Senate File 487 - Enrolled




                              SENATE FILE       
                              BY  COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND
                                  MEANS

                              (SUCCESSOR TO SF 348)
                              (SUCCESSOR TO SSB
                                  1156)
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                                   A BILL FOR
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                                        Senate File 487

                             AN ACT
 REGULATING THE SALE OF PORTABLE ELECTRONICS INSURANCE,
    INCLUDING REQUIRING LICENSURE, PROVIDING FOR FEES AND
    PENALTIES, AND INCLUDING EFFECTIVE DATE PROVISIONS.

 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  522E.1  Definitions.
    As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
 requires:
    1.  "Commissioner" means the commissioner of insurance.
    2.  "Consumer" means a person who purchases portable
 electronics in a retail transaction.
    3.  "Endorsee" means an unlicensed employee or authorized
 representative of a licensed portable electronics vendor.
    4.  "Enrollment" means the process of soliciting or accepting
 enrollments or applications from a consumer under a portable
 electronics insurance policy, which includes informing the
 consumer of the availability of coverage, preparing and
 delivery of the certificate of insurance or notice of proposed
 insurance, or otherwise assisting the consumer in making an
 informed decision whether or not to elect to purchase portable
 electronics insurance.
    5.  "Free=trial offer" means an offer to a consumer under
 which portable electronics insurance is provided free of charge
 for a limited time period subsequent to which a charge is made
 to the consumer for the insurance.
    6.  a.  "License period" means all of that three=year period
 beginning as described in paragraph "b", subparagraph (1) or
 (2), as applicable, and ending the second succeeding year on
 the last calendar day of the month in which the initial license
 was issued.
    b.  A license period shall be determined for each person as
 follows:
    (1)  Upon initial licensing, the license period shall start
 on the date the license is issued.
    (2)  For a subsequent license, the license period shall
 start on the first day following the month in which the initial
 license was issued.
    c.  A license shall be renewed on or before the expiration
 date of the license period.
    7.  a.  "Portable electronics" means any of the following
 devices:
    (1)  Personal, self=contained, easily carried by an
 individual, battery=operated electronic communication, viewing,
 listening, recording, gaming, computing, or global positioning
 devices, including cell or satellite phones, pagers, personal
 global positioning satellite units, portable computers,
 portable audio listening, video viewing or recording devices,
 digital cameras, video camcorders, portable gaming systems,
 docking stations, and automatic answering devices, including
 their accessories and service related to the use of the
 devices.
    (2)  Any other electronic device that is portable in nature
 that the commissioner approves.
    b.  "Portable electronics" does not include
 telecommunications switching equipment, transmission
 wires, cell site transceiver equipment, or other equipment
 and systems used by telecommunications companies to provide
 telecommunications service to consumers.
    8.  a.  "Portable electronics insurance" means a contract
 providing coverage for the repair or replacement of portable
 electronics against any one or more of the following causes of
 loss: loss, theft, mechanical failure, malfunction, damage, or
 other applicable perils.
    b.  "Portable electronics insurance" does not include any of
 the following:
    (1)  A service contract or extended warranty providing
 coverage limited to the repair, replacement, or maintenance of
 property for the operational or structural failure of property
 due to a defect in materials, workmanship, accidental damage
 from handling, power surges, or normal wear and tear.
    (2)  A policy of insurance covering a seller's or a
 manufacturer's obligations under a warranty.
    (3)  A homeowner's, renter's, private passenger automobile,
 commercial multiperil, or similar policy.
    9.  "Portable electronics insurance license" means a document
 issued by the commissioner pursuant to this chapter authorizing
 a portable electronics vendor to offer or sell portable
 electronics insurance in this state.
    10.  "Portable electronics vendor" means any person in the
 business, directly or indirectly, of selling, reselling,
 soliciting, or leasing portable electronics, their accessories,
 and related services to consumers.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  522E.2  Licensure required.
    A person shall not offer or sell any form of portable
 electronics insurance in this state unless the person is
 licensed as an insurance producer pursuant to chapter 522B,
 is issued a portable electronics insurance license pursuant
 to this chapter, or is an endorsee who is in compliance with
 section 522E.6.
    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  522E.3  Portable electronics insurance
 license.
    A portable electronics vendor that applies for a license
 and complies with the requirements of this chapter shall
 be issued a portable electronics insurance license by the
 commissioner that authorizes the licensee and the licensee's
 endorsees to offer or sell portable electronics insurance to
 a consumer in connection with, and incidental to, the sale of
 portable electronics or the sale and provision of accessories
 or services related to the use of portable electronics.
    Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  522E.4  Application and fees.
    1.  A portable electronics vendor applying for a portable
 electronics insurance license under this chapter shall submit
 all of the following to the commissioner:
    a.  A written application for licensure, signed by the
 applicant or an officer of the applicant, in the form
 prescribed by the commissioner.
    b.  A certificate by the insurer that is to be named in
 the  portable electronics insurance license, stating that the
 insurer is satisfied that the named applicant is trustworthy
 and competent to act as a portable electronics insurance
 licensee limited to this purpose and that the insurer will
 appoint the applicant to act as its agent to transact the kind
 or kinds of insurance that are permitted by this chapter if the
 portable electronics insurance license applied for is issued by
 the commissioner. The certification shall be subscribed by an
 officer or managing agent of the insurer on a form prescribed
 by the commissioner.
    c.  An application fee of the lesser of fifty dollars per
 each endorsee at a location of the vendor or five hundred
 dollars per location valid for a three=year period and, for
 each three=year period thereafter, a renewal fee in the same
 amount. A maximum fee of five thousand dollars shall apply
 for licensure of a portable electronics vendor with multiple
 locations. The fees collected shall be deposited as provided
 in section 505.7.
    2.  Costs associated with any enforcement action against or
 investigation of a portable electronics vendor licensed under
 this chapter shall be paid for by the portable electronics
 vendor.
    Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  522E.5  License renewal.
    1.  Not less than sixty days before a portable electronics
 insurance license will expire, the commissioner may use an
 electronic delivery method, including electronic mail or other
 similar electronic method of delivery, to deliver, or may mail,
 to the latest electronic mail or mailing address appearing in
 the commissioner's records, an application to the licensee
 to renew a portable electronics insurance license for the
 appropriate succeeding license term. It is the licensee's
 responsibility to renew the license, whether or not a renewal
 notice is received.
    2.  The commissioner may accept a late renewal without
 penalty, provided that the licensee's failure to comply is due
 to a clerical error or inadvertence.
    3.  An application for renewal of a portable electronics
 insurance license may be filed on or before the expiration
 date of the license. An application for renewal of an expired
 license may be filed after the expiration date and until that
 same month and date of the next succeeding year.
    4.  The commissioner shall impose a penalty fee equal to
 one=half of the renewal fee for the portable electronics
 insurance license for any application for renewal that is filed
 after the expiration date of the license.
    Sec. 6.  NEW SECTION.  522E.6  Endorsee requirements.
    An endorsee of a portable electronics vendor that has been
 issued a portable electronics insurance license pursuant to
 this chapter may sell or offer insurance products under the
 authority of the vendor's portable electronics insurance
 license if all of the following conditions have been met:
    1.  The endorsee is eighteen years of age or older.
    2.  The portable electronics vendor, at the time of
 submission of an application for a portable electronics
 insurance license pursuant to section 522E.4, includes a list
 of all locations in this state at which the vendor intends
 to offer coverage under a policy of portable electronics
 insurance. The list shall be maintained by the portable
 electronics vendor in a form prescribed by, or format
 acceptable to, the commissioner, shall be updated annually,
 and shall be made available to the commissioner for review and
 inspection upon request.
    3.  The portable electronics vendor provides for the
 training of its endorsees under a program developed by a
 licensed property and casualty insurance producer prior to
 allowing its endorsees to offer or sell portable electronics
 insurance.  The training shall meet the following minimum
 standards:
    a.  Each endorsee shall receive instruction about the
 applicable kinds or types of portable electronics insurance
 authorized for sale to prospective consumers in this state as
 provided in section 522E.9, subsection 5.
    b.  Each endorsee shall receive training about ethical sales
 practices.
    c.  Each endorsee shall receive training about the
 disclosures to be given to prospective consumers pursuant to
 section 522E.9.
    d.  The retraining of endorsees shall be conducted whenever
 there is a material change in the insurance products sold that
 requires modification of the training materials, but in no
 event less frequently than every three years for each endorsee.
    e.  The portable electronics vendor shall maintain a list
 of its endorsees who have completed the required training, and
 make the list available to the commissioner upon request.
    Sec. 7.  NEW SECTION.  522E.7  Endorsee conduct.
    An endorsee may act on behalf of and under the supervision  of
 a licensed portable electronics vendor in matters relating to
 transacting portable electronics insurance under that vendor's
 license. The conduct of an endorsee acting within the scope of
 the endorsee's employment or agency shall be deemed the conduct
 of the licensed portable electronics vendor for purposes of
 this chapter.
    Sec. 8.  NEW SECTION.  522E.8  Violations and penalties.
    1.  If a licensed portable electronics vendor or endorsee
 violates any provision of  this chapter or any other provision
 of this title, the commissioner may do any of the following:
    a.  After notice and hearing, suspend or revoke the license
 of the portable electronics vendor.
    b.  After notice and hearing, impose penalties on the
 portable  electronics vendor for its conduct or that of its
 endorsees.
    c.  After notice and hearing, impose other penalties that the
 commissioner deems necessary and convenient to carry out the
 purposes of this chapter, including suspending the privilege
 of transacting portable electronics insurance pursuant to
 this chapter at specific business locations of the portable
 electronics vendor where violations have occurred, imposing
 penalties on the portable electronics vendor, and suspending or
 revoking the ability of individual endorsees to act under the
 vendor's license.
    2.  If any person sells insurance in connection with, or
 incidental to, the sale of portable electronics or the sale
 or  provision of accessories or services related thereto, or
 holds oneself or an organization out as a licensed portable
 electronics vendor without obtaining the license required
 by this chapter, or as being an insurance producer licensed
 pursuant to chapter 522B without obtaining that license, the
 commissioner may issue a cease and desist order.
    Sec. 9.  NEW SECTION.  522E.9  Requirements at time of sale.
    A licensed portable electronics vendor shall not sell
 portable electronics insurance pursuant to this chapter unless,
 at the time of sale, or reasonably thereafter with respect to a
 sale or enrollment occurring by telephone, all of the following
 conditions are satisfied:
    1.  The portable electronics vendor provides brochures or
 other written materials to the prospective consumer that do all
 of the following:
    a.  Summarize the material terms and conditions of coverage
 offered, including the identity of the insurer.
    b.  Describe the process for filing a claim, including a
 toll=free telephone number to report a claim.
    c.  Disclose any additional information on the price,
 benefits, exclusions, conditions, or other limitations of those
 policies that the commissioner may, by rule, prescribe.
    d.  Provide the name, address, telephone number, and license
 number of the portable electronics vendor or the property
 and casualty insurance broker=agent appointed by the insurer
 issuing portable electronics insurance  coverage to the portable
 electronics vendor.
    2.  The portable electronics vendor or its endorsees
 make all of the following disclosures, which shall either
 be acknowledged in writing by the consumer, be provided in
 writing to the consumer, or, for sales made in person, shall
 be displayed by clear and conspicuous signs that are posted at
 every location where portable electronics insurance contracts
 are executed, such as the counter where the  consumer signs the
 portable electronics insurance contract:
    a.  That the purchase by the consumer of the kinds of
 insurance prescribed in this chapter is not required in order
 to purchase portable electronics, accessories, or related
 services.
    b.  That the insurance policies offered by the portable
 electronics vendor may provide a duplication of coverage
 already provided by other insurance policies covering the
 consumer.
    c.  That the vendor or endorsee of the portable electronics
 vendor is not qualified or authorized to evaluate the adequacy
 of the consumer's existing insurance coverages, unless that
 person is licensed pursuant to chapter 522B.
    d.  That the consumer may cancel the insurance at any time.
 If the consumer cancels, any unearned premium will be refunded
 in accordance with applicable law.
    3.  The material terms and conditions of coverage are
 provided to every person who elects to purchase the coverage.
    4.  Costs for the insurance are separately itemized in any
 billing statement for the insurance. However, if the portable
 electronics insurance is included with the purchase or lease
 of portable electronics and accessories or related services,
 the portable electronics vendor shall clearly and conspicuously
 disclose to the consumer that the insurance coverage is
 included with the purchase of the portable electronics or
 related services and shall disclose the stand=alone cost of
 the premium for the same or similar insurance, if any, on the
 consumer's bill and in any marketing materials made available
 at the point of sale.
    5.  The portable electronics insurance is provided under
 an individual policy issued to the consumer, or under a group
 or master policy issued to an organization through a licensed
 insurance producer or through a licensed portable electronics
 vendor by an insurer authorized to transact the applicable
 kinds or types of insurance in this state.
    6.  Portable electronics insurance shall not be sold through
 a free=trial offer.
    Sec. 10.  NEW SECTION.  522E.10  Charges and collection of
 moneys.
    1.  Charges for portable electronics insurance may be billed
 and collected by a licensed portable electronics vendor.  A
 licensed vendor shall not be required to maintain those moneys
 in a segregated account if the insurer represented by the
 vendor has provided in writing that the moneys need not be
 segregated from moneys received by the portable electronics
 vendor on account of the sale or lease of portable electronics
 or related services or accessories.
    2.  All moneys received by a licensed portable electronics
 vendor from a consumer for the sale of portable electronics
 insurance shall be considered moneys held in trust by the
 portable electronics vendor in a fiduciary capacity for the
 benefit of the insurer. A licensed portable electronics vendor
 may receive compensation for billing and collection services.
    Sec. 11.  NEW SECTION.  522E.11  Other restrictions.
    1.  Under the authority of a portable electronics insurance
 license, a portable electronics vendor shall not do any of the
 following:
    a.  Offer to sell insurance except in conjunction with, and
 incidental to, the business of selling portable electronics,
 their accessories, or related services.
    b.  Advertise, represent, or otherwise portray itself or
 its  endorsees as licensed insurers or property and casualty
 insurance broker=agents.
    c.  Pay an endorsee compensation based primarily on the
 number of consumers electing coverage under the portable
 electronics vendor's license. However, this chapter does
 not prohibit the payment of compensation to an endorsee
 of a portable electronics vendor for activities under the
 vendor's license that is incidental to the endorsee's overall
 compensation. The incidental compensation shall not exceed
 fifteen dollars per transaction for portable electronics
 insurance coverage.
    2.  Unless lawfully transacting the business of insurance
 pursuant to a certificate of authority issued for the
 appropriate class of insurance, a person obligated to perform
 under a contract offered in or from this state that meets the
 definition of portable electronics insurance shall be deemed to
 be unlawfully transacting the business of insurance.
    Sec. 12.  NEW SECTION.  522E.12  Policy forms.
    An insurer that provides insurance to be sold by a licensed
 portable electronics vendor shall file a copy of the policy
 form issued to a consumer, or of any policy or certificate
 issued under a group or master policy to an organization
 through an insurance producer licensed under chapter 522B
 or through a licensed portable electronics vendor, with the
 commissioner, who shall make the policy form available to the
 public.
    Sec. 13.  NEW SECTION.  522E.13  Portable electronics
 insurance policy changes.
    1.  An insurer may terminate a portable electronics
 insurance  policy or otherwise change the terms and conditions
 of a portable electronics insurance policy only upon
 providing the licensed portable electronics vendor that is
 the policyholder and enrolled consumers with at least thirty
 calendar days' written notice.
    2.  If the insurer changes the terms and conditions of a
 policy of portable electronics insurance, the insurer shall
 provide the licensed portable electronics vendor that is the
 policyholder with a revised policy or endorsement and each
 enrolled consumer with a revised certificate, endorsement,
 updated brochure, or other evidence indicating that a change
 in the terms and conditions of the policy has occurred and a
 summary of those changes.
    3.  Notwithstanding subsection 1, an insurer may terminate
 an enrolled consumer's enrollment under a portable electronics
 insurance policy upon fifteen calendar days' notice for
 discovery of fraud or material misrepresentation in obtaining
 coverage or in the  presentation of a claim under the policy.
    4.  Notwithstanding subsection 1, an insurer may immediately
 terminate an enrolled consumer's enrollment under a portable
 electronics insurance policy without prior notice for any of
 the following reasons:
    a.  Nonpayment of premium.
    b.  If the enrolled consumer ceases to have an active service
 with the licensed portable electronics vendor that is the
 policyholder.
    c.  If the enrolled consumer exhausts the aggregate limit of
 liability, if any, under the terms of the portable electronics
 insurance policy and the insurer sends notice of termination
 to the enrolled consumer within thirty calendar days after
 exhaustion of the limit. However, if notice is not sent within
 thirty calendar days, enrollment shall continue notwithstanding
 the aggregate limit of liability until thirty calendar days
 from the date the insurer sends notice of termination to the
 enrolled consumer.
    5.  If a portable electronics insurance policy is terminated
 by the licensed portable electronics vendor that is the
 policyholder, the portable electronics vendor shall mail or
 deliver a written notice to each enrolled consumer advising
 the enrolled consumer of the termination of the policy and the
 effective date of termination. The written notice shall be
 mailed or delivered by the portable electronics vendor to the
 enrolled consumer at least thirty calendar days prior to the
 termination. However, if the notice is not sent within thirty
 calendar days, enrollment shall continue until thirty calendar
 days from the date the portable electronics vendor sends notice
 of termination to the enrolled consumer or until a new portable
 electronics insurance policy is in effect.
    6.  Whenever notice or correspondence with respect to a
 policy of portable electronics insurance is required pursuant
 to this section, it shall be in writing and sent within the
 notice period required pursuant to this section. Notices
 and correspondence shall be sent to the licensed portable
 electronics vendor that is the policyholder at the portable
 electronics vendor's mailing address specified for that purpose
 and to its affected enrolled consumers' last known mailing
 addresses on file with the insurer or the portable electronics
 vendor. The insurer or portable electronics vendor shall
 maintain proof that the notice or correspondence was sent for
 not less than three years after that notice or correspondence
 was sent.
    Sec. 14.  NEW SECTION.  522E.14  Rules.
    The commissioner may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to
 implement and administer this chapter.
    Sec. 15.  NEW SECTION.  522E.15  Other law.
    Nothing in this chapter regulating the sale of portable
 electronics insurance shall be construed to impair or impede
 the  application of any other law regulating the sale of
 portable  electronics insurance.
    Sec. 16.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect January 1,
 2016.


                                                             
                               PAM JOCHUM
                               President of the Senate


                                                             
                               KRAIG PAULSEN
                               Speaker of the House
    I hereby certify that this bill originated in the Senate and
 is known as Senate File 487, Eighty=sixth General Assembly.


                                                             
                               MICHAEL E. MARSHALL
                               Secretary of the Senate
 Approved                , 2015


                                                             
                               TERRY E. BRANSTAD
                               Governor

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