2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-SIX - Insurance (§§ 101 — 10377) › Subtitle 1 - Insurance Generally (§§ 101 — 4513) › Chapter 27 - Unfair Practices and Frauds (§§ 2701 — 2740) › § 2716 - Illegal dealing in premiums

(1) No person shall collect any sum as premium or charge for insurance, which insurance is not then provided or is not in due course to be provided (subject to acceptance of the risk by the insurer) by an insurance policy issued by an insurer as authorized by this title.
(2) No person shall collect as premium or charge for insurance any sum in excess of the amount actually expended or in due course to be expended for insurance applicable to the subject on account of which the premium was collected or charged.
(3) Any sum collected as premium or charge for insurance in excess of the amount actually expended for insurance or for medical examination in the case of life insurance, applicable to the subject on account of which the premium or charge was collected shall be returned to the person entitled thereto within thirty (30) days from the date in which it is requested, and if not requested, within the term of ninety (90) days.
Any person who fails to return said sums within the term set forth in this subsection shall be bound to pay legal interest on the amount to be returned.
(4) No person shall wilfully collect premiums for insurance against hazards or risks on a property which shall not be exposed to suffer damages therefrom. No person may require an insurance coverage against hazards or risks on a property not exposed thereto; if the latter is considered to be indestructible with respect to same.
(5) No person shall wilfully collect a premium for insurance against nonexistent hazards or risks in Puerto Rico. No person may require insurance coverage on a property against hazards or risks nonexistent in Puerto Rico.
(6) No person shall willfully or knowingly require as a condition for a loan or the purchase or depositing of property under a contract, or in regard thereto, that the insurance premium be paid by the assignee, depositary or borrower, excepting the collateral guaranty which covers against voluntary acts of the assignee, depositary or borrower or representatives thereof, and which is to be provided due to said loan, purchase or deposit on the property that secures said loan or is the subject of said contract.
(7) No person shall require as a condition for a loan or the purchase or deposit of property pursuant to a contract, or in connection therewith, that a property which is otherwise insured by property insurance up to the total value thereof, or said insurance is required for the total value thereof, has to be newly covered by other property insurance with the same risks, whether with the same insurer or not and whether for the same limits or not. This provision shall not bear the vendor, lender or depositor from reasonably exercising the right to require that the property be covered by the additional risks and limits which he understands are more adequate, nor to reasonably exercise the right to approve or disapprove the insurer selected to underwrite the insurance; nor shall it deprive the insured of requesting the cancellation of an already-existing insurance policy to acquire a new policy which is accepted by all the persons that hold a lien on the property.
History —Ins. Code § 27.160; May 11, 1967, No. 27, p. 211; July 23, 1974, No. 151, Part 1, p. 695, § 10; July 2, 1987, No. 78, p. 275, § 2; Aug. 9, 2008, No. 230, § 13, eff. 90 days after Aug. 9, 2008.