A. An insurance producer shall not act as an agent of an insurer unless the insurance producer becomes an appointed insurance producer of that insurer. An insurance producer who is not acting as an agent of an insurer is not required to become appointed.
B. To appoint an insurance producer as its agent, the appointing insurer shall file in a format approved by the superintendent a notice of appointment within fifteen days from the date the agency contract is executed or the first insurance application is submitted. An insurer may also elect to appoint an insurance producer to all or some insurers within the insurer's holding company system or group by the filing of a single appointment request.
C. Upon receipt of the notice of appointment, the superintendent shall verify within a reasonable time not to exceed thirty days that the insurance producer is eligible for appointment. If the insurance producer is determined to be ineligible for appointment, the superintendent shall notify the insurer within five days of its determination.
D. An insurer shall pay a filing appointment fee in the amount and method of payment set forth in Section 59A-6-1 NMSA 1978 for each insurance producer appointed by the insurer.
E. An insurer shall remit in a manner prescribed by the superintendent a continuation of appointment fee in the amount set forth in Section 59A-6-1 NMSA 1978.
F. Appointments shall be continuous subject to payment of any applicable fees. Fees shall be calculated as of a date certain.
History: Laws 1984, ch. 127, § 191; 2016, ch. 89, § 17.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, revised the procedures for the appointment of insurance producers and updated the language in the section; in the catchline, after "appointment of", deleted "agents" and added "insurance producer"; deleted former Subsections A, B and C, and added new Subsections A through F.
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.