HB 168: "An Act amending the definition of travel insurance for the purpose of describing a person eligible for a travel insurance limited producer license; and authorizing a person selling travel services to transact the business of travel insurance on behalf of and under the direction of a person licensed as a travel insurance limited producer."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 168 01 "An Act amending the definition of travel insurance for the purpose of describing a 02 person eligible for a travel insurance limited producer license; and authorizing a person 03 selling travel services to transact the business of travel insurance on behalf of and under 04 the direction of a person licensed as a travel insurance limited producer." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 21.27.150(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) The director may issue a 08 (1) travel insurance limited producer license to a person who is 09 appointed under AS 21.27.100 and who sells travel insurance; in this paragraph, 10 "travel insurance" has the meaning given in AS 21.27.152 [INSURANCE 11 CONNECTED WITH TRANSPORTATION PROVIDED BY A COMMON 12 CARRIER, AND LIMITED TO A SPECIFIC TRIP, THAT COVERS 13 (A) TRIP CANCELLATION; 14 (B) TRIP INTERRUPTION; OR
01 (C) LIFE, HEALTH, DISABILITY, OR PERSONAL 02 EFFECTS]; 03 (2) title insurance limited producer license to a person whose place of 04 business is located in this state and whose sole purpose is to be appointed by and act 05 on behalf of a title insurer; 06 (3) bail bond limited producer license to a person who is appointed by 07 and acts on behalf of a surety insurer pertaining to bail bonds; 08 (4) motor vehicle rental agency limited producer license to a person 09 and, subject to the approval of the director, to employees of the person licensed that 10 the licensee authorizes to transact the business of insurance on the licensee's behalf if, 11 as to an employee, the licensee complies with (D) of this paragraph and if the licensee 12 (A) rents to others, without operators, 13 (i) private passenger motor vehicles, including 14 passenger vans, minivans, and sport utility vehicles; or 15 (ii) cargo motor vehicles, including cargo vans, pickup 16 trucks, and trucks with a gross vehicle weight of less than 26,000 17 pounds that do not require the operator to possess a commercial driver's 18 license; 19 (B) rents motor vehicles only to persons under rental 20 agreements that do not exceed a term of 90 days; 21 (C) transacts only the following kinds of insurance: 22 (i) motor vehicle liability insurance with respect to 23 liability arising out of the use of a vehicle rented from the licensee 24 during the term of the rental agreement; 25 (ii) uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, with 26 minimum limits described in AS 21.96.020(c) and (d) arising from the 27 use of a vehicle rented from the licensee during the term of the rental 28 agreement; 29 (iii) insurance against medical, hospital, surgical, and 30 disability benefits to an injured person and funeral and death benefits to 31 dependents, beneficiaries, or personal representatives of a deceased
01 person if the insurance is issued as incidental coverage with or 02 supplemental to liability insurance and arises out of the use of a vehicle 03 rented from the licensee during the term of the rental agreement; 04 (iv) personal effects insurance, including loss of use, 05 with respect to damage to or loss of personal property of a person 06 renting the vehicle and other vehicle occupants while that property is 07 being loaded into, transported by, or unloaded from a vehicle rented 08 from the licensee during the term of the rental agreement; 09 (v) towing and roadside assistance with respect to 10 vehicles rented from the licensee during the term of the rental 11 agreement; and 12 (vi) other insurance as may be authorized by regulation 13 by the director; 14 (D) notifies the director in writing, within 30 days of 15 employment, of the name, date of birth, social security number, location of 16 employment, and home address of an employee authorized by the licensee to 17 transact insurance on the licensee's behalf; and 18 (E) provides other information as required by the director; 19 (5) nonresident limited producer license to a person; a license that the 20 director issues under this paragraph grants the same scope of authority as a limited 21 lines producer license issued to the person by the person's home state; 22 (6) credit insurance limited producer license to a person who sells 23 limited lines credit insurance; 24 (7) miscellaneous limited producer license to a person who transacts 25 insurance in this state that restricts the person's authority to less than the total authority 26 for a line of authority described in AS 21.27.115(1) - (6), (8), and (9). 27 * Sec. 2. AS 21.27 is amended by adding a new section to read: 28 Sec. 21.27.152. Travel insurance. (a) A person that makes, arranges, or offers 29 travel services may transact travel insurance by offering, issuing for delivery, issuing, 30 or renewing travel insurance to its customers on behalf of and under the direction of a 31 person holding a travel insurance limited producer license under AS 21.27.150.
01 (b) A person may transact travel insurance under (a) of this section only if the 02 person is included in the register maintained by the travel insurance limited producer 03 under (e)(1) of this section. 04 (c) A person transacting travel insurance under (a) of this section may not 05 (1) evaluate or interpret the terms, benefits, and conditions of travel 06 insurance; 07 (2) evaluate or provide advice concerning a prospective purchaser's 08 existing insurance coverage; or 09 (3) represent that the person is a licensed insurer, licensed producer, or 10 insurance expert. 11 (d) A person transacting the business of travel insurance under (a) of this 12 section shall provide to its prospective customers 13 (1) a description of the terms of the insurance coverage; 14 (2) a description of the claims process; 15 (3) a description of the review and return or cancellation process; 16 (4) the identity and contact information for the insurer and the travel 17 insurance limited producer; 18 (5) notice that a customer is not required to purchase travel insurance 19 as a condition to purchasing other travel products or services; and 20 (6) a statement that a person transacting travel insurance may provide 21 general information about the insurance offered, including a description of the 22 coverage and price, but is not qualified or authorized to answer questions about the 23 terms and conditions of the insurance offered or to evaluate the adequacy of the 24 customer's insurance coverage. 25 (e) A travel insurance limited producer licensed under this section shall 26 (1) maintain a register in a format prescribed by the director of each 27 person who transacts travel insurance on behalf of and under the direction of the travel 28 insurance limited producer; the register must include the identity and contact 29 information of the person transacting travel insurance, the identity of a person who 30 directs or controls the person's business, and the person's federal employment 31 identification number; and make the register available to the director on request;
01 (2) certify that the person transacting travel insurance complies with 18 02 U.S.C. 1033; and 03 (3) require an employee of the person transacting travel insurance 04 satisfactorily to complete a training program that, at a minimum, contains instruction 05 on the type of insurance offered, ethical practices, and the disclosures that must be 06 provided to its prospective customers; the training program may be reviewed by the 07 director. 08 (f) A travel insurance limited producer is liable for the acts of a person 09 transacting travel insurance on behalf of and under the direction of the producer. The 10 travel insurance limited producer shall designate one of its employees as the person 11 responsible for the travel insurance limited producer's compliance with applicable 12 travel insurance laws and regulations. 13 (g) Travel insurance may be provided under an individual policy or under a 14 group or master policy. 15 (h) In this section, "travel insurance" 16 (1) means insurance coverage for personal risks connected to travel, 17 including 18 (A) trip interruption or cancellation; 19 (B) lost baggage or personal effects; 20 (C) damage to accommodations or rental vehicles; or 21 (D) sickness, accident, disability, or death occurring during 22 travel; 23 (2) does not include comprehensive medical insurance that provides 24 coverage during trips lasting six months or longer.