(a) Any person who uses any rate, rating plan, or rating system in violation of this chapter is liable to the state for a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each act, or, if the act or practice was willful, a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each act. The commissioner shall have the discretion to establish what constitutes an act. However, when the issuance, amendment, or servicing of a policy or endorsement is inadvertent, all of those acts shall be a single act for the purpose of this section.
(b) The penalty imposed by this section shall be imposed by and determined by the commissioner as provided by Section 1858.3, except that no penalty shall be imposed by the commissioner if a person has used any rate, rating plan, or rating system that has been approved for use by the commissioner in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
The penalty imposed by this section is appealable by means of any remedy provided by Section 12940 or by Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 726, Sec. 1. Effective September 25, 1989.)