§431:9A-102 Definitions. As used in this article, the following definitions apply:

"Approved continuing education course" means a course approved by the commissioner following receipt of recommendations from insurance professionals.

"Approved course provider" means an organization or person that has been approved by the commissioner.

"Assumed name" means any fictitious, alias, maiden, or trade name used in the past.

"Business entity" means an association, corporation, individual, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, partnership, person, or other legal entity.

"Class" means the general categories of insurance, as set forth in sections 431:1-204 to 431:1-210, in which insurers may be authorized to transact the business of insurance.

"Commissioner" means the insurance commissioner.

"Credit hour" means the value assigned to an approved continuing education course that is equivalent to at least fifty minutes of classroom instruction.

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

"Inactive" means that the authority of a license issued by the commissioner is not in effect.

"Individual" means a natural person or a business entity.

"Insurance" is defined in section 431:1-201.

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

"Insurer" is defined in section 431:1-202.

"License" means a document issued by the commissioner 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.

"Licensee" means any type of insurance producer or producer.

"Limited line credit insurance" includes credit life, credit disability, credit property, credit unemployment, involuntary unemployment, mortgage life, mortgage guaranty, mortgage disability, guaranteed automobile protection ("gap") 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 that the commissioner determines should be designated a form of limited line of credit insurance.

"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.

"Limited lines insurance" means those lines of insurance a producer may be licensed to sell pursuant to section 431:9A-107.5 or any other line of insurance sold to individuals under state law or rule for which an insurance producer license in one or more of the lines of authority set forth in section 431:9A-107(a)(1) to (4) is not required.

"Limited lines producer" means a person authorized by the commissioner to sell, solicit, or negotiate limited lines insurance.

"Line of authority" means a category of insurance products, as set forth in section 431:9A-107(a), which an insurance producer may be licensed to sell pursuant to this article.

"Line of insurance" means an insurance product, contract, or policy designed to cover specified risks that fall within one or more of the classes or types of insurance as defined in sections 431:1-204 to 431:1-211, the lines of authority defined in section 431:9A-107(a), or any other section of this code.

"NAIC" means the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

"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 the act either sells insurance or obtains insurance from insurers for producers.

"Person" is defined in section 431:1-212.

"Sell" means to exchange a contract of insurance by any means, for money or its equivalent, on behalf of an insurance company.

"Solicit" means attempting to sell insurance or asking or urging a person to apply for a particular kind of insurance from a particular company.

"Terminate" means:

(1) To cancel the relationship between an insurance producer and an insurer; or

(2) To terminate a producer's authority to transact insurance.

"Trade name" means any name used by an insurance producer to solicit insurance business in this State if the true legal name of an individual or a business entity cannot be used.

"Uniform application" means the current version of National Association of Insurance Commissioners' uniform application for resident and nonresident producer licensing.

"Uniform business entity application" means the current version of National Association of Insurance Commissioners' uniform business entity application for resident and nonresident business entities. [L 2001, c 216, pt of §2; am L 2002, c 155, §§25, 26; am L 2003, c 55, §2; am L 2006, c 154, §23; am L 2012, c 66, §6; am L 2017, c 152, §7; am L 2018, c 8, §1; am L 2019, c 70, §11]