HOUSE BILL NO. 4376

A bill to amend 1956 PA 218, entitled

"The insurance code of 1956,"

by amending section 1207 (MCL 500.1207), as amended by 2018 PA 449.

the people of the state of michigan enact:

Sec. 1207. (1) An agent is a fiduciary for all money received or held by the agent in his or her the agent's capacity as an agent.

Failure by an agent in a timely manner to turn over the money that he or she holds in a fiduciary capacity to the persons to whom it is owed is prima facie evidence of violation of the agent's fiduciary responsibility. An agent shall not accept payment of a premium for a medicare supplemental policy or certificate in the form of a check or money order made payable to the agent instead of the insurer. On receiving payment of a premium for a medicare supplemental policy or certificate, an agent shall immediately provide a written receipt to the insured.

(2) An agent shall use reasonable accounting methods to record funds received in his or her fiduciary capacity including the receipt and distribution of all premiums due each of his or her insurers. An agent shall record return premiums received by or credited to him or her that are due an insured on policies reduced or canceled or that are due a prospective purchaser of insurance as a result of a rejected or declined application. Records required by this section must be open to examination by the director.

(2) An agent shall treat all premiums and return premiums as fiduciary money and segregate the premiums from the agent's own money. An agent shall not comingle premiums or return premiums with any other money of the agent.

(3) The separate account under subsection (2) must be established and maintained in any state or federally charted financial institution that is federally insured. The separate account may be interest-bearing.

(4) An agent may hold returned premiums in the separate account for the purpose of paying future premiums on behalf of an insured with the insured's written authorization. An agent may establish the account with an initial deposit of the agent's own money only if the deposit is required to open the account or to avoid bank charges or fees for maintaining the account. Once the first deposit of premiums or return premiums is made into the account, the agent must immediately withdraw the money or maintain money within the account and separately account for the money.

(5) An agent shall use reasonable accounting methods to record money received in the agent's fiduciary capacity, including the receipt and distribution of premiums due each of the agent's insurers.

(6) An agent who receives fiduciary money must document the receipt of the fiduciary money in sufficient detail to determine, at a minimum, the date received, the name of the payee, the amount received, and a description of the money.

(7) An agent shall record return premiums received by or credited to the agent that are due an insured on policies reduced or canceled or that are due a prospective purchaser of insurance as a result of a rejected or declined application.

(8) Failure by an agent in a timely manner to turn over the money that the agent holds in a fiduciary capacity to the persons to whom it is owed is prima facie evidence of violation of the agent's fiduciary responsibility.

(9) An agent shall not accept payment of a premium for a Medicare supplemental policy or certificate in the form of a check or money order made payable to the agent instead of the insurer. On receiving payment of a premium for a Medicare supplemental policy or certificate, an agent shall immediately provide a written receipt to the insured.

(10) Records required by this section must be open to examination by the director.

(11) (3) Except as provided in sections 1211, 1212, and subsection (4), (12), an agent shall not reward or remunerate any person for procuring or inducing business in this state, furnishing leads or prospects, or acting in any other manner as an agent.

(12) (4) If an agent is unable to immediately provide, through his or her the agent's insurers that are authorized to underwrite the coverage, all or a part of the coverage requested on a risk, the agent may obtain the part of the coverage refused by his or her the agent's insurers through another licensed agent or through a risk sharing plan permitted by state law. An agent who attempts to place the refused part of the coverage through another licensed agent shall advise the buyer in writing that the refused part of the coverage is not in effect until the buyer receives written evidence of insurance.

(13) (5) A person shall not sell or attempt to sell insurance by means of intimidation or threats, whether express or implied. Except as provided in section 2077(4), a person may not induce the purchase of insurance through a particular agent or from a particular insurer by means of a promise to sell goods, lend money, or provide services, or by a threat to refuse to sell goods, lend money, or provide services.

(14) (6) After January 1, 1973, an insurer or an agent may not be a party to a contract under which the agent assumes any responsibility or obligation for payment, from his or her the agent's commission or any allocation of premium to him or her the agent by the insurer, of any losses on insurance policies sold by the agent unless the claim adjusting is done by insurance company adjusters or licensed independent adjusters.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 180 days after the date it is enacted into law.