2021 Montana Code Annotated
Title 33. Insurance and Insurance Companies
Chapter 20. Life Insurance
Part 13. Viatical Settlements
33-20-1303. License requirements
33-20-1303. License requirements. (1) A person may not act as or purport to be a viatical settlement provider unless licensed as a viatical settlement provider under this part.
(2) (a) Except as provided in subsections (2)(b) and (2)(c), an individual may not broker, solicit, or negotiate viatical settlement contracts between a viator and one or more viatical settlement providers or otherwise act on behalf of a viator without first having obtained a license as a viatical settlement broker from the commissioner. An applicant for a viatical settlement broker's license shall:
(i) attend required viatical settlement broker training and pass a viatical settlement broker examination designated by the commissioner by rule; and
(ii) pay a fee for an original viatical settlement broker's license pursuant to 33-2-708. The fees for license renewal and lapsed license reinstatement for a viatical settlement broker's license are as provided in 33-2-708.
(b) A resident or nonresident insurance producer must be considered to meet the licensing requirements of a viatical settlement broker and must be permitted to operate as a viatical settlement broker if the insurance producer is licensed as an insurance producer with a life insurance line of authority in this state or in the insurance producer's home state and has been licensed for at least 1 year. In addition:
(i) not later than 30 days from the first day of operating as a viatical settlement broker, the insurance producer shall notify the commissioner, on a form or in a manner prescribed by the commissioner, that the insurance producer is acting as a viatical settlement broker and shall pay a fee pursuant to 33-2-708(1)(b)(viii). The notification must include an acknowledgment by the insurance producer that the insurance producer will operate as a viatical settlement broker in accordance with this part.
(ii) regardless of the manner in which the insurance producer is compensated, the insurance producer must be considered to represent only the viator and owes a fiduciary duty to the viator to act according to the viator's instructions and in the best interests of the viator.
(c) If requested by the commissioner, a life insurance producer acting as a viatical settlement broker under this subsection (2) who has previously complied with subsection (2)(b)(i) shall report to the commissioner when renewing a resident or nonresident life insurance producer's license regarding the life insurance producer's intent to continue to act as a viatical settlement broker. The statement regarding an intent to continue acting as a viatical settlement broker must be made on the life insurance producer's license renewal form. An individual who makes a statement pursuant to this subsection (2)(c) may not be charged an additional fee.
(d) The provisions of subsections (2)(a) and (2)(b) do not prohibit an individual licensed as an attorney, certified public accountant, or certified financial planner who is accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation agency, who is retained to represent the viator, and whose compensation is not paid directly or indirectly by the viatical settlement provider from negotiating viatical settlement contracts without having to obtain a license as a viatical settlement broker.
(3) Regardless of the manner in which a viatical settlement broker or insurance producer is compensated, the viatical settlement broker or insurance producer must be considered to represent only the viator and the viatical settlement broker or insurance producer owes a fiduciary duty to the viator to act according to the viator's instructions and in the best interests of the viator.
(4) (a) To obtain a license to transact business as a viatical settlement provider or as a viatical settlement broker, if required to obtain a viatical settlement broker's license under the provisions of subsection (2)(a), an applicant shall apply for the license in a form approved by the commissioner and shall pay the fee required for the application.
(b) The commissioner may request biographical, organizational, locational, financial, employment, and other information on the application form that the commissioner determines to be relevant to the evaluation of applications and to the granting of the license. The commissioner may require a statement of the business plan or plan of operation of the applicant. The commissioner shall require an applicant for a viatical settlement provider license to file with the application for the commissioner's approval a copy of the viatical settlement contract that the applicant intends to use in business under the license.
(c) If an applicant is a corporation, the corporation must be:
(i) incorporated or organized under the laws of this state; or
(ii) a foreign corporation authorized to transact business in this state.
(d) If the applicant is a partnership, the partnership must be organized under the laws of this state.
(e) If the applicant is a business entity other than a corporation or partnership, the business entity must be organized under the laws of this state.
(5) (a) An individual licensed as a viatical settlement broker must meet the continuing education requirements in 33-17-1203.
(b) The hours of continuing education required under subsection (5)(a) must be in the subjects of life insurance, viaticals, or ethics.
(c) For an individual licensed as a viatical settlement broker, the 24-month period for meeting the continuing education requirements must correlate with the broker's license renewal period.
(d) The viatical settlement broker's license of an individual who fails to comply with this continuing education requirement and who has not been granted an extension of time to comply in accordance with 33-17-1203(2) must be terminated and promptly surrendered to the commissioner.
History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 298, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 552, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 36, Ch. 44, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 11, Ch. 399, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 20, Ch. 271, L. 2009.
