§ 2137 — Life settlement brokers; licensing

§ 2137. Life settlement brokers; licensing. (a) The superintendent may\nissue a license to any individual, firm, association or corporation who\nor that has complied with the requirements of this chapter, authorizing\nthe licensee to act as a life settlement broker.\n (b) Any such license issued to a firm or association shall authorize\nonly the members thereof, named in such license as sub-licensees, to act\nindividually as life settlement brokers thereunder, and any such license\nissued to a corporation shall authorize only the officers and directors\nthereof, who are named in such license as sub-licensees, to act\nindividually as life settlement brokers thereunder. Every sub-licensee,\nacting as a life settlement broker pursuant to such a license shall be\nauthorized so to act only in the name of the licensee.\n (c) Every individual applicant for a license under this section and\nevery proposed sub-licensee shall be eighteen years of age or over at\nthe time of the issuance of such license.\n (d)(1) Before any original life settlement broker's license is issued,\nthere shall be on file in the office of the superintendent an\napplication by the proposed licensee in such form or forms, and\nsupplements thereto, and containing information the superintendent\nprescribes. For each business entity, the sub-licensee or sub-licensees\nnamed in the application shall be designated responsible for the\nbusiness entity's compliance with this chapter and regulations\npromulgated thereunder. The applicant shall fully disclose the identity\nof all stockholders (except stockholders owning fewer than ten percent\nof the voting shares of a life settlement broker whose shares are\npublicly traded), partners, officers, members, directors and persons\nwith a controlling interest and the superintendent may, in the exercise\nof the superintendent's discretion, refuse to issue a license in the\nname of a legal entity if not satisfied that any employee, stockholder,\npartner, officer, member, director or person with a controlling interest\nthereof who may materially influence the applicant's conduct meets the\nstandards of this article and article seventy-eight of this chapter.\nThereafter, the applicant and, if a license has been issued, the\nlicensee, shall provide to the superintendent new or revised information\nabout stockholders (except stockholders owning fewer than ten percent of\nthe voting shares of a life settlement broker whose shares are publicly\ntraded), partners, officers, members, directors and persons with a\ncontrolling interest within thirty days of the change. For purposes of\nthis section, "controlling interest" means a person who directly or\nindirectly, has the power to cause to be directed the management,\ncontrol or activities of such licensee.\n (2) The superintendent may require any individual named in the\napplication for such license to submit a set of fingerprints, unless\nsuch applicant is licensed as an insurance producer with a life line of\nauthority. Such fingerprints shall be submitted to the division of\ncriminal justice services for a state criminal history record check, as\ndefined in subdivision one of section three thousand thirty-five of the\neducation law, and may be submitted to the federal bureau of\ninvestigation for a national criminal history record check. All such\ncriminal history records sent to the superintendent pursuant to this\nparagraph shall be confidential pursuant to the applicable federal and\nstate laws, rules and regulations, and shall not be published or in any\nway disclosed to persons other than the superintendent, unless otherwise\nauthorized by law. The superintendent shall provide such applicant with\na copy of his or her criminal history record, if any, together with a\ncopy of article twenty-three-A of the correction law, and inform such\napplicant of his or her right to seek correction of any incorrect\ninformation contained in such record pursuant to regulations and\nprocedures established by the division of criminal justice services. All\ndeterminations to grant or deny clearance for licensure pursuant to this\nsection shall be in accordance with subdivision sixteen of section two\nhundred ninety-six of the executive law and article twenty-three-A of\nthe correction law. When the superintendent denies an application,\nwritten notice of such determination shall be given to the prospective\napplicant who shall be afforded notice and the right to be heard and\noffer proof in opposition to such determination.\n (e) The superintendent shall, in order to determine the competency of\nevery individual applicant and of every proposed sub-licensee for the\nlife settlement broker license, require such individual to submit to a\npersonal written examination and to pass the same to the satisfaction of\nthe superintendent. The examination shall be held at such times and\nplaces as the superintendent shall from time to time determine. Every\nindividual applying to take any written examination shall, at the time\nof applying therefor, pay to the superintendent or, at the discretion of\nthe superintendent, directly to any organization that is under contract\nto provide examination services, an examination fee of an amount that is\nthe actual documented administrative cost of conducting said qualifying\nexamination as certified by the superintendent from time to time. An\nexamination fee represents an administrative expense and is not\nrefundable. The superintendent may accept, in lieu of any such\nexamination, the result of any previous written examination, given by\nthe superintendent, which in the superintendent's judgment, is\nequivalent to the examination for which it is substituted. No individual\nshall be deemed qualified to take the examination unless he or she shall\nhave successfully completed a course or courses, approved by the\nsuperintendent.\n (f)(1) No such written examination or prelicensing education shall be\nrequired:\n (A) of any insurance producer with a life line of authority licensed\nin this state for at least one year;\n (B) in the discretion of the superintendent, of any individual whose\nlicense has been revoked or suspended;\n (C) of any applicant who has passed the written examination given by\nthe superintendent for a life settlement broker's license and was\nlicensed as such, or of an applicant who was licensed as a life\nsettlement broker but did not pass such an examination; provided the\napplicant applies within two years following the date of termination of\nthe applicant's license;\n (D) in the discretion of the superintendent, as to all or any part of\nthe written examination or the prerequisite course specified in\nsubsection (e) of this section, of any individual seeking to be named a\nlicensee or sub-licensee, upon whom has been conferred the Chartered\nLife Underwriter (C.L.U.) or Chartered Life Underwriter Associate\ndesignation by The American College; or\n (E) any individual seeking to be named a licensee or sub-licensee, who\nis a nonresident and a life settlement broker or who is licensed as an\ninsurance producer with a life line of authority in the individual's\nhome state for at least one year; provided, however, that the\nindividual's home state grants nonresident licenses to residents of this\nstate on the same basis.\n (2) No prelicensing education shall be required of any individual\nregularly employed by a life settlement provider, life insurance\ncompany, life settlement broker, or an insurance producer with a life\nline of authority, for a period or periods aggregating not less than one\nyear, during the three years next preceding the date of entrance into\nthe service of the armed forces of the United States or immediately\nfollowing his or her discharge therefrom, in responsible duties relating\nto the use of life insurance and annuity contracts in the design and\nadministration of plans for estate conservation and distribution,\nemployee benefits and business continuation, and settlements of life\ninsurance and annuity contracts; provided the application for such\nlicense is filed within one year following the date of discharge, and\nthe applicant submits with the application a statement subscribed and\naffirmed as true under the penalties of perjury by such employer or\nemployers stating facts which show compliance with this requirement.\n (g) The superintendent may refuse to issue any life settlement\nbroker's license if, in the superintendent's judgment, the proposed\nlicensee or any sub-licensee: is not trustworthy and competent to act as\na life settlement broker; has given cause for license revocation or\nsuspension; or has failed to comply with any prerequisite for the\nissuance of such license.\n (h)(1) Every license issued to a business entity pursuant to\nsubsection (a) of this section shall expire on June thirtieth of\nodd-numbered years.\n (2) Every license issued pursuant to this section to an individual who\nwas born in an odd-numbered year shall expire on the individual's\nbirthday in each odd-numbered year. Every license issued pursuant to\nthis section to an individual who was born in an even-numbered year\nshall expire on the individual's birthday in each even-numbered year.\nEvery such license may be renewed for the ensuing period of twenty-four\nmonths upon the filing of an application in conformity with this\nsubsection.\n (3) The license may be issued for all of such two-year terms, or upon\napplication made during any such term, for the balance thereof.\n (4) Any license shall be considered in good standing within the\nlicense term unless:\n (A) revoked or suspended by the superintendent pursuant to this\narticle; or\n (B) if at the expiration date of the license term, the licensee fails\nto file a renewal application, provided the license was in good standing\nduring the term.\n (5) Before the renewal of any life settlement broker's license shall\nbe issued, the licensee shall have:\n (A) filed a completed renewal application in such form or forms, and\nsupplements thereto, and containing such information as the\nsuperintendent may prescribe; and\n (B) paid such fees as are prescribed by the superintendent; provided,\nhowever, that such fee shall not exceed that which is required for the\nlicensing or renewal for an insurance producer with a life line of\nauthority.\n (6) If an application for a renewal license shall have been filed with\nthe superintendent before the expiration of such license, then the\nlicense sought to be renewed shall continue in full force and effect\neither until the issuance by the superintendent of the renewal license\napplied for or until five days after the superintendent shall have\nrefused to issue such renewal license and shall have given notice of\nsuch refusal to the applicant and to each proposed sub-licensee. Before\nrefusing to renew any such license, except on the ground of failure to\npass a written examination, the superintendent shall notify the\napplicant of the superintendent's intention to do so and shall give the\napplicant a hearing.\n (7)(A) The superintendent may, in issuing a renewal license, dispense\nwith the requirements of a verified application by any individual\nlicensee or sub-licensee who, by reason of being engaged in any military\nservice for the United States, is unable to make personal application\nfor the renewal license, upon the filing of an application on behalf of\nsuch individual, in such form as the superintendent shall prescribe, by\na person who, in the person's judgment, has knowledge of the facts and\nwho makes affidavit showing such military service and the inability of\nthe life settlement broker to make personal application.\n (B) An individual licensee or sub-licensee who is unable to comply\nwith license renewal procedures due to other extenuating circumstances,\nsuch as a long-term medical disability, may request a waiver of such\nprocedures, in such form as the superintendent shall prescribe. The\nlicensee or sub-licensee may also request a waiver of any examination\nrequirement or any other fine or sanction imposed for failure to comply\nwith renewal procedures.\n (8) In addition to any examination fee required by subsection (e) of\nthis section, there shall be paid to the superintendent for each\nindividual license applicant and each proposed sub-licensee a licensing\nor renewal fee to be determined by the superintendent; provided, however\nthat such fee shall not exceed that which is required for the licensing\nor renewal for an insurance producer with a life line of authority.\n (9) An application for the renewal of a license shall be filed with\nthe superintendent not less than sixty days prior to the date the\nlicense expires or the applicant shall be subject to a further fee of\nten dollars for late filing.\n (10) No license fee shall be required of any person who served as a\nmember of the armed forces of the United States at any time and who (A)\nshall have been discharged therefrom, under conditions other than\ndishonorable, or (B) has a qualifying condition, as defined in section\none of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other\nthan bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, or (C) is a\ndischarged LGBT veteran, as defined in section one of the veterans'\nservices law, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct or\ndishonorable from such service, in a current licensing period, for the\nduration of such period.\n (11) Except where a corporation, association or firm licensed as a\nlife settlement broker is applying to add a sub-licensee, there shall be\nno fee required for the issuance of an amended license.\n (12) The license shall contain the licensee's name, address, personal\nidentification number, the date of issuance, and any other information\nthe superintendent deems necessary. The superintendent may issue the\nlife settlement broker's license in conjunction with any other license,\nor its renewal, held by the applicant.\n (i) If the superintendent deems it necessary, then the superintendent\nmay require any licensed life settlement broker to submit a new\napplication at any time.\n (j) The superintendent may issue a replacement for a currently\nin-force license that has been lost or destroyed. Before such\nreplacement license shall be issued, there shall be on file in the\noffice of the superintendent a written application for such replacement\nlicense, affirming under penalty of perjury that the original license\nhas been lost or destroyed, together with a fee of fifteen dollars.\n