or anonresident adjuster if the applicant's state of residency does not offer suchlicenses and such applicant meets all other requirements for licensure of aresident. A license issued to a nonresident of this State shall grant the samerights and privileges afforded a resident licensee, except as provided insubsection (i) of this section.

b.         Except as providedin G.S. 58‑33‑32, a nonresident of this State may be licensedwithout taking an otherwise required written examination if the insuranceregulator of the state of the applicant's residence certifies that theapplicant has passed a similar written examination or has been a continuousholder, prior to the time such written examination was required, of a licenselike the license being applied for in this State.

c.         Notwithstandingother provisions of this Article, no new bond shall be required for anonresident broker if the Commissioner is satisfied that an existing bondcovers his insurance business in this State.

d.         Process AgainstNonresident Licensees.

1.         Each licensednonresident agent, broker, adjuster, limited representative, or motor vehicledamage appraiser shall by the act of acquiring such license be deemed toappoint the Commissioner as his attorney to receive service of legal processissued against the agent, broker, adjuster, limited representative, or motorvehicle damage appraiser in this State upon causes of action arising withinthis State.

2.         The appointmentshall be irrevocable for as long as there could be any cause of action againstthe nonresident arising out of his insurance transactions in this State.

3.         Duplicate copies ofsuch legal process against such nonresident licensee shall be served upon theCommissioner either by a person competent to serve a summons, or throughcertified or registered mail. At the time of such service the plaintiff shallpay to the Commissioner a fee in the amount set in G.S. 58‑16‑30,taxable as costs in the action to defray the expense of such service.

4.         Upon receiving suchservice, the Commissioner or his duly appointed deputy shall within three businessdays send one of the copies of the process, by registered or certified mail, tothe defendant nonresident licensee at his last address of record as filed withthe Commissioner.

5.         The Commissionershall keep a record of the day and hour of service upon him of all such legalprocess. No proceedings shall be had against the defendant nonresidentlicensee, and such defendant shall not be required to appear, plead or answeruntil the expiration of 40 days after the date of service upon theCommissioner.

e.         If the Commissionerrevokes or suspends any nonresident's license through a formal proceeding underthis Article, he shall promptly notify the appropriate Commissioner of thelicensee's residence of such action and of the particulars thereof.

(i)         RetaliatoryProvision. – Whenever, by the laws or regulations of any other state orjurisdiction, any limitation of rights and privileges, conditions precedent, orany other requirements are imposed upon residents of this State who arenonresident applicants or licensees of such other state or jurisdiction inaddition to, or in excess of, those imposed on nonresidents under this Article,the same such requirements shall be imposed upon such residents of such otherstate or jurisdiction. This subsection does not apply to fees charged toinsurance producers.

(j)         ReciprocityProvision. – To the extent that other states that provide for the licensing andregulation of and payment of commissions to agents, limited representatives, orbrokers, waive restrictions on the basis of reciprocity with respect to NorthCarolina licensees applying for or holding nonresident licenses in thosestates, the same restrictions on licensees from those states applying for orholding North Carolina nonresident licenses shall be waived.  (1987, c. 629, s. 1; c. 864,ss. 80, 86; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 975, s. 30; 1989, c. 485, s. 21; c.645, s. 5; c. 657, s. 1.1; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 941, ss. 3, 7; 1991, c.212, s. 2; c. 476, s. 3; 1993, c. 409, s. 2; c. 504, ss. 26, 37; 1998‑211,s. 18; 2000‑122, s. 3; 2001‑203, ss. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 29; 2005‑240,s. 1; 2007‑507, s. 3; 2009‑566, s. 6(b).)