COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4646
(By Delegate Trump)
(Originating in the Committee on Banking and Insurance)
[March 4, 1998]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article twelve-a,
chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
contractual relationships between insurance companies and
insurance agents; including certain independent insurance
agents within the definition of an insurance agent entitled
to certain rights with regard to termination or cancellation
of a written contractual relationship with an insurance
company.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article twelve-a, 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 12A. CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INSURANCE
COMPANIES AND AGENTS.
§33-12A-2. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(a) "Insurance company" means any individual, firm or
corporation engaged in the business of selling insurance in this
state, excepting only: (1) Clubs or associations organized under
the laws of this state which sell insurance to their members; and
(2) companies engaged exclusively in the sale of life or accident
and sickness insurance, or both.
(b) "Insurance agent" means any individual, firm or
corporation appointed by an insurance company, as defined herein,
(i) whose exclusive activity in this field is in behalf of a
single insurance company or (ii) whose activity in private
passenger automobile insurance on behalf of a single insurance
company is eighty percent or more of its total activity in such
field, and who is authorized by that company to solicit insurance
or to negotiate insurance on its behalf, and who is authorized by
the insurance company to effectuate and countersign insurance
contracts on its behalf.
For purposes of this article, an individual, firm or
corporation in subsection (b)(ii) of this section is only an
insurance agent for the insurance company for which its activity
in private passenger automobile insurance is eighty percent or
more.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to give independent
insurance agents the same rights and protections as agents for a
single insurance company have with regard to termination and
cancellation of agency contracts with an insurance company.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.