ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 653
(By Senator Bailey)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on Transportation;
reported March 3, 1999.]
____________
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-three, relating to providing limited agent licenses
for automobile rental coverage.
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 thirty- three, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 12. AGENTS, BROKERS, SOLICITORS AND EXCESS LINE.
§33-12-33. Limited license for rental companies.
(a) Purpose. This section authorizes the insurance
commissioner to issue limited licenses for the sale of automobile
rental coverage.
(b) Definitions. The following words when used in this
section shall have the following meanings:
(1) "Authorized insurer" means an insurer that is licensed
by the commissioner to transact insurance in West Virginia.
(2) "Automobile rental coverage" or "rental coverage" is
insurance offered incidental to the rental of a vehicle as
described in this section.
(3) "Limited license" means the authorization by the
commissioner for a person to sell rental coverage as agent of an
authorized insurer pursuant to the provisions of this section
without the necessity of agent pre-licensing education,
examination, or continuing education.
(4) "Limited licensee" is an individual resident of this
state who obtains a limited license.
(5) "Rental agreement" means any written agreement setting forth the terms and conditions governing the use of a vehicle
provided by the rental company for rental or lease.
(6) "Rental company" means any person or entity in the
business of providing primarily private passengermotor vehicles to the public under
a rental agreement for a period not to exceed ninety days.
(7) "Renter" means any person obtaining the use of a vehicle
from a rental company under the terms of a rental agreement for
a period not to exceed ninety days.
(8) "Vehicle" or "rental vehicle" means a motor vehicle of
the private passenger type including passenger vans, minivans and
sport utility vehicles and of the cargo type, including cargo
vans, pick-up trucks and trucks with a gross vehicle weight of less than
twenty-six thousand pounds or less and which do not require the
operator to possess a commercial driver's license.
(9) "Rental period" means the term of the rental agreement.
(c) The commissioner may issue a limited license for the
sale of automobile rental coverage to an employee of a rental
company, who has satisfied the requirements of this section.
(d) As a prerequisite for issuance of a limited license
under this section, there shall be filed with the commissioner a
written application for a limited license, signed by the applicant, in such form or forms and supplements thereto, and
containing such information, as the commissioner may prescribe.
The limited licensee shall pay to the insurance commissioner an
annual fee of twenty-five dollars.
(e) The limited licensee shall be appointed by the licensed
insurer or insurers for the sale of automobile rental coverage.
The employer of the limited licensee shall maintain at each
insurance sales location a list of the names and addresses of
employees which are selling insurance at the location.
(f) In the event that any provision of this section or
applicable provisions of the insurance code is violated by a
limited licensee or other employees operating under his or her
direction, the commissioner may:
(1) After notice and a hearing, revoke or suspend a limited
license issued under this section in accordance with the
provisions of section thirteen, article two of this chapter, or
(2) After notice and hearing, impose such other penalties,
including suspending the transaction of insurance at specific
locations where applicable violations of the insurance code have
occurred, as the commissioner deems to be necessary or convenient
to carry out the purposes of this section.
(g) Any limited license issued under this section shall also
authorize any other employee working for the same employer and at
the same location as the limited licensee to act individually, on
behalf, and under the supervision, of the limited licensee with
respect to the kinds of coverage authorized in this section. In
order to sell insurance products under this section at least one
employee who has obtained a limited license must be present at
each location where insurance is sold. All other employees
working at that location may offer or sell insurance consistent
with this section without obtaining a limited license. However,
the limited licensee shall directly supervise and be responsible
for the actions of all other employees at that location related
to the offer or sale of insurance as authorized by this section.
No limited licensee under this section shall advertise,
represent, or otherwise hold himself or herself or any other
employees out as licensed insurers, insurance agents or insurance
brokers.
(h) No automobile rental coverage insurance may be issued by
a limited license pursuant to this section unless:
(1) the rental period of the rental agreement does not
exceed ninety consecutive days; and
(2) At every rental location where rental agreements are
executed, brochures or other written material are readily
available to the prospective renter that:
(i) Summarize clearly and correctly, the material terms of
coverage offered to renters, including the identity of the
insurer.
(ii) Disclose that the coverage offered by the rental
company may provide a duplication of coverage provided by a
renter's personal automobile insurance policy, homeowner's
insurance policy, personal liability insurance policy, or other
source of coverage.
(iii) State that the purchase by the renter of the kinds of
coverage specified in this section is not required in order to
rent a vehicle; and
(iv) Describe the process for filing a claim in the event
the renter elects to purchase coverage and in the event of a
claim.
(3) An evidence of coverage on the face of the rental
agreement is disclosed to every renter who elects to purchase
such coverage.
(i) The limited licensee to sell automobile rental coverage may offer or sell insurance only in connection with and
incidental to the rental of vehicles, whether at the rental
office or by preselection of coverage in a master, corporate,
group rental, or individual agreements in any of the following
general categories:
(1) Personal accident insurance covering the risks of
travel, including, but not limited to, accident and health
insurance that provides coverage, as applicable, to renters and
other rental vehicle occupants for accidental death or
dismemberment and reimbursement for medical expenses resulting
from an accident that occurs during the rental period; and
(2) Liability insurance (which may include uninsured and
underinsured motorist coverage whether offered separately or in
combination with other liability insurance) that provides
coverage, as applicable, to renters and other authorized drivers
of rental vehicles for liability arising from the operation of
the rental vehicle; and
(3) Personal effects insurance that provides coverage,
applicable to renters and other vehicle occupants of the loss of,
or damage to, personal effects that occurs during the rental
period; and
(4) Roadside assistance and emergency sickness protection
programs; and
(5) Any other travel or auto-related coverage that a rental
company offers in connection with and incidental to the rental of
vehicles.
(j) Each rental company for which an employee has received
a limited license pursuant to this section shall conduct a
training program in which its employees being trained shall
receive basic instruction about the kinds of coverage specified
in this section and offered for purchase by prospective renters
of rental vehicles: Provided, That limited licensees and
employees working hereunder are not subject to the agent
prelicensing education, examination or continuing education
requirements of this article.
(k) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, or
any rule adopted by the commissioner neither the rental company,
the limited licensee, nor the other employees working with the
limited licensee at the rental company, shall be required to
treat moneys collected from renters purchasing such insurance
when renting vehicles as funds received in a fiduciary capacity,
provided that the chargers for coverage shall be itemized and be ancillary to a rental transaction. The sale of insurance not in
conjunction with a rental transaction shall not to be permitted.
__________
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a limited
insurance agent license for the sale of insurance in conjunction
with the rental of automobiles.
Section thirty-three, article twelve, chapter thirty-three
is new; therefore strikethroughs and underscoing have been
omitted.)