NY Ins L § 2101 (2021)
2021 New York Laws ISC - Insurance Article 21 - Agents, Brokers, Adjusters, Consultants and Intermediaries 2101 - Definitions.

§  2101. Definitions. (a) In this article, "insurance agent" means any authorized or  acknowledged  agent  of  an  insurer,  fraternal  benefit society  or  health  maintenance  organization  issued  a certificate of authority pursuant to article forty-four of the public health  law,  and any sub-agent or other representative of such an agent, who acts as such in  the  solicitation  of,  negotiation  for,  or sale of, an insurance, health maintenance organization or annuity contract,  other  than  as  a licensed insurance broker, except that such term shall not include:  (1)  any  regular  salaried officer or employee of a licensed insurer, fraternal benefit society or health maintenance  organization  or  of  a licensed  insurance  agent,  who  does  not  solicit  or accept from the public, outside  of  an  office  of  such  insurer,  health  maintenance organization  or agent, applications or orders for any such contract, if such officer  or  employee  does  not  receive  a  commission  or  other compensation  for his services which commission or other compensation is directly dependent upon the amount of business done;  (2) employees of  insurers,  fraternal  benefit  societies  or  health maintenance   organizations   or  organizations  employed  by  insurers, fraternal benefit societies or health maintenance organizations who  are engaging in the inspection, rating or classification of risks, or in the supervision  of the training of licensed insurance producers and who are not individually engaged in the sale,  solicitation  or  negotiation  of insurance;  (3)  any agent or representative of a fraternal benefit society, other than agents representing societies governed  by  section  four  thousand five  hundred  twenty-seven  of this chapter, who devotes, or intends to devote, less than fifty percent of the person's time to the solicitation and negotiation or sale of insurance  contracts  for  fraternal  benefit societies and who receives or intends to receive any commission or other compensation  directly  dependent  on  the amount of insurance, provided that any person who  in  the  preceding  calendar  year  has  solicited, negotiated or sold any of the following contracts of insurance on behalf of  a fraternal benefit society is presumed to have devoted, or intended to devote, fifty percent of  the  person's  time  to  the  solicitation, negotiation and sale of insurance contracts;  (A)  life  insurance  contracts  that,  in  the  aggregate, exceed two hundred thousand dollars of coverage  for  all  lives  insured  for  the preceding calendar year;  (B)  a  permanent  life  insurance  contract  offering  more  than ten thousand dollars of coverage on an individual life;  (C) a term life insurance contract offering more than  fifty  thousand dollars of coverage on an individual life;  (D) any insurance contracts other than life that the fraternal benefit society  may  write  that  insure  the  individual  lives  of  more than twenty-five persons;  (E) any variable life insurance or variable annuity contract;  (4) any agent or other representative of any title insurance company;  (5) any service contract  provider  or  any  administrator  or  person designated  by  a  service  contract provider who in this state markets, sells, offers for sale, issues, makes, proposes to  make  or  administer service contracts pursuant to article seventy-nine of this chapter;  (6)  a person who secures and furnishes information for the purpose of group  life  insurance,   group   property/casualty   insurance,   group annuities,  group  or  blanket accident and health insurance; or for the purpose of enrolling individuals under plans, issuing certificates under plans or otherwise  assisting  in  administering  plans;  or  performing administrative  services  related  to  mass  marketed  property/casualty  insurance, provided that no commission is paid to  the  person  for  the service;  (7)  an employer or association or its officers, directors, employees, or the trustees of an employee  trust  plan,  to  the  extent  that  the employers, officers, employees, directors or trustees are engaged in the administration  or  operation  of a program of employee benefits for the employer's or association's  own  employees  or  the  employees  of  its subsidiaries  or affiliates, which program involves the use of insurance issued by an insurer, fraternal benefit society  or  health  maintenance organization,   as   long  as  the  employers,  associations,  officers, directors, employees or trustees are  not  in  any  manner  compensated, directly or indirectly, by the company issuing the contracts;  (8) a person whose activities in this state are limited to advertising without   the   intent  to  solicit  insurance  in  this  state  through communications in printed publications or other forms of electronic mass media whose distribution is not  limited  to  residents  of  the  state, provided  that  the person does not sell, solicit or negotiate insurance that would insure risks residing, located or to  be  performed  in  this state;  (9)  a  person who is not a resident of this state who sells, solicits or negotiates a contract of insurance for  commercial  property/casualty risks  to  an  insured with risks located in more than one state insured under that contract, provided that such person is otherwise licensed  as an  insurance  producer  to sell, solicit or negotiate that insurance in the state where the insured maintains its principal  place  of  business and the contract of insurance insures risks located in that state;  (10)  any  salaried  full-time employee who counsels or advises his or her employer relative to the insurance interests of the employer  or  of the  subsidiaries  or  business affiliates of the employer provided that the employee does not sell or solicit insurance or receive a commission; or  (11) any person who has received a grant from and has  been  certified by  the  health benefit exchange established pursuant to section 1311 of the affordable care act, 42 U.S.C. § 18031, to act as  a  navigator,  as such term is used in 42 U.S.C. § 18031(i), provided that the person: (A) has  completed the training required by the health benefit exchange; (B) does not sell insurance; (C)  does  not  engage  in  any  activity  with respect   to  insurance  not  expressly  permitted  under  42  U.S.C.  § 18031(i)(3) and regulations thereunder; and (D)  does  not  receive  any compensation  for  acting  as a navigator directly or indirectly from an insured, insurance producer, or an insurer.  (b) In this article, "independent insurance agent" means an "insurance agent" who is not owned or controlled by any insurer, fraternal  benefit society or health maintenance organization or group of such insurers and whose  agency  agreement  does  not prohibit the representation of other insurers or groups of insurers and which provides that upon  termination of  the agreement the agent's records and use and control of expirations remain the property of the agent. Only an "independent insurance  agent" shall  be represented to the public as an independent insurance agent or agency.  (c) In this  article,  "insurance  broker"  means  any  person,  firm, association or corporation who or which for any compensation, commission or  other  thing  of  value  acts  or  aids in any manner in soliciting, negotiating or selling, any insurance or annuity contract or in  placing risks  or  taking  out  insurance,  on  behalf  of an insured other than himself, herself or itself  or  on  behalf  of  any  licensed  insurance broker, except that such term shall not include:  (1) any salaried full-time employee who counsels or advises his or her employer  relative  to the insurance interests of the employer or of the subsidiaries or business affiliates of the employer  provided  that  the employee does not sell or solicit insurance or receive a commission;  (2) an officer, director or employee of a licensed insurance producer, provided  that  the  officer,  director or employee does not receive any commission on policies written or sold to insure risks residing, located or to be performed in this state and:  (A) the officer, director  or  employee's  activities  are  executive, administrative,  managerial, clerical or a combination of these, and are only indirectly related to the  sale,  solicitation  or  negotiation  of insurance; or  (B)   the   officer,   director  or  employee's  function  relates  to underwriting, loss control, inspection  or  the  processing,  adjusting, investigating or settling of a claim on a contract of insurance; or  (C)  the  officer, director or employee is acting in the capacity of a special  agent  or  agency  supervisor  assisting   licensed   insurance producers  where  the  person's  activities  are  limited  to  providing technical advice and assistance to licensed insurance producers  and  do not include the sale, solicitation or negotiation of insurance;  (3) any foreign freight forwarder registered with the federal maritime commission  or  any  custom  house  broker licensed by the United States treasury department, when such forwarder or broker negotiates, issues or delivers a certificate or other evidence  of  a  contract  of  insurance under  an  open  marine  policy  naming  the  forwarder or broker as the insured and covering exports or imports serviced by  such  forwarder  or broker on behalf of others, provided that such forwarder or broker takes or  receives no money or other thing of value when acting as hereinafter specified, from  any  insurer  or  representative  thereof,  unless  the receipt of money or thing of value is authorized under this chapter;  (4)  any  service  contract  provider  or  any administrator or person designated by a service contract provider who  in  this  state  markets, sells,  offers  for sale, issues, makes, proposes to make or administers service contracts pursuant to article seventy-nine of this chapter;  (5) a person who secures and furnishes information for the purpose  of group   life   insurance,   group   property/casualty  insurance,  group annuities, group or blanket accident and health insurance;  or  for  the purpose of enrolling individuals under plans, issuing certificates under plans  or  otherwise  assisting  in  administering  plans;  or  performs administrative  services  related  to  mass  marketed  property/casualty insurance, where no commission is paid to the person for the service;  (6)  an employer or association or its officers, directors, employees, or the trustees of an employee  trust  plan,  to  the  extent  that  the employers,  officers, employees, director or trustees are engaged in the administration or operation of a program of employee  benefits  for  the employer's  or  association's  own  employees  or  the  employees of its subsidiaries or affiliates, which program involves the use of  insurance issued  by  an  insurer, fraternal benefit society or health maintenance organization,  as  long  as  the  employers,   associations,   officers, directors,  employees  or  trustees  are  not in any manner compensated, directly or indirectly, by the company issuing the contracts;  (7) a person whose activities in this state are limited to advertising without  the  intent  to  solicit  insurance  in  this   state   through communications in printed publications or other forms of electronic mass media  whose  distribution  is  not  limited  to residents of the state, provided that the person does not sell, solicit or  negotiate  insurance that  would  insure  risks  residing, located or to be performed in this state;  (8) a person who is not a resident of this state who  sells,  solicits or  negotiates  a  contract for commercial property/casualty risks to an insured with risks located in more than one  state  insured  under  that contract,  provided  that  such  person  is  otherwise  licensed  as  an insurance  producer  to sell, solicit or negotiate that insurance in the state where the insured maintains its principal place  of  business  and the contract of insurance insures risks located in that state;  (9)  a  person who is not a resident of this state who sells, solicits or negotiates a contract of property/casualty insurance, as  defined  in paragraph  six  of  subsection  (x)  of  this section, of an insurer not authorized to  do  business  in  this  state,  provided  that:  (A)  the insured's  home  state  is  a  state other than this state; and (B) such person is otherwise licensed to sell, solicit or negotiate  excess  line insurance in the insured's home state; or  (10)  any  person who has received a grant from and has been certified by the health benefit exchange established pursuant to section  1311  of the  affordable  care  act, 42 U.S.C. § 18031, to act as a navigator, as such term is used in 42 U.S.C. § 18031(i), including any person employed by a certified navigator, provided that the person:  (A)  has  completed the  training required by the health benefit exchange; (B) does not sell insurance; (C) does not engage in any activity with respect to insurance not expressly permitted under 42 U.S.C. §  18031(i)(3)  and  regulations thereunder;  and  (D)  does not receive any compensation for acting as a navigator directly or indirectly from an insured, insurance producer, or an insurer.  (d)  In  this  article,  "non-resident  insurance  agent"   means   an individual  who  is  a non-resident of this state and who is licensed or authorized to act as an  insurance  agent  in  the  state  in  which  he resides,  or  in  which  he  or the firm or association of which he is a member or employee, or the  corporation  of  which  he  is  an  officer, director, or employee maintains an office as an insurance agent.  (e)  In  this  article,  "non-resident  insurance  broker",  means  an individual who is a non-resident of this state and who  is  licensed  or authorized  to  act  as  an  insurance  broker  in the state in which he resides, or in which he, or the firm or association of  which  he  is  a member  or  employee,  or  the  corporation  of  which he is an officer, director or employee, maintains an office as an insurance broker.  (f) In this article,  "reinsurance  intermediary"  means  any  person, firm,  association  or  corporation  who  acts  as broker in soliciting, negotiating or selling any reinsurance contract or binder, or acts as an agent in accepting any reinsurance contract or binder on  behalf  of  an insurer, except that such term shall not include:  (1)   licensed  attorneys  at  law  of  this  state  acting  in  their professional capacity as such;  (2) regular salaried officers, employees or attorneys in  fact  of  an authorized  insurer  or  of an underwriting office of such insurer while acting in their capacity as such in  discharging  the  duties  of  their employment or appointment;  (3)  licensed insurance agents acting within the scope of their agency authority in  the  placement  or  acceptance  of  reinsurance  on  risks produced or managed by such agents; or  (4)  licensed  insurance  brokers,  in the placement of reinsurance on risks produced by such brokers.  (g) In this article, "adjuster" means any  "independent  adjuster"  or "public adjuster" as defined below:  (1)   The   term   "independent  adjuster"  means  any  person,  firm, association or corporation who, or which, for money, commission  or  any other  thing of value, acts in this state on behalf of an insurer in the  work of investigating  and  adjusting  claims  arising  under  insurance contracts  issued  by such insurer and who performs such duties required by such insurer as are incidental to such claims and also  includes  any person  who  for  compensation  or  anything  of  value investigates and adjusts claims on behalf of any independent adjuster, except  that  such term shall not include:  (A)   any  officer,  director  or  regular  salaried  employee  of  an authorized insurer or entity licensed pursuant to article forty-four  of the  public  health law providing comprehensive health service plans (as used in this paragraph, a "health  maintenance  organization"),  or  any manager  thereof,  individual  or  corporate,  or  the manager, agent or general agent of any department thereof,  individual  or  corporate,  or attorney  in  fact  of  any reciprocal insurer or Lloyds underwriter, or marine underwriting  office,  unless  acting  as  an  auto  body  repair estimator as defined in subsection (j) of this section;  (B)  any  officer, director or regular salaried employee of an insurer authorized  to  write  accident  and  health  insurance,  a  corporation licensed  under  article  forty-three  of this chapter (collectively, as used in this paragraph, a "health  insurer")  or  a  health  maintenance organization,  or any manager thereof, individual or corporate, when the claim to be adjusted is issued or administered by another health insurer or health maintenance  organization  within  the  same  holding  company system   as  the  health  insurer  or  health  maintenance  organization adjusting the claim;  (C) any officer, director or regular salaried employee of  an  article fifteen  holding  company  or  a  controlled  person within such holding company system providing administrative  services  within  that  holding company, or any manager thereof, individual or corporate, when the claim to be adjusted is submitted for payment under a health benefit plan that is  issued  or  administered  by  a health insurer or health maintenance organization within that same holding company system;  (D)  any  officer,  director  or  regular  salaried  employee  of   an authorized insurer that is licensed to write the kind of insurance to be adjusted,  or  any  manager  thereof,  individual or corporate, when the claim to be  adjusted  is  pursuant  to  a  policy  that  is  issued  or administered  by  another insurer within the same holding company system as the authorized insurer adjusting the claim, unless acting as an  auto body repair estimator as defined in subsection (j) of this section;  (E)   any  officer,  director  or  regular  salaried  employee  of  an authorized life insurance company, or any manager thereof, individual or corporate, or the manager, agent or  general  agent  of  any  department thereof,  individual  or  corporate,  when  the  claim to be adjusted is submitted under an insurance contract issued by another insurer and  the claim:  (i) is within the scope of a contract of reinsurance between the two insurers for all of the underlying risks and none of the  underlying risks  are  later reinsured back to the ceding insurer; and (ii) relates to a kind of  insurance  that  the  authorized  life  insurance  company adjusting the claim is licensed to write;  (F)  any  adjustment  bureau  or  association  owned and maintained by insurers to adjust  or  investigate  losses,  or  any  regular  salaried employee or manager thereof who devotes substantially all of his time to the  business  of  such  bureau or association, unless acting as an auto body repair estimator as defined in subsection (j) of this section;  (G) any licensed agent of an authorized insurer who adjusts losses for such insurer solely under policies issued through  his  or  its  agency, provided  the agent receives no compensation for such services in excess of fifty dollars per loss adjusted;  (H) any licensed attorney at law of this state;  (I) any average adjuster or adjuster of maritime losses; or  (J)  any  agent  or  other  representative of an insurer authorized to issue life and annuity contracts, provided he receives  no  compensation for such services.  (2)   "Public   adjuster"  means  any  person,  firm,  association  or corporation who, or which, for money, commission or any other  thing  of value, acts or aids in any manner on behalf of an insured in negotiating for,  or  effecting,  the  settlement  of  a claim or claims for loss or damage to property of the insured in this state caused by, or  resulting from,  any  of  the  risks  as enumerated in paragraphs four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten and subparagraphs (B) and  (C)  of  paragraph twenty of subsection (a) of section one thousand one hundred thirteen of this chapter, not including loss or damage to persons under subparagraph (B)  of  paragraph  twenty  of subsection (a) of such section or who, or which, advertises for, or solicits employment as  an  adjuster  of  such claims,  and shall also include any person who, for money, commission or any other thing of value, solicits, investigates, or adjusts such claims on behalf of any such public adjuster, except that such term  shall  not include:  (A)  any  employee,  agent  or  other representative of any authorized insurer who acts as such in the adjustment of any claim or any  licensed insurance  broker  who  acts as an adjuster for a client of such broker, without any compensation for such services as adjuster if such insurer's representative or such licensed insurance broker does not  advertise  or publicly  solicit the adjustment of claims in such a way as is likely to mislead the public into believing that he is offering his services as  a public adjuster;  (B)  any  licensed  attorney  at law of this state who acts or aids in adjusting insurance claims  as  an  incident  to  the  practice  of  his profession and who does not advertise himself as a public adjuster;  (C) any licensed insurance broker who acts as an adjuster with respect to  any loss involving insurance contracts under which he was the broker of record in placing the insurance, whether or not designated in writing to act for the insured; or  (D) any other licensed insurance broker who has been designated to act for the insured in writing before a loss occurs.  (h) In this chapter, "licensed insurance broker," means  an  insurance broker  who  is the licensee or a sub-licensee named in a license issued or renewed pursuant to  the  provisions  of  section  two  thousand  one hundred four of this article and in full force and effect.  (i) In this chapter, "limited licensee" shall mean a person authorized to  sell  certain  coverages  relating  to  the rental of motor vehicles pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  section  two  thousand  one   hundred thirty-one of this article.  (j)  In  this article, "auto body repair estimator" means any officer, director or regular salaried employee of an authorized insurer or of any adjustment bureau or association owned and maintained by  insurers,  who writes,  or  who  directly  supervises the writing of, any motor vehicle body repair estimate in this state, on behalf of  such  insurer  in  the work   of  diagnosing  or  estimating  motor  vehicle  repair  costs  or procedures relative to appraising, investigating or adjusting claims for motor vehicle body repair work pursuant to an insurance contract.  (k) In this article, "insurance producer" means  an  insurance  agent, title  insurance  agent,  insurance  broker,  reinsurance  intermediary, excess lines broker, or any other person required to be  licensed  under the  laws  of  this  state to sell, solicit or negotiate insurance. Such term shall not include:  (1) an officer, director or employee of a licensed insurer,  fraternal benefit  society  or  health  maintenance  organization or of a licensed insurance producer, provided that the officer, director or employee does not receive any commission on policies written or sold to  insure  risks residing, located or to be performed in this state and:  (A)  the  officer,  director  or  employee's activities are executive, administrative, managerial, clerical or a combination of these, and  are only  indirectly  related  to  the  sale, solicitation or negotiation of insurance; or  (B)  the  officer,  director  or  employee's   function   relates   to underwriting,  loss  control,  inspection  or the processing, adjusting, investigating or settling of a claim on a contract of insurance; or  (C) the officer, director or employee is acting in the capacity  of  a special   agent   or  agency  supervisor  assisting  licensed  insurance producers  where  the  person's  activities  are  limited  to  providing technical  advice  and assistance to licensed insurance producers and do not include the sale, solicitation or negotiation of insurance;  (2) employees of  insurers,  fraternal  benefit  societies  or  health maintenance   organizations   or  organizations  employed  by  insurers, fraternal benefit societies or health maintenance organizations who  are engaging in the inspection, rating or classification of risks, or in the supervision  of the training of licensed insurance producers and who are not individually engaged in the sale,  solicitation  or  negotiation  of insurance;  (3)  any agent or representative of a fraternal benefit society, other than agents representing societies governed  by  section  four  thousand five  hundred  twenty-seven  of this chapter, who devotes, or intends to devote,  less  than  fifty  percent  of  the  person's   time   to   the solicitation,  negotiation  or sale of insurance contracts for fraternal benefit societies and who receives or intends to receive any  commission or  other  compensation  directly  dependent on the amount of insurance, provided that  any  person  who  in  the  preceding  calendar  year  has solicited,  negotiated  or  sold  any  of  the  following  contracts  of insurance on behalf of a fraternal benefit society is presumed  to  have devoted,  or  intended  to devote, fifty percent of the person's time to the solicitation, negotiation or sale of insurance contracts:  (A) life insurance  contracts  that,  in  the  aggregate,  exceed  two hundred  thousand  dollars  of  coverage  for  all lives insured for the preceding calendar year;  (B) a  permanent  life  insurance  contract  offering  more  than  ten thousand dollars of coverage on an individual life;  (C)  a  term life insurance contract offering more than fifty thousand dollars of coverage on an individual life;  (D) any insurance contracts other than life that the fraternal benefit society may  write  that  insure  the  individual  lives  of  more  than twenty-five persons;  (E) any variable life insurance or variable annuity contract; or  (4)  any  service  contract  provider  or  any administrator or person designated by a service contract provider who  in  this  state  markets, sells,  offers  for  sale, issues, makes, proposes to make or administer service contracts pursuant to article seventy-nine of this chapter;  (5) a person who secures and furnishes information for the purpose  of group   life   insurance,   group   property/casualty  insurance,  group annuities, group or blanket accident and health insurance;  or  for  the purpose of enrolling individuals under plans, issuing certificates under plans  or  otherwise  assisting  in  administering  plans;  or  performs administrative  services  related  to  mass  marketed  property/casualty insurance, where no commission is paid to the person for the service;  (6)  an employer or association or its officers, directors, employees, or the trustees of an employee  trust  plan,  to  the  extent  that  the employers, officers, employees, directors or trustees are engaged in the administration  or  operation  of a program of employee benefits for the employer's  or  association's  own  employees  or  the  employees of its subsidiaries or affiliates, which program involves the use of  insurance issued  by  an  insurer, fraternal benefit society or health maintenance organization,  as  long  as  the  employers,   associations,   officers, directors,  employees  or  trustees  are  not in any manner compensated, directly or indirectly, by the company issuing the contracts;  (7) a person whose activities in this state are limited to advertising without  the  intent  to  solicit  insurance  in  this   state   through communications in printed publications or other forms of electronic mass media  whose  distribution  is  not  limited  to residents of the state, provided that the person does not sell, solicit or  negotiate  insurance that  would  insure  risks  residing, located or to be performed in this state;  (8) a person who is not a resident of this state who  sells,  solicits or  negotiates  a contract of insurance for commercial property/casualty risks to an insured with risks located in more than  one  state  insured under  that contract, provided that such person is otherwise licensed as an insurance producer to sell, solicit or negotiate  that  insurance  in the  state  where  the insured maintains its principal place of business and the contract of insurance insures risks located in that state;  (9) any salaried full-time employee who counsels or advises his or her employer relative to the insurance interests of the employer or  of  the subsidiaries  or  business affiliates of the employer, provided that the employee does not sell or solicit insurance or receive a commission;  (10) a person who is not a resident of this state who sells,  solicits or  negotiates  a contract of property/casualty insurance, as defined in paragraph six of subsection (x) of  this  section,  of  an  insurer  not authorized  to  do  business  in  this  state,  provided  that:  (A) the insured's home state is a state other than  this  state;  and  (B)  such person  is  otherwise licensed to sell, solicit or negotiate excess line insurance in the insured's home state; or  (11) any person who has received a grant from and has  been  certified by  the  health benefit exchange established pursuant to section 1311 of the affordable care act, 42 U.S.C. § 18031 to act  as  a  navigator,  as such term is used in 42 U.S.C. § 18031(i), including any person employed by  a  certified  navigator, provided that the person: (A) has completed the training required by the health benefit exchange; (B) does not  sell insurance; (C) does not engage in any activity with respect to insurance not  expressly permitted under 42 U.S.C. § 18031 (i) (3) and regulations thereunder; and (D) does not receive any compensation for  acting  as  a navigator directly or indirectly from an insured, insurance producer, or an insurer.  (l)  In  this  article, "home state" means the District of Columbia or any state or territory of  the  United  States  in  which  an  insurance producer  maintains  his,  her  or  its  principal place of residence or principal place of business and is  licensed  to  act  as  an  insurance producer.  (m)  In  this  article,  "negotiate" or "negotiation" means the act of conferring directly with or offering advice directly to a  purchaser  or prospective  purchaser  of a particular contract of insurance concerning any of the substantive benefits, terms or conditions  of  the  contract, provided  that  the person engaged in that act either sells insurance or obtains insurance from licensed insurers, fraternal benefit societies or health maintenance organizations for purchasers.  (n) In this article, "sell" or "sale" means to exchange a contract  of insurance  by  any  means,  for  money or its equivalent, on behalf of a licensed  insurer,  fraternal  benefit  society  or  health  maintenance organization.  (o)  In  this article, "solicit" or "solicitation" means attempting to sell insurance or asking or urging a person to apply  for  a  particular kind  of insurance from a particular licensed insurer, fraternal benefit society or health maintenance organization.  (p)  In  this  article,  "business  entity"   means   a   corporation, association,  partnership,  limited liability company, limited liability partnership or other legal entity.  (q) In this article,  "person"  means  an  individual  or  a  business entity.  (r) In this article, "line of authority" means any of the following:  (1)  life:  insurance  coverage  on  human lives including benefits of endowment and annuities, and may include benefits in the event of  death or dismemberment by accident and benefits for disability income;  (2)  accident and health or sickness: insurance coverage for sickness, bodily  injury  or  accidental  death  and  may  include  benefits   for disability income;  (3)  property: insurance coverage for the direct or consequential loss or damage to property of every kind;  (4) casualty: insurance coverage against  legal  liability,  including that  for  death,  injury  or  disability  or damage to real or personal property;  (5) variable life and variable annuity  products:  insurance  coverage provided under variable life insurance contracts and variable annuities;  (6)  personal  lines:  property/casualty  insurance  coverage  sold to individuals and families for primarily noncommercial purposes; and  (7) any other line of insurance permitted pursuant to this chapter.  (s) In this article, "controlled person" shall have  the  meaning  set forth  in  paragraph five of subsection (a) of section one thousand five hundred one of this chapter.  (t) In this article, "holding company"  shall  have  the  meaning  set forth  in paragraph three of subsection (a) of section one thousand five hundred one of this chapter.  (u) In this article, "holding company system" shall have  the  meaning set  forth  in  paragraph  six of subsection (a) of section one thousand five hundred one of this chapter.  (v) In this article, "life settlement broker" shall have  the  meaning contained  in subsection (j) of section seven thousand eight hundred two of this chapter.  (w) In this article, "state" means the District  of  Columbia  or  any state or territory of the United States.  (x)  In this article, with respect to excess line insurance and excess line brokers:  (1) With respect to an insured's home state, "affiliated group"  means any  group of entities that are all affiliated. For the purposes of this paragraph:  (A) "affiliate" means, with respect to an  insured,  any  entity  that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the insured; and  (B) an entity has control over another entity if the entity:  (i) directly or indirectly or acting through one or more other persons owns,  controls, or has the power to vote twenty-five percent or more of any class of voting securities of the other entity; or  (ii) controls in  any  manner  the  election  of  a  majority  of  the directors or trustees of the other entity;  (2)   "Exempt   commercial  purchaser"  means  any  person  purchasing commercial insurance that, at the time of placement, meets the following requirements:  (A)  the  person  employs  or  retains  a  qualified  risk  manager to negotiate insurance coverage;  (B)   the   person   has   paid   aggregate   nationwide    commercial property/casualty  insurance  premiums in excess of one hundred thousand dollars in the immediately preceding twelve months; and  (C) (i) the person meets at least one of the following criteria:  (I) the person possesses a net  worth  in  excess  of  twenty  million dollars,  as  such  amount  is  adjusted  pursuant  to item (ii) of this subparagraph;  (II) the person generates annual revenues in excess of  fifty  million dollars,  as  such  amount  is  adjusted  pursuant  to item (ii) of this subparagraph;  (III) the person employs more than five hundred full-time or full-time equivalent employees per  individual  insured  or  is  a  member  of  an affiliated  group  employing  more  than  one  thousand employees in the aggregate;  (IV) the person is a  not-for-profit  organization  or  public  entity generating  annual  budgeted  expenditures  of  at  least thirty million dollars, as such amount is  adjusted  pursuant  to  item  (ii)  of  this subparagraph; or  (V)  the person is a municipality with a population in excess of fifty thousand persons;  (ii) Effective  on  the  fifth  January  first  occurring  after  July twenty-first,  two  thousand  ten and each fifth January first occurring thereafter, the amounts in clauses (I), (II), and (IV) of  item  (i)  of this subparagraph shall be adjusted to reflect the percentage change for such  five-year  period  in  the  Consumer  Price  Index  for  All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of  Labor  Statistics  of  the  Unites States Department of Labor;  (3) "Insured's home state" means:  (A)  the  state  in  which an insured maintains its principal place of business or, in the case of an individual,  the  individual's  principal residence;  (B)  if  one hundred percent of the insured risk is located outside of the state referred to in subparagraph (A) of this  paragraph,  then  the state  to which the greatest percentage of the insured's taxable premium for that insurance contract is allocated;  (C) if more than one  insured  from  an  affiliated  group  are  named insureds  on a single insurance contract, then the insured's home state, as determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) of  this  paragraph,  of  the member  of  the  affiliated  group  that  has  the largest percentage of premium attributed to it under such insurance contract; or  (D) in the case of a group policy:  (i) when the group  policyholder  pays  one  hundred  percent  of  the premium from its own funds, then the insured's home state, as determined pursuant   to   subparagraph   (A)  of  this  paragraph,  of  the  group policyholder; or  (ii) when the group policyholder does not pay one hundred  percent  of the  premium  from  its  own  funds,  then the home state, as determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, of the group member;  (4) With respect to determining an insured's  home  state,  "principal place of business" means the state where:  (A)  the  insured  maintains  its headquarters and where the insured's high-level  officers  direct,  control,  and  coordinate  the   business activities; or  (B)   if  the  insured's  high-level  officers  direct,  control,  and coordinate the business activities in more than one  state,  or  if  the insured's principal place of business is located outside any state, then the  state  to  which  the  greatest percentage of the insured's taxable premium for that insurance contract is allocated;  (5)  With  respect  to determining an insured's home state, "principal residence" means the state:  (A) where the individual resides  for  the  greatest  number  of  days during a calendar year; or  (B) if the insured's principal residence is located outside any state, the  state  to  which  the  greatest percentage of the insured's taxable premium for that insurance contract is allocated;  (6) "Property/casualty insurance"  means  any  kind  of  insurance  as specified in subsection (a) of section one thousand one hundred thirteen of this chapter, except insurance issued pursuant to paragraph one, two, three,  fifteen, eighteen or thirty-one of subsection (a) of section one thousand one hundred thirteen of this chapter or insurance substantially similar thereto; and  (7) With respect to an exempt commercial  purchaser,  "qualified  risk manager"  means, with respect to a policyholder of commercial insurance, a person who meets all of the following requirements:  (A) the person is an employee of, or third-party  consultant  retained by, the commercial policyholder;  (B)  the  person  provides  skilled  services in loss prevention, loss reduction, or risk and insurance  coverage  analysis,  and  purchase  of insurance;  (C) the person:  (i)(I) has a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university   in   risk  management,  business  administration,  finance, economics, or any  other  field  determined  by  the  superintendent  to demonstrate minimum competence in risk management; and  (II)(aa)  has  three  years  of  experience  in risk financing, claims administration,  loss  prevention,  risk  and  insurance  analysis,   or purchasing commercial lines of insurance; or  (bb) has:  (aaa)  a  designation as a chartered property and casualty underwriter (in this clause  referred  to  as  a  "CPCU")  issued  by  the  American Institute for CPCU/Insurance Institute of America;  (bbb) a designation as an associate in risk management (ARM) issued by the American Institute for CPCU/Insurance Institute of America;  (ccc)  a  designation  as  certified  risk manager (CRM) issued by the National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research;  (ddd) a designation as a Risk and Insurance Management Society  (RIMS) fellow (RF) issued by the Global Risk Management Institute; or  (eee)  any  other designation, certification, or license determined by the superintendent to demonstrate minimum competency in risk management;  (ii) (I) has at least seven years of  experience  in  risk  financing, claims  administration,  loss  prevention,  risk  and insurance coverage analysis, or purchasing commercial lines of insurance; and  (II) has any one of the designations  specified  in  subclauses  (aaa) through  (eee)  of  subitem  (bb)  of  clause  (II)  of item (i) of this subparagraph;  (iii) has at least ten years of experience in risk  financing,  claims administration,  loss  prevention, risk and insurance coverage analysis, or purchasing commercial lines of insurance; or  (iv) has a graduate degree from an accredited college or university in risk management, business administration,  finance,  economics,  or  any  other  field  determined  by  the  superintendent to demonstrate minimum competence in risk management.  (y)(1)  In  this chapter, "title insurance agent" means any authorized or acknowledged agent of a title insurance corporation, and any subagent or other representative of such an agent, who or which  for  commission, compensation,  or  any other thing of value, performs the following acts in conjunction with the issuance of a title insurance policy:  (A) sells, or negotiates the sale of a title insurance policy;  (B) evaluates the insurability of title, based upon the performance or review of a title search; and  (C) performs one or more of the following functions:  (i) collects, remits or disburses title insurance premiums, escrows or other related funds;  (ii)  prepares,  amends,  marks  up  or  delivers  a  title  insurance commitment  or certificate of title for the purpose of the issuance of a title insurance policy by a title insurance corporation;  (iii) prepares, amends or delivers a title insurance policy on  behalf of a title insurance corporation; or  (iv)  negotiates the clearance of title exceptions, in connection with the issuance of a title insurance policy.  (2) Such term shall  not  include  any  regular  salaried  officer  or employee  of  an authorized title insurance corporation or of a licensed title insurance agent, who  does  not  receive  a  commission  or  other compensation  for  services,  which  commission or other compensation is directly dependent upon the amount of title insurance business done.