The Charles Mix new era. (Wagner, Charles Mix County, S.D.) 1???-1911, 1910-11-18
BASFORD WARNS
COMMISSIONER or INSURANCE.
WARNS PUBLIC AGAINST
THE UNLICENSED
CANNOT COLLECT LEGALLY
Insurance by Unlicensed Companies
UncoIlectible and the Insured
Liable to Prosecution
Under Law
BY o. s.
Insurance COMMISSIONER

BY o. s. BASFORD.
Insurance COMMISSIONER
Il has been difficult for the inssr-
ance department to eradicate entirely
the writing Of illegal insurance.
A bond taken out from an unli snsed
company is uncollectable in our state
court.
Policies are solicited by mail BY nm
licensed companies and we have secur-
ed from Attorney General Clark .
communication which we issue as q
warning. Two two points to be m
phasized are:
First. Such insurance is uncOllect-
able in our state courts.
Second. The pc, son signing an ap-
plication to an unlicensed company n
liable to p o~secution and punishment
as well as the company which writes
the insurance.
General Clark says:
Answering this inquiry ! would =
tfcularly call attention to Sec. IA u
Capter 210 of the Session Laws Of
1909. This section reads as follows:
ut shall be unlawful for any Per.
son, company OF corporation In this
state, either to procure. receive or for
ward applications for insurance In, or
to issue or deliver policies in any com
pany OF companies not having been
legally authorized to do bus ness In
this state. and any person, company or
corporation violating the pr visions
of this act shall be deemed guilty
Of a misdemeanor and upon convi ton
thereof shall, for each and every Of
Tense, be punished by a fine not to
exceed $100.0 90 or Imprisonment for not
to exceed two months in the county
jail, or by both such fine and imp. is
0nment."
Secs. Is, Is and 16 OF Charter 80
Of the Session Laws of 1909 as , -
vide requirements of foreign insurance
companies before they may transact
business in this state.
And Sec. 667 Of the Civ. Code Of 1905
provides in part as follows:
"No company transacting the busi--
ness of fire insurance in this state, not
Incorporated under the laws Of this
state, shall write or cause to be writ
ten any policy of insuran~e on prop
erty located in this state except
through a duly authorized agent Of
such corporation who shall res de
within the state, and who shall be -
censed by the commissioner of insur-
ance according to law"
From these quotations of the law
you will readily see that any person
connected with the procurement Of q
policy of insurance issued by an un-
authorized company is liable to pun
ishment, and particularly SO under
the provisions of Sec. IA OF Chapter
210 of the Session Laws Of 1903.
There is no question but that these
provisions of statute are constitutional
and will be sustained by the con is
Where a policy OF insurance il de-
posted in the mail, outside of the
state, and addressed to and delivered
to a person within the state, the
place OF delivery Axes the local ty OF
the act; and, in the present inquiry,
where an unauthorized insurance COM
pany places a policy of insurance In
the mails addressed to and with the
intent that 1t be delivered to a pc son
with this state, such unauthorized
company has committed a crime with
in this state and Is subject to prOseeu-
ton within this state for the viola
ton of our laws.
Therefore, it is my opinion that ev-
cry time a policy of insurance is re-
ceived by mail in this state, from an
unauthorized insurance company IN
this state, that the officers of the o0m-
pany depositing the policy In the mails
and the person receiving the policy
from the mails have each violated the
provisions of Sec. IA Of Chapter 21e
of the laws of 1903, and that they are
each liable to fine or Imprisonment,
or both, for each separate offense.
l call your attention particularly "
the fact that the resident Of this state
who forwards his application of INCUR
ance through the mails. from such an
unauthorized company is himself
liable to arrest and imprisonment Or
fine, or both. equally with the agents
Of the unauthorized company who re-
ceived the application and who 1Or-
warded the policy.
/ would furthermore call your at-
tention to the fact that no recovery
can be had, in this state, under =
policy of insurance that was issued BY
an unauthorized company. Any Per
SON taking out insurance in such IN
authorized company, is not only liable
to punishment, bue he cannot recovo
q cent, on the policy. If loss oceuTs.
through the courts OF this state.
Trusting this answer your inquiry,
I an Yours very truly,
S. w. CLARK.
Attorney General.