Insurance agents and brokers must be able to reasonably identify, from their records, premiums they have collected and have yet to remit to the respective carrier. The proposed requirements help to clarify what records would help the regulated parties comply with that requirement. Further, if reasonable records are not maintained the onus shifts to the insured to show that payment made to the licensee was payment for a particular policy. Often the insured may have a canceled check or a nondescript receipt which indicates that a certain amount was paid for something but is not definitive in establishing payment of the a premium for a particular policy.
Confusion is compounded when the insured is making partial payments for multiple policies.
This has been a repetitive problem over the years committing the Department's staff and resources to increased time to resolve complaints and conduct audits. With these records there is a definite time savings to all. Just by keeping these records, the licensee, the consumer, the company, the Department and other third parties have the information each one needs. The records highlighted by the amendment could allow the licensee, the company and the consumer to readily resolve questions and complaints without regulatory intervention. Accordingly, this part is being amended to detail the types and quality of records that will identify each such transaction for each consumer from the books and records of the regulated parties.