Insurance: omnibus.

(1) Existing law requires an entity seeking to be licensed as a risk retention group to be organized under California law and licensed as a liability insurance company. A risk retention group is a corporation, public entity, or other limited liability association that meets certain criteria, including that its primary activity consists of assuming and spreading all, or any portion, of the liability exposure of its group members. Existing law also exempts risk retention groups from the Business Transacted with Producer Controlled Insurer Act, which regulates controlled insurers, as prescribed. This bill would require, on and after January 1, 2015, a risk retention group to comply with specified corporate governance requirements at the time of licensure, including that the board of directors have a majority of independent directors, as defined, that the term of any material service provider contract with a risk retention group not exceed 5 years, and that the risk retention group have an audit committee composed of at least 3 independent board members. The bill would also delete the risk retention group exemption from the Business Transacted with Producer Controlled Insurer Act. (2) Existing law provides that no cancellation of a motor vehicle insurance policy, not subject to certain cancellation protections because it has been in effect less than 60 days, is effective unless a notice of cancellation, subject to certain notice provisions, is mailed or delivered by the insurer to the named insured not later than the 59th day following the effective date and at least 10 days prior to the effective date of cancellation. Existing law also provides no notice of cancellation of a motor vehicle insurance policy, where the cancellation is based on, among other things, nonpayment of premium, is effective unless mailed or delivered by the insurer to the named insured, lienholder, or additional interest at least 20 days prior to the effective date of cancellation, except as specified. This bill would delete the requirements for cancellation of a motor vehicle insurance policy less than 60 days old, and would apply the requirements regarding notice of cancellation for nonpayment of premiums, and other specified reasons, to all cancellation circumstances. (3) Existing law defines the term "Adjusted RBC Report" as a Risk-Based Capital (RBC) report that has been adjusted by the Insurance Commissioner in accordance with specified provisions governing the determination of a property and casualty insurer's RBC. This bill would revise that definition to also include an RBC report that has been adjusted by the commissioner in accordance with specified provisions governing the determination of a life or health insurer's RBC. (4) Existing law provides for continuing education requirements, prior to license renewals, for specified insurance agents and broker-agents, including personal lines broker-agents and limited lines automobile insurance agents. This bill would require that those continuing education requirements include 3 hours of ethics. (5) Existing law requires every life agent who sells annuities to satisfactorily complete 8 hours of training prior to soliciting individual consumers, and requires every life agent who sells annuities to satisfactorily complete 4 hours of training prior to each license renewal. This bill would clarify the completion of an 8-hour training requirement to initially procure a license to sell annuities does not satisfy the requirement to complete a 4-hour training course in order to renew the annuity license. (6) Existing law prohibits the Insurance Commissioner from granting authority to transact variable contracts unless the life agent or applicant furnishes proof that he or she is registered to sell securities in accordance with the rules of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. This bill would make clear that the life agent or applicant is required to furnish proof that he or she is registered to sell securities in California in accordance with the rules of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. (7) Existing law requires an individual holding an insurance adjuster license, not otherwise exempt, to complete a minimum of 24 hours of continuing education courses, as specified. This bill would authorize an exemption from the continuing education requirements for an individual licensed as an insurance adjuster and as a property or casualty broker-agent who has met other specified continuing education requirements. (8) Existing law defines an insurance solicitor as a natural person employed to aid an insurance agent or insurance broker in transacting insurance other than life. This bill would redefine an insurance solicitor to mean a natural person employed to aid a property and casualty broker-agent acting as an insurance agent or insurance broker in transacting insurance other than life, disability, or health. (9) Existing law provides that a nonresident licensee who applies for a property broker-agent, casualty broker-agent, personal lines broker-agent, or life agent resident license in this state, and who is currently licensed for the same lines of authority in the state of his or her current resident license, is not required to complete an examination. The application for examination is required to be received within 90 days of the cancellation of the applicant's resident license and the producer database records, maintained by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, are required to indicate that the producer is licensed in good standing for the line of authority requested. This bill would provide that upon issuance of the California resident license, the examination waiver also applies to adding additional lines of authority to the California resident license provided that the individual was previously licensed in good standing for the requested additional lines of authority, and the application is received within 12 months of the cancellation of the applicant's previous resident license in another state. (10) Existing law regulates the sale of portable electronics insurance policies and requires all portable electronics vendors offering that insurance to be licensed, as specified. This bill would authorize an insurer to terminate or otherwise change the terms and conditions of a policy of portable electronics insurance, as provided. (11) Existing law requires the commissioner, after a public hearing held in accordance with the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, to approve or issue a reasonable plan, or reasonable amendments to the plan, for the equitable apportionment, among insurers admitted to transact liability insurance, of those applicants for automobile bodily injury and property damage liability insurance who are in good faith entitled to, but are unable to procure, that insurance through ordinary methods. Existing law provides for judicial review of the proceedings held to revise automobile insurance rates. This bill would additionally require that the reasonable amendments to the plan be approved by the plan's advisory committee. The bill would delete the requirement that the public hearings be held in accordance with the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, and provide, with exceptions, that the plan and any amendments not be subject to those provisions. The bill would instead require the commissioner to provide 45 days' notice of a public hearing by publishing the notice in the California Regulatory Notice Register, mailing the notice to the parties on the Department of Insurance's regulations mailing list, and posting the notice on the department's public Internet Web site. The bill would authorize interested parties to make oral or written comments and require the commissioner to consider all comments received before adopting any amendments to the plan, as provided. The bill would also provide for judicial review of a change to the plan. (12) Existing law authorizes an underwritten title company to engage in the business of preparing title searches, title reports, title examinations, or certificates or abstracts of title, upon the basis of which a title insurer writes title policies. Existing law authorizes any insurer, upon payment of the fees and costs and surrender to the commissioner of its certificate of authority, to apply to withdraw from this state, as provided. This bill would authorize underwritten title companies to apply to withdraw from the California insurance market. (13) This bill would make technical, conforming, and clarifying changes, and delete obsolete provisions. (14) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 10785 of the Insurance Code proposed by AB 1180, that would become operative only if AB 1180 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2014, and this bill is chaptered last.