COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 4384

(By Delegates S. Williams, Staton, Beane,

Farris and Flanigan)


(Originating in the House Committee on Banking and Insurance)


[March 2, 1994]


A BILL to amend article twelve, chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section thirty-two, 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 article twelve, chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section thirty-two, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 12. AGENTS, BROKERS, SOLICITORS AND EXCESS LINE.

§ 33-12-32. Termination of contractual relationship; continuation of certain commissions; exceptions.

(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.