§ 2102 — Acting without a license

§ 2102. Acting without a license. (a) (1) (A) No person, firm,\nassociation or corporation shall act as an insurance producer, insurance\nadjuster or life settlement broker in this state without having\nauthority to do so by virtue of a license issued and in force pursuant\nto the provisions of this chapter.\n (B) No person, firm, association or corporation shall act as an excess\nline broker in this state without having authority to do so by virtue of\na license issued and in force pursuant to section two thousand one\nhundred five of this article, provided, however, that such person, firm,\nassociation or corporation shall not be required to be licensed as an\nexcess line broker where the insured's home state is a state other than\nthis state and such person, firm, association or corporation is\notherwise licensed to sell, solicit or negotiate excess line insurance\nin the insured's home state.\n (2) Any person, firm, association or corporation who or which acts as\na reinsurance intermediary in violation of paragraph one hereof shall,\nin addition to other penalties prescribed by law, be subject to a\npenalty not to exceed five thousand dollars for each transaction.\n (b) (1) Unless licensed as an insurance agent, insurance broker or\ninsurance consultant, no person, firm, association or corporation shall\nin this state identify or hold himself or itself out to be an insurance\nadvisor, insurance consultant or insurance counselor.\n (2) No person, firm, association or corporation shall use any other\ndesignation or title which is likely to mislead the public or shall hold\nhimself or itself out in any manner as having particular insurance\nqualifications other than those for which he may be otherwise licensed\nor otherwise qualified.\n (3) Unless licensed as an insurance agent, insurance broker or\ninsurance consultant with respect to the relevant kinds of insurance, no\nperson, firm, association or corporation shall receive any money, fee,\ncommission or thing of value for examining, appraising, reviewing or\nevaluating any insurance policy, annuity or pension contract, plan or\nprogram or shall make recommendations or give advice with regard to any\nof the above.\n (4) This subsection shall not apply to:\n (A) licensed attorneys at law of this state acting in their\nprofessional capacity as such;\n (B) actuaries or certified public accountants who provide information,\nrecommendations, advice or services in their professional capacity, if\nneither they nor their employer receive any compensation directly or\nindirectly on account of any insurance, bond, annuity or pension\ncontract that results in whole or part from such information,\nrecommendation, advice or services; or\n (C) regular salaried officers or employees of an insurer who devote\nsubstantially all of their services to activities other than the\nrendering of consulting services to the insuring public while acting in\ntheir capacity as such in discharging the duties of their employment.\n (5) Paragraphs one and three of this subsection shall not apply to any\nperson who has received a grant from and has been certified by the\nhealth benefit exchange established pursuant to section 1311 of the\nAffordable Care Act, 42 U.S.C. § 18031 (i), including persons employed\nby certified navigators; provided that the person: (A) has completed the\ntraining required by the health benefit exchange; (B) does not sell\ninsurance; (C) does not engage in any activity with respect to insurance\nnot expressly permitted under 42 U.S.C. § 18031 (i) (3) and regulations\nthereunder; and (D) does not receive any compensation for acting as a\nnavigator directly or indirectly from an insured, insurance producer, or\nan insurer.\n (c) Unless licensed as a reinsurance intermediary, no person, firm,\nassociation or corporation shall in this state act as a reinsurance\nintermediary or use any other designation or title which is likely to\nmislead the public or hold himself or itself out in any manner as a\nreinsurance intermediary.\n (d) Notwithstanding the foregoing, any membership corporation or\nvoluntary association organized and operating in this state prior to\nJanuary first, nineteen hundred thirty-nine may, as part of its\noperations, continue as theretofore to obtain for its members, from a\nproperty/casualty insurance company licensed to do business in this\nstate and having a certificate of qualification from the superintendent,\nthe surety bonds or insurance policies required to be filed by such\nmembers pursuant to section three hundred seventy of the vehicle and\ntraffic law and may, without being licensed as an insurance broker,\nreceive compensation from such members or from such insurer for such\nservices.\n (e)(1) No person shall accept any commission, service fee, brokerage\nor other valuable consideration for selling, soliciting or negotiating\ninsurance in this state if that person is required to be licensed under\nthis article and is not so licensed.\n (2) Renewal or other deferred commissions may be paid to a person or\nother entity for selling, soliciting or negotiating insurance in this\nstate if the person or other entity was required to be licensed under\nthis article at the time of the sale, solicitation or negotiation and\nwas so licensed at that time.\n (3) An insurer, fraternal benefit society, health maintenance\norganization or licensed insurance producer may pay or assign\ncommissions, service fees, brokerages or other valuable consideration to\nan insurance producer or to persons who do not sell, solicit or\nnegotiate a contract of insurance in this state, unless the payment\nwould violate any provision of this chapter.\n (f) Every licensee shall notify the superintendent upon changing his,\nher or its legal name. Except for an individual licensee's own legal\nname, no licensee shall use any name, in conducting a business regulated\nby this article that has not been previously approved by the\nsuperintendent.\n (g) Any person, firm, association or corporation who or that violates\nthis section shall be subject to a penalty not to exceed five hundred\ndollars for each transaction, except as provided in paragraph two of\nsubsection (a) of this section.\n