2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 33. Insurance and Insurance Companies › Chapter 2. Regulation of Insurance Companies › Part 15. Regulation of Controlled Insurers and Controlling Producers › 33-2-1510. Minimum standards

33-2-1510. Minimum standards.
Unless there is a written contract between a controlling producer and a controlled insurer specifying the responsibilities of each party, the controlled insurer may not accept business from the controlling producer and the controlling producer may not place business with the controlled insurer. The contract must be approved by the board of directors of the controlled insurer and must contain the following minimum provisions:
(1) The controlled insurer may terminate the contract for cause, upon written notice to the controlling producer. The controlled insurer shall suspend the authority of the controlling producer to write business during the pendency of any dispute regarding the cause for the termination.
(2) The controlling producer shall render to the controlled insurer accounts detailing all material transactions, including information necessary to support all commissions, charges, and other fees received by or owing to the controlling producer.
(3) On at least a monthly basis, the controlling producer shall remit to the controlled insurer all funds due under the terms of the contract. The due date must be fixed so that premiums or installments of premiums collected must be remitted no later than 90 days after the effective date of any policy placed with the controlled insurer under the contract.
(4) In accordance with the provisions of this title, all funds collected for the controlled insurer's account must be held by the controlling producer in a fiduciary capacity, in one or more appropriately identified bank accounts in banks that are members of the federal reserve system. However, funds of a controlling producer not required to be licensed in this state must be maintained in compliance with the requirements of the jurisdiction in which the controlling producer is domiciled.
(5) The controlling producer shall maintain separately identifiable records of business written for the controlled insurer.
(6) The contract may not be assigned in whole or in part by the controlling producer.
(7) The controlled insurer shall provide the controlling producer with its underwriting standards, rules, procedures, manuals setting forth the rates to be charged, and the conditions for the acceptance or rejection of risks. The controlling producer shall adhere to the standards, rules, procedures, rates, and conditions. The standards, rules, procedures, rates, and conditions must be the same as those applicable to comparable business placed with the controlled insurer by a producer other than the controlling producer.
(8) The rates and terms of the controlling producer's commissions, charges, or other fees and the purposes of those commissions, charges, or fees must be contained in the contract. The rates of the controlling producer's commissions, charges, and other fees may not be greater than those applicable to comparable business placed with the controlled insurer by producers other than controlling producers. For purposes of subsection (7) and this subsection, examples of "comparable business" include the same lines of insurance, same kinds of insurance, same kinds of risks, similar policy limits, and similar quality of business.
(9) If the contract provides that on insurance business placed with the controlled insurer, the controlling producer is to be compensated contingent upon the controlled insurer's profits on that business, then the compensation may not be determined and paid until at least 5 years after the premiums on liability insurance are earned and at least 1 year after the premiums are earned on any other insurance. The commissions may not be paid until the adequacy of the controlled insurer's reserves on remaining claims has been independently verified pursuant to 33-2-1512.
(10) A limit on the controlling producer's writings in relation to the controlled insurer's surplus and total writings must be contained in the contract. The controlled insurer may establish a different limit for each line or subline of business. The controlled insurer shall notify the controlling producer when the applicable limit is approached and may not accept business from the controlling producer if the limit is reached. The controlling producer may not place business with the controlled insurer if it has been notified by the controlled insurer that the limit has been reached.
(11) The controlling producer may negotiate but may not bind reinsurance on behalf of the controlled insurer on business that the controlling producer places with the controlled insurer, except that the controlling producer may bind facultative reinsurance contracts pursuant to obligatory facultative agreements if the contract with the controlled insurer contains underwriting guidelines. For reinsurance assumed and ceded, the guidelines must include a list of reinsurers with which the automatic agreements are in effect, the coverages and amounts or percentages that may be reinsured, and commission schedules.
History: En. Sec. 6, Ch. 596, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 32, Ch. 379, L. 1995.