Section 33-59-3. License requirements; representation of producers; exceptions; application and renewal; fees; licenses for legal entities; investigation by Commissioner and issuance of license; nonresident applicants; required information from provider; continued training requirements

   (a) No person, wherever located, shall act as a provider or life settlement broker with an owner or multiple owners who are residents of this state without first having obtained a license or acknowledgment of registration from the Commissioner. If there is more than one owner on a single policy and the owners are residents of different states, the life settlement contract shall be governed by the law of the state in which the owner having the largest percentage ownership resides or, if the owners hold equal ownership, the state of residence of one owner agreed upon in writing by all owners.

(b) Application for a provider license or life settlement broker registration shall be made to the Commissioner by the applicant on a form prescribed by the Commissioner and the application shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount established by the Commissioner; provided, however, that the license and renewal fees for a provider license shall be reasonable and that the registration and renewal fees for a life settlement broker registration shall not exceed those established for an insurance producer, as such fees are otherwise provided for in this title.

(c) A life insurance producer who has been duly licensed as a resident insurance producer with a life line of authority in this state or his or her home state for at least one year and is licensed as a nonresident producer in this state shall be deemed to meet the licensing and registration requirements of this Code section and shall be permitted to operate as a life settlement broker.

(d) Not later than 30 days from the first day of operating as a life settlement broker, the life insurance producer shall notify the Commissioner that he or she is acting as a life settlement broker on a form prescribed by the Commissioner and shall pay any applicable fee to be determined by the Commissioner. Notification shall include an acknowledgment by the life insurance producer that he or she will operate as a life settlement broker in accordance with this chapter.

(e) The insurer that issued the policy that is the subject of a life settlement contract shall not be responsible for any act or omission of a life settlement broker, provider, or purchaser arising out of or in connection with the life settlement transaction unless the insurer receives compensation for the placement of a life settlement contract from the provider, purchaser, or life settlement broker in connection with the life settlement contract.

(f) A person licensed as an attorney, certified public accountant, or financial planner accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation agency who is retained to represent the owner and whose compensation is not paid directly or indirectly by the provider or purchaser may negotiate life settlement contracts on behalf of the owner without having to obtain a license as a life settlement broker.

(g) Licenses may be renewed every year on May 1 upon payment of the periodic renewal fee. Failure to pay the fee within the terms prescribed shall result in the automatic revocation of the license requiring periodic renewal.

(h) The term of a provider license shall be equal to that of a domestic stock life insurance company and the term of a life settlement broker registration shall be equal to that of an insurance producer license. Licenses or registrations requiring periodic renewal may be renewed on their anniversary date upon payment of the periodic renewal fee as specified in subsection (b) of this Code section. Failure to pay the fees on or before the renewal date shall result in expiration of the license or registration.

(i) The applicant shall provide such information as the Commissioner may require on forms prepared by the Commissioner. The Commissioner shall have the authority, at any time, to require such applicant to fully disclose the identity of its stockholders, except stockholders owning fewer than 10 percent of the shares of an applicant whose shares are publicly traded, partners, officers, and employees, and the Commissioner may, in the exercise of the Commissioner's sole discretion, refuse to issue such a license in the name of any person if not satisfied that any officer, employee, stockholder, or partner thereof who may materially influence the applicant's conduct meets the standards of this chapter.

(j) A license issued to a partnership, corporation, or other entity authorizes all members, officers, and designated employees to act as a licensee under the license if those persons are named in the application and any supplements to the application.

(k) Upon the filing of an application and the payment of the license fee, the Commissioner shall make an investigation of each applicant and may issue a license if the Commissioner finds that the applicant:

   (1) If a provider, has provided a detailed plan of operation;

   (2) Is competent and trustworthy and intends to transact its business in good faith;

   (3) Has a good business reputation and has had experience, training, or education so as to be qualified in the business for which the license is applied;

   (4) If the applicant is a legal entity, is formed or organized pursuant to the laws of this state or is a foreign legal entity authorized to transact business in this state or provides a certificate of good standing from the state of its domicile; and

   (5) Has provided to the Commissioner an antifraud plan that meets the requirements of Code Section 33-59-14 and includes:

      (A) A description of the procedures for detecting and investigating possible fraudulent acts and procedures for resolving material inconsistencies between medical records and insurance applications;

      (B) A description of the procedures for reporting fraudulent insurance acts to the Commissioner;

      (C) A description of the plan for antifraud education and training of its underwriters and other personnel; and

      (D) A written description or chart outlining the arrangement of the antifraud personnel who are responsible for the investigation and reporting of possible fraudulent insurance acts and investigating unresolved material inconsistencies between medical records and insurance applications.

(l) The Commissioner shall not issue any license to any nonresident applicant unless a written designation of an agent for service of process is filed and maintained with the Commissioner or unless the applicant has filed with the Commissioner the applicant's written irrevocable consent that any action against the applicant may be commenced against the applicant by service of process on the Commissioner.

(m) The Commissioner shall not issue a license to any applicant unless the applicant has an adequate net worth as prescribed by order, rule, or regulation.

(n) Each licensee shall file with the Commissioner on or before the first day of May of each year an annual statement containing such information as the Commissioner by rule may prescribe.

(o) A provider shall not use any person to perform the functions of a life settlement broker as defined in paragraph (10) of Code Section 33-59-2 unless the person holds a current, valid registration as a life settlement broker and as provided in this Code section.

(p) A life settlement broker shall not use any person to perform the functions of a provider as defined in paragraph (18) of Code Section 33-59-2 unless such person holds a current, valid license as a provider and as provided in this Code section.

(q) A provider and a life settlement broker shall provide to the Commissioner new or revised information about officers, 10 percent or more stockholders, partners, directors, members, and designated employees within 30 days of any change.

(r) An individual registered as a life settlement broker shall complete on a biennial basis 15 hours of training related to life settlements and life settlement transactions as required by the Commissioner; provided, however, that a life insurance producer who is operating as a life settlement broker pursuant to this Code section shall not be subject to the requirements of this subsection. Any person failing to meet the requirements of this subsection shall be subject to the penalties imposed by the Commissioner.

Code 1981, § 33-59-3, enacted by Ga. L. 2005, p. 998, § 1/SB 217; Ga. L. 2009, p. 370, § 1/SB 61.