Wyoming Insurance Department v. Avemco Insurance Co.

726 P.2d 507, 1986 Wyo. LEXIS 623
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 10, 1986
Docket86-92
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 726 P.2d 507 (Wyoming Insurance Department v. Avemco Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wyoming Insurance Department v. Avemco Insurance Co., 726 P.2d 507, 1986 Wyo. LEXIS 623 (Wyo. 1986).

Opinion

MACY, Justice.

This is an appeal from a district court order reversing and vacating an order of the insurance commissioner which found Avemco Insurance Company in violation of § 26-3-127(b), W.S.1977. The only question we are asked to decide is whether the district court erred in reversing the order of the insurance commissioner.

We find no error and, therefore, affirm.

Avemco is a direct writer of insurance authorized to do business in the State of Wyoming. As a direct writer, Avemco sells insurance to citizens of Wyoming directly from its corporate offices located outside the state rather than through agents located within Wyoming. Avemco retains only one agent within the state who serves solely as a countersigning agent. Pursuant to §§ 26-3-127(a) and 26-3-129, W.S.1977, 1 the agent signs and keeps a record of all policies issued by Avemco in Wyoming. For these services, Avemco pays the agent a commission of one-half of one percent of the premiums paid by Wyoming customers.

On February 19, 1985, the insurance commissioner issued a notice and order to show cause to Avemco in which it was alleged that Avemco was not paying its countersigning agent in accordance with § 26-3-127(b), which provides as follows:

“The insurer shall pay to the countersigning agent a commission of not less than five percent (5%) of the entire premium, when paid, on the policy or contract, or twenty-five percent (25%) of the total commission, when paid, whichever is less. This provision does not prohibit payment by the insurer and receipt by the agent of a larger commission for services performed or to be performed in relation to the policy or contract, if so agreed between the agent and the insurer.”

At the hearing before the insurance commissioner, Avemco argued that the statutory language provides for payment to the countersigning agent in one of two ways. The agent is to be paid a commission of five percent of the entire premium on the policy or 25% of the total commission paid, whichever is less. Avemco asserted that it pays no commissions other than to the countersigning agent, and thus the agent receives 100% of the commission paid. Because 100% of the commission amounts to *509 less than five percent of the entire premium, Avemco contended that it had satisfied the statutory requirements.

The insurance department responded by claiming that the “25% of the total commission” language was intended to apply only when commissions are paid to an agent within the state to produce business. Because Avemco pays no agents within the state to produce business but pays an agent only to countersign policies, the insurance department contends that the “25% of the total commission” language is inoperative, and Avemco must pay the agent “5% of the entire premium.”

The insurance commissioner found Avemco’s payments to be “less than the [statutory] minimum fee.” Adopting the insurance department’s interpretation of § 26-3-127(b), the insurance commissioner held that because Avemco pays no commission other than to its countersigning agent, it in effect pays no commission within the meaning of the statute and must, therefore, calculate its payment on the basis of five percent of the entire premium paid.

Avemco filed a petition for review in district court on July 17, 1985. Thereafter, Colonial Penn Insurance Company sought and received permission to file a petition for review on the ground that it was adversely affected by the insurance commissioner’s interpretation of § 26-3-127(b).

In an order filed February 25, 1986, the district court found the insurance commissioner’s interpretation of § 26-3-127(b) erroneous as a matter of law. Given that the parties stipulated to the fact that “a commission” is paid to the countersigning agent in the amount of one-half of one percent of the premium, the district court found the insurance commissioner’s conclusion that no commission is paid within the statutory meaning unsupportable. Having acknowledged that a commission is paid, the court then concluded that pursuant to the statutory language, Avemco could pay either five percent of the premium or 25% of the commission. Because one-half of one percent is .125% of the premium and is thus less than five percent of the total premium, the district court found that Avemco’s payments to the countersigning agent satisfied the requirements of § 26-3-127(b).

On appeal, the insurance department contends that the insurance commissioner’s order should not have been reversed by the district court, because it was supported by substantial evidence, was within the scope of his authority, and was not arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion.

The standards governing review of agency decisions are well established. As the insurance department points out, when reviewing an agency decision, we give no special deference to the district court’s determination but instead review the matter as though the appeal were directly to this Court. State Board of Control v. Johnson Ranches, Inc., Wyo., 605 P.2d 367 (1980); Trout v. Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Wyo., 721 P.2d 1047 (1986). We examine the entire record to determine if there is substantial evidence to support an agency’s findings, and if there is, we will not substitute our judgment for that of the agency. Trout v. Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, supra. Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion; it may be less than the weight of the evidence but cannot be contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence. Big Piney Oil & Gas Company v. Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Wyo., 715 P.2d 557 (1986).

In the present case, the insurance commissioner had before him the following stipulated facts:

“1. That AVEMCO Insurance Company is a direct writer of aviation insurance and is authorized to sell insurance within the State of Wyoming.
“2. AVEMCO sells insurance in Wyoming directly from the corporate and regional offices and does not have any agents within the State of Wyoming, except its statutory countersignature agent.
*510 “3. AVEMCO has retained [an agent in] Cheyenne, Wyoming, as its countersigning agent and pays her a countersigning commission of 0.5% of the total annual policy premium.
“4. [The agent] performs no services as such for the company except acting solely as a countersigning agent. In the event she were to be asked a question by an AVEMCO insured or asked to perform services by an AVEMCO insured, she would have to refer the inquiry directly to AVEMCO’s offices.
“5. A dispute has arisen between the Department of Insurance and AVEMCO regarding whether or not AVEMCO is complying with § 26-S-127(b) W.S. * *.

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Bluebook (online)
726 P.2d 507, 1986 Wyo. LEXIS 623, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wyoming-insurance-department-v-avemco-insurance-co-wyo-1986.