2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-SIX - Insurance (§§ 101 — 10377) › Subtitle 1 - Insurance Generally (§§ 101 — 4513) › Chapter 9A - Producer, Authorized Representative, Solicitor, General Agent, Adjuster and Insurance Consultant (§§ 949 — 953i) › § 949m - License—General requirements

(1) The Commissioner shall not issue, renew, or permit the licenses of any general agent, producer, authorized representative, solicitor, adjuster, or consultant to exist except in compliance with this chapter, or with respect to:
(a) Any untrustworthy or incompetent person or any person who has not established to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that he/she is qualified to hold a license according to this chapter.
(b) Any person who, in his/her capacity as an official or employee of the Government of the United States, the Government of Puerto Rico or any agency or municipality thereof, or a member of the reserve units of the United States Armed Forces or the Puerto Rico National Guard in active duty, is impaired to carry out such functions by virtue of §§ 1801 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Ethics in Government Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”.
(c) Any bank or any other depository institution, except that a license as producer may be issued to a savings and credit cooperative organized according to the laws of Puerto Rico.
(d) Any financial holding company, trust company, finance company, savings and loan association or any other institution directly or indirectly engaged in the business of lending money.
(e) Any employee, director, official, officer, or stockholder of a financial holding company, depository bank or institution, trust company, finance company, savings and loan association or any other institution directly or indirectly engaged in the business of lending money, except as provided in this section.
(2) The Commissioner may issue a license pursuant to this chapter to any person who has, directly or indirectly, a substantial financial interest in, or relationships, as owner, subsidiary, or affiliate, with a company exclusively engaged in financing insurance premiums. Provided, That in no case shall the premium financing company have, directly or indirectly, a substantial economic interest in, or a relationship as owner, subsidiary, or affiliate with a company exclusively engaged in the business of lending money.
(3) The Commissioner may issue, renew or permit a license as producer or general agent to exist with respect to:
(a) An entity or corporation with a substantial economic interest in, or a relationship as owner, subsidiary, or affiliate with, a financial holding company or depository institution, regardless of whether said financial holding company or depository institution has, directly or indirectly, a relationship as owner, subsidiary, or affiliate with other institutions engaged in the business of lending money.
(b) An entity or corporation that has, directly or indirectly, a substantial economic interest in or a relationship as owner, subsidiary, or affiliate, with an institution engaged in the business of lending money.
(c) An entity or corporation that has, directly or indirectly, a substantial economic interest in or a relationship as owner, subsidiary, or affiliate, with a savings and credit cooperative organized pursuant to the laws of Puerto Rico.
(4) Taking into account the provisions of the preceding subsection (3), the depository institution, the institution engaged in the business of lending money or the savings and credit cooperative may not:
(a) Select, directly or indirectly, the producer to solicit, place or negotiate insurance for insurance objects, subjects or exposures that may arise from or be related to its credit activity.
(b) Induce, directly or indirectly, the potential party for insurance to select the producer or to not conduct any business transaction whatsoever that puts the producer in an advantageous competitive position with respect to an insurance object, subject or exposure that may arise from or be related to its credit activity.
(5) The Commissioner may include on the license as producer of a subsidiary corporation, of a financial holding company or of a depository institution as authorized person, any individual who works as employee, director or official of said institution, provided the latter does not accept deposits. In the case of savings and credit cooperatives, the Commissioner may include on the license of said corporation as authorized person any individual who works as employee or official of the cooperative, provided the latter does not accept deposits. The Commissioner shall establish through rules or regulations the additional standards that shall govern the inclusion of said persons on the license of the corporation.
(6) For the purposes of this section, the terms “depository institution” and “financial holding company” shall have the meaning provided in § 304-1 of this title.
(7) The Commissioner may promulgate those rules or regulations deemed necessary to oversee compliance with the provisions of this section.
History —Ins. Code, added as § 9.070 on Jan. 19, 2006, No. 10, § 8; Dec. 28, 2010, No. 220, § 4.