H. B. 4535
(By Delegates Thompson, Cann, Beane,
Mahan, H. White, Harrison and Faircloth)
[Introduced February 14, 2000; referred to the
Committee on Banking and Insurance then Finance.]
A BILL to repeal sections six, ten and fourteen, article
eleven-a, chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty one, as amended; and to
amend and reenact section nine, article eleven-a, chapter
thirty-three of said code, all relating to the insurance
sales consumer protection act; the repeal of provisions
banning solicitation for the sale of insurance to a customer
by an employee of the institution who works in loans,
banning solicitation or sale of insurance to a customer by
an employee who knows the customer has a pending loan or
extension application and banning solicitation or sale of
insurance in a place not conspicuously one where neither a
loan nor a deposit would be made; and removing the requirement that the written acknowledgment of receipt of
disclosures by a customer be maintained in a separate
document.
To be enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections six, ten and fourteen, article eleven-a,
chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be repealed; and that
section nine, article eleven-a, chapter thirty-three of said code
be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11A. INSURANCE SALES CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT.
§33-11A-9. Disclosures.
(a) A financial institution soliciting the purchase of or
selling insurance, and any person soliciting the purchase of or
selling insurance on the premises of, in connection with a
product offering of, or using a name identifiable with, a
financial institution, shall prominently disclose to customers,
in writing, in clear and concise language, including in any
advertisement or promotional material, and orally during any
customer contact, that insurance offered, recommended, sponsored,
or sold:
(1) Is not a deposit;
(2) Is not insured by the federal deposit insurance corporation or, where applicable, the National Credit Union Share
Insurance Fund;
(3) Is not guaranteed by any insured depository institution;
and
(4) Where appropriate, involves investment risk, including
potential loss of principal.
(b) Any financial institution engaged in the making of
loans or other extensions of credit and the sale of insurance
shall prominently disclose to customers in writing, in clear and
concise language, that the insurance product may be purchased
from an agent or broker of the customer's choice, and the
customer's choice of another insurance provider will not affect
the customer's credit relationship with the person. For purposes
of this subsection, loans and extensions of credit shall not
include financing in connection with the insurance product
offered or sold.
(c) Any person required under subsections (a) or (b) of this
section to make disclosures to a customer shall obtain a written
acknowledgment of receipt by the customer of such disclosures,
including the date of receipt and the customer's name, address,
and account number, prior to or at the time of any application for insurance sold by the person. Such acknowledgment shall be
in a separate document.
(d) The commissioner may grant a waiver of the requirements
of this section to any person required to give the disclosures
required by this section solely because that person has a name
identifiable with a financial institution upon a written request
by such person demonstrating that his, her or its customers would
not reasonably benefit from, or might in fact be confused by,
these required disclosures.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to eliminate provisions of
the current West Virginia law which are preempted by new federal
law relating to financial services reform. The bill also
renumbers the sections affected.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.