§ 27-2-17. Reciprocal fees and charges. (a) Whenever, by the laws of any other state of the United States, any fees, charges, taxes, deposits of money or of securities, or other obligations or prohibitions are imposed on insurance companies incorporated or organized under the laws of this state or on the insurance producers of the insurance companies, so long as the laws continue in force, the fees, charges, taxes, deposits, and obligations shall be imposed on the insurance companies doing business in this state which are incorporated or organized under the laws of the other state and on their insurance producers.

(b) Whenever, by the laws of any other state of the United States, insurance companies incorporated or organized under the laws of this state are required to provide a countersignature as a precondition to the issuance, delivery, or making of any contract of insurance in the other state, and whenever the insurance producer of the company is required to pay any fee or commission for placing any insurance coverage in the other state, then the same requirements for countersignatures and fee or commission shall be imposed upon the insurance companies doing business in this state which are incorporated and organized under the laws of the other states and/or their insurance producers.

(c) Whenever insurance companies that are authorized to do business in this state issue, deliver, or make any contract of insurance on a person or property in this state, the companies shall place the business through a licensed resident insurance producer or licensed nonresident insurance producer as permitted under § 27-2-3 or any other provision of Rhode Island law; provided, if the insurance to be issued in this state is part of an insurance contract written on a risk whose principal place of business is located in another state, and the insurance contract is placed through an insurance producer of the domiciliary state of the primary insured, it shall be permitted only if that state allows the placement of the business by a licensed nonresident insurance producer of Rhode Island in similar circumstances.

(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to insurance companies incorporated or organized under the laws of a state or country whose laws do not impose retaliatory taxes or other charges or which grant, on a reciprocal basis, exemptions from those taxes or other charges to insurance companies incorporated or organized under the laws of this state.

History of Section. (G.L. 1896, ch. 181, § 23; G.L. 1909, ch. 219, § 23; P.L. 1914, ch. 1063, § 1; G.L. 1923, ch. 255, § 23; G.L. 1938, ch. 150, § 22; G.L. 1956, § 27-2-17; P.L. 1983, ch. 170, § 2; P.L. 1984, ch. 346, § 1; P.L. 1988, ch. 131, § 1; P.L. 1994, ch. 432, § 2.)