H. B. 2729
(By Delegates Ashley, Carper, L. White, Williams,
Rowe, Staton and Vest)
[Introduced March 26, 1993; referred to the
Committee on Banking and Insurance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-nine, article twelve,
chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
requiring insurance companies which withdraw from writing
private passenger automobile insurance within the state to
continue to pay agents who service surviving policies for a
period of two years from the date of termination of the
contractual relationship for those renewal policies which
the agent continues to service.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-nine, article twelve, chapter thirty-
three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 12. AGENTS, BROKERS, SOLICITORS AND EXCESS LINE.
§33-12-29. Termination of contractual relationship;
continuation of certain commissions; exceptions;change of address.
(a) In the event of a termination of a contractual
relationship between a duly licensed insurance agent and an
automobile insurer of private passenger automobiles who is
withdrawing from writing private passenger automobile insurance
within the state, the insurer shall pay the agent a commission,
equal to the commission the agent would have otherwise been
entitled to under his or her contract with the insurer, for a
period of two years from the date of termination of the
contractual relationship for those renewal policies that cannot
otherwise be canceled or nonrenewed pursuant to law, which
policies the agent continues to service.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section does not apply to an
agent who is an employee of the insurer, or an agent as defined
by article twelve-a of this chapter, or an agent, who by
contractual agreement either represents only one insurer or group
of affiliated insurers or who is required by contract to submit
risks to a specified insurer or group of affiliated insurers
prior to submitting them to others.
(c) When applying for a license to act as an agent, broker,
solicitor, excess line broker, or service representative, each
applicant shall report his or her mailing address to the
commissioner. An agent, broker, solicitor, excess line broker,
or service representative shall notify the commissioner of any
change in his or her mailing address within thirty days of such
change. The commissioner shall maintain the mailing address ofeach agent, broker, solicitor, excess line broker, and service
representative on file.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require insurance
companies which withdraw from writing private passenger
automobile insurance within the state to continue to pay agents
who service surviving policies for a period of two years from the
date of termination of the contractual relationship for those
renewal policies which the agent continues to service.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.