Insurance omnibus.

(1) Existing law prohibits insurance agents, insurance brokers, and insurance solicitors from transacting in life insurance. This bill would also prohibit insurance agents, insurance brokers, and insurance solicitors from transacting in disability insurance, health insurance, and 24-hour care coverage. (2) Existing law requires each insurer writing liability insurance for long-term health care facilities, residential care facilities for the elderly, or physicians who provide or oversee the provision of services to residents in long-term health care facilities or residential care facilities for the elderly to report to the Insurance Commissioner specified information regarding liability policies for those facilities or physicians by a date to be set by the commissioner, but not later than July 1 of each calendar year. This bill would instead require the report by a date set by the commissioner without restriction, except that the report shall be required not more than once each calendar year. (3) Existing law authorizes a domestic insurer to make excess funds investments in shares of an investment company, as defined, if certain requirements are satisfied. Among those requirements is the requirement that the investment company be domiciled in the United States with all assets held in the United States by a bank, trust company, or other authorized custodian chartered by the United States, its territories, possessions, or states. Existing law also requires that, in order for a domestic insurer to make excess funds investments in an investment company, the investment company issue its shares to the insurer or to the insurer's custodian, subcustodian, or depository designated pursuant to certain provisions, or have its shares be retained by a bank, trust company, or other entity other than the investment company that is authorized by the United States to act as a transfer and dividend paying agent for the investment company. This bill would still require that an investment company in which a domestic insurer may make excess funds investments be domiciled in the United States, but would delete the requirements that all assets be held in the United States by a bank, trust company, or other authorized custodian chartered by the United States, its territories, possessions, or states. The bill would also provide that specified laws that generally relate to an insurer's custodians, subcustodians, or depositories are not applicable to assets or investments held by an investment company in which a domestic insurer may make excess funds investments. (4) Existing law provides that a fire and casualty licensee is a person authorized to act as an insurance agent, broker, or solicitor, and a fire and casualty broker-agent license is a license to make those insurance transactions. A fire and casualty licensee is authorized to transact 24-hour care coverage and any coverage that a personal lines licensee is authorized to transact. This bill would delete the authorization of a fire and casualty licensee to transact 24-hour care coverage and any coverage that a personal lines licensee is authorized to transact. This bill would divide the fire and casualty broker-agent license into 2 insurance license types: property broker-agent licenses, for insurance coverage on the direct or consequential loss or damage to property of every kind, and casualty broker-agent licenses, for insurance coverage against legal liability, including for death, injury, disability, or damage to real or personal property. (5) Existing law requires a minimum of 40 hours of prelicensing study as a prerequisite to qualification for a fire and casualty broker-agent license. This bill would require a minimum of 20 hours of prelicensing study as a prerequisite to qualification for a property broker-agent license, and a minimum of 20 hours of prelicensing study as a prerequisite to qualification for a casualty broker-agent license. (6) Existing law requires a fire and casualty broker-agent to complete an annual minimum of 25 hours of continuing education for the first 4 years of his or her licensing, and after 4 years the licensee is required to complete a minimum of 24 hours of continuing education prior to license renewal, every 2 years. This bill would instead require the property or casualty broker-agent to complete 24 hours of continuing education prior to license renewal. (7) Existing law authorizes a person licensed as a fire and casualty broker-agent or a life licensee to transact disability insurance on behalf of an insurer which is authorized to transact disability insurance by filing a notice of appointment for that purpose. This bill would delete that provision. (8) Existing law authorizes the Insurance Commissioner, where a licensee has been found by the commissioner to have violated any provision of the code that would justify the suspension or revocation of a license held, or where a person is applying for a license and there exists grounds for the denial of the application by the commissioner, after a hearing, to revoke the license held or deny the application for an unrestricted license, and in lieu of an unrestricted license issue a restricted license. This bill would authorize the commissioner, without a hearing, to issue an order denying an application by a business entity for an unrestricted license and granting instead a restricted license. The bill would also authorize this action by the commissioner where a controlling person of the business entity, as defined, holds a restricted license. The bill would provide for a means by which the business entity would be authorized to request reconsideration of the commissioner's decision. The bill would require that, if the commissioner determines that the business entity should have been granted an unrestricted license, the unrestricted license be granted retroactively. (9) Existing law authorizes licensed insurance agents, insurance brokers, and credit insurance agents to act as credit insurance agents for an authorized insurer with respect to certain kinds of insurance sold in connection with and incidental to a loan or other extension of credit, as specified. This bill would include in the definition of credit insurance guaranteed automobile protection insurance, as defined, and any other form of insurance declared by the commissioner to be credit insurance. (10) Existing law requires an insurer not to execute an undertaking of bail except by and through a person holding a bail license issued by the commissioner. Bail licenses are renewable annually by way of a notice of intention to keep licenses in force or applications for renewal of licenses filed on or before June 30 of each year. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2011, delete the notice of intention to keep licenses in force as a renewal method, and make bail licenses renewable every 2 years, as prescribed. (11) Existing law makes it unlawful to knowingly employ runners, cappers, steerers, or other persons to procure clients or patients to perform or obtain services or workers' compensation benefits or to procure clients or patients to perform or obtain services or benefits under a contract of insurance or that will be the basis for a claim against an insured individual or his or her insurer. The commissioner is authorized to bring a civil action against any person violating this provision and, on and after January 1, 2006, and prior to January 1, 2011, if the commissioner has brought an action or has proceeded with an action brought by another person under this provision, the commissioner is entitled to attorney's fees and costs in addition to any judgment. This bill would delete the January 1, 2011, repeal date for the attorney's fees and costs provision. (12) Existing law requires each insurer that issues automobile liability or collision policies to report annually to the Department of Insurance regarding the number of vehicles inspected for which it has approved a claim for the cost of auto body repairs, the percentage that number represents of the total number of vehicles for which it paid an auto body repair claim in the prior calendar year, and the results of the inspection, including any fraud uncovered and whether any legal action was pursued. This bill would change the reporting requirement so that the report need only be submitted at the request of the commissioner and not more than annually. (13) Existing law requires the commissioner to report annually to the Governor, the Legislature, and the committees of the Senate and Assembly having jurisdiction over insurance an analysis of specified information. This bill would eliminate the requirement for the report to include an analysis of the results of a program to reduce the number of uninsured motorists and the relationship to affordable private passenger vehicle liability insurance rates. (14) Existing law requires that insurance adjusters and public insurance adjusters be licensed by the commissioner. Adjuster licenses expire on May 31 of each even-numbered year. Licensees are required, if not exempt, to complete a minimum of 24 hours of continuing education, including ethics. This bill would change the expiration of those licenses to the day 2 years after the last calendar day of the month in which the initial license was issued. The bill would require licenses issued prior to January 1, 2011, to expire on May 31 of each even-numbered year. The bill also would require that 3 hours of the continuing education requirement consist of ethics. (15) This bill would make minor, conforming, and related changes and delete obsolete provisions.