2020 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 59A - Insurance Code
Article 12 - Insurance Producers
Section 59A-12-2 - Definitions.

As used in Chapter 59A, Article 12 NMSA 1978:

A. "affiliate" means a person that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with the insurance producer;

B. "business entity" means a corporation, association, partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership or other legal entity;

C. "home state" means the District of Columbia and any state or territory of the United States in which an insurance producer maintains the insurance producer's principal place of residence or principal place of business and is licensed to act as an insurance producer;

D. "insurance" means any of the lines of authority in Chapter 59A, Article 7 NMSA 1978;

E. "insurance producer" means a person required to be licensed under the laws of this state to sell, solicit or negotiate insurance;

F. "insurer" means every person engaged as principal and as indemnitor, surety or contractor in the business of entering into contracts of insurance;

G. "license" means a document issued by the superintendent authorizing a person to act as an insurance producer for the lines of authority specified in the document. The license itself does not create any authority, actual, apparent or inherent, in the holder to represent or commit an insurance carrier;

H. "limited line credit insurance" includes credit life, credit disability, credit property, credit unemployment, involuntary unemployment, mortgage life, mortgage guaranty, mortgage disability, guaranteed automobile protection insurance and any other form of insurance offered in connection with an extension of credit that is limited to partially or wholly extinguishing that credit obligation;

I. "limited line credit insurance producer" means a person who sells, solicits or negotiates one or more forms of limited line credit insurance coverage to individuals through a master, corporate, group or individual policy;

J. "limited lines insurance" means those lines of insurance referred to in Section 59A-12-18 NMSA 1978 or any other line of insurance that the superintendent deems necessary to recognize for the purposes of complying with Subsection E of Section 23 [59A-11-24 NMSA 1978] of this 2016 act;

K. "limited lines producer" means a person authorized by the superintendent to sell, solicit or negotiate limited lines insurance;

L. "negotiate" 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 insurers for purchasers;

M. "sell" means to exchange a contract of insurance by any means, for money or its equivalent, on behalf of an insurer;

N. "solicit" means attempting to sell insurance or asking or urging a person to apply for a particular kind of insurance from a particular insurer;

O. "terminate" means to cancel the relationship between an insurance producer and the insurer or to terminate an insurance producer's authority to transact insurance;

P. "uniform application" means the current version of the national association of insurance commissioners uniform application for resident and nonresident insurance producer licensing; and

Q. "uniform business entity application" means the current version of the national association of insurance commissioners uniform business entity application for resident and nonresident business entities.

History: Laws 1984, ch. 127, § 202; 1978 Comp., § 59A-12-2, repealed and reenacted by Laws 2016, ch. 89, § 26.

Repeals and reenactments. — Laws 2016, ch. 89, § 26 repealed 59A-12-2 NMSA 1978, and enacted a new section, effective July 1, 2017.

Severability. — Laws 2016, ch. 89, § 71 provided that if any part or application of Laws 2016, ch. 89 is held invalid, the remainder or its application to other situations or persons shall not be affected.

Authority of agent. — Test of an agent's authority is not his rank or title but the duties assigned to him and the authority and obligations which go with such assignment. Pribble v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 1972-NMSC-063, 84 N.M. 211, 501 P.2d 255; Pribble v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 1974-NMSC-047, 86 N.M. 299, 523 P.2d 543.

Question of fact. — Issue of the extended authority of an insurance agent generally, whether actual or apparent, is usually one of fact. Pribble v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 1972-NMSC-063, 84 N.M. 211, 501 P.2d 255; Pribble v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 1974-NMSC-047, 86 N.M. 299, 523 P.2d 543.

Liability for premium collection. — Realities of the situation were to be considered by the court in determining whether local agent was liable to the general agent for the collection of premiums or whether he was responsible to the company. Insurance, Inc. v. Furneaux, 1957-NMSC-023, 62 N.M. 249, 308 P.2d 577.

Corporation or partnership may be licensed as agent provided other requirements of the code are met. 1958 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-199.

As long as a corporation may under its charter and bylaws act as an insurance agent and meets requirements of statute pertaining to insurance agents, it may be licensed as an insurance agent. 1943 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 43-4227.

Employees of corporation licensed as insurance agent are solicitors and must get licenses from state corporation commission (now public regulation commission) before they may solicit insurance on behalf of their corporation, but no such license is required of the officers of a licensed insurance corporation. 1943 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 43-4227.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 43 Am. Jur. 2d Insurance §§ 101 to 104.