Section 6.57. Appointment of insurance agents by insurers.

 

(1)  Submission of an application for an intermediary-agent appointment shall initiate the appointment of an agent in accordance with s. 628.11 , Stats. The application shall be submitted to the office of the commissioner of insurance and entered in the OCI licensing system in a format specified by the commissioner within 15 days after the earlier of the date the agent contract is executed or the first insurance application is submitted and shall show the lines of authority being requested for that agent. An appointment is valid only for the lines of insurance requested. The effective date of a valid appointment is the date on which the appointment is submitted electronically in the format specified by the commissioner. The agent validation report is a computer-generated report prepared by the office of the commissioner of insurance. Billing for initial appointment shall be done annually at the same time and at the same rate as renewal appointments.

(2)  Notice of termination of appointment of individual intermediary in accordance with s. 628.11 , Stats., shall be filed prior to or within 30 calendar days of the termination date with the office of the commissioner of insurance. Prior to or within 15 days of filing this termination notice, the insurer shall provide the agent written notice that the agent is no longer to be appointed as a representative of the company and that he or she may not act as its representative. This notice shall also include a formal demand for the return of all indicia of agency. "Termination date" means the date on which the insurer effectively severs the agency relationship with its intermediary-agent and withdraws the agent's authority to represent the company in any capacity.

(a) If the reason for termination is one of the reasons listed as other criteria in s. Ins 6.59 (5) (d) or the insurer has knowledge the producer was found by a court, government body, or self-regulatory organization authorized by law to have engaged in any of the activities listed in s. Ins 6.59 (5) (d) , the insurer must submit complete explanations and documentation in writing to OCI within 30 days of the termination.

(b) If the insurer has knowledge of complaints received or problems experienced by the company involving company indebtedness, forgery, altering policies, fraud, misappropriation, misrepresentation, failure to promptly submit applications or premiums, poor policyholder service involving the intermediary being terminated, the insurer must submit complete explanations and documentation in writing to OCI within 30 days of the termination. This documentation need not prove violations, but should include situation where possible violations exist. The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance will investigate these situations and take appropriate action based upon the investigation.

(c) The insurer or the authorized representative of the insurer shall promptly notify the insurance commissioner in writing if, upon further review or investigation, the insurer discovers additional information that would have been reportable to the insurance commissioner under par. (a) or (b) had the insurer then known of its existence.

(3)  In addition each insurer shall pay once each year, in accordance with an assigned billing schedule and in a payment type prescribed by the commissioner, the annual appointment fee defined in sub. (4) , within 30 days after the mailing of a payment notice to such insurer showing the amount due for all individuals serving as agent for such insurer, according to the commissioner's records as of the notice date. A billing schedule shall be adopted by the commissioner under which appointment notices shall be sent to insurers.

(4)  Fees applicable for listing of insurance agents under s. 628.11 , Stats.,

Resident individual intermediary-agents   $ 7.00

Nonresident individual intermediary-agents   $24.00

(5)  No insurer shall accept business directly from any intermediary or enter into an agency contract with an intermediary unless that intermediary is a licensed agent appointed with that insurer.

(6)  No intermediary shall submit an application for insurance directly to an insurer or solicit insurance on behalf of a particular insurer or enter into an agency contract unless the agent is appointed with that insurer.

History: Cr. Register, December, 1976, No. 252 , eff. 1-1-77; r. and recr. Register, March, 1978, No. 267 , eff. 4-1-78; cr., (5) and (6), Register, March, 1979, No. 279 , eff. 4-1-79; am. (1) and (3), Register, September, 1981, No. 309 , eff. 1-1-82; am. (5), Register, December, 1984, No. 348 , eff. 1-1-85; am. (1), Register, April, 1986, No. 364 , eff. 5-1-86; am. (1) and (2), Register, January, 1992, No. 433 , eff. 2-1-92; emerg. am. (4), eff. 10-9-95; am. (4), Register, February, 1996, No. 482 , eff. 3-1-96; am. (4), Register, June, 2000, No. 534 , eff. 7-1-00; CR 01-074 : am. (1), (2), (5) and (6), cr. (2) (a) to (c), Register January 2002 No. 553 , eff. 2-1-02; CR 05-111 : am. (1), (2) (intro.) and (3) Register October 2006 No. 610 , eff. 11-1-06; CR 09-022 : am. (3), (5) and (6) Register August 2009 No. 644 , eff. 9-1-09.

Note

2009 Wis. Act 28 , section 3135 , changed the minimum appointment fees to $16 for residents and $50 for non-residents. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 A free copy of each form referenced in this section may be obtained from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, P.O. Box 7872, Madison, WI 53707-7872 or on the office of the commissioner of insurance website at http://oci.wi.gov/ . Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1