(A) Contracts or policies of insurance issued to meet the financial responsibility requirements prescribed in this chapter must be issued for not less than six months. A contract or policy of insurance remains in effect at least sixty days notwithstanding a power of attorney which may purport to give the attorney-in-fact the right to effect cancellation on behalf of the insured. However, a contract or policy may be canceled within the first sixty days only under one or more of the following circumstances:

(1) a check or bank draft tendered by the insured for payment to an agent, an insurance company, or a premium finance company is returned unpaid for insufficient funds or other reason by the insured's financial institution. If the check or draft is an initial payment made by an applicant for insurance or a payment made by an insured to renew a policy, the cancellation is effective as of the policy inception or renewal date;

(2) the insured produces satisfactory proof from the Department of Motor Vehicles that he has sold or otherwise disposed of the insured vehicle or surrendered its tags and registration;

(3) the insured has secured another policy that meets the financial responsibility requirements prescribed in this chapter;

(4) the insured fails to pay when due the premium for the policy, an installment of the premium, or an installment payment under a premium service contract. The contract or policy of insurance must remain in effect for at least thirty days.

(B) This section does not prohibit refunds to the insured for cancellations after sixty days resulting from causes other than nonpayment of premium. Where an insurance company or premium finance company cancels a contract or policy pursuant to this section for nonpayment of premium under the circumstances in subsection (A) which occurs within the first sixty days, the insurance company, premium finance company, or agent may charge and collect a fifteen-dollar penalty in addition to that otherwise provided by law, and the penalty charge is not a premium charge.

HISTORY: Former 1976 Code Section 56-11-780 [1962 Code Section 46-750.154; 1974 (58) 2718] repealed by 1987 Act No. 155, Section 25, and recodified as Section 56-10-280 by 1987 Act No. 155, Section 9; Am, 1989 Act No. 148, Section 20; 1991 Act No. 146, Section 2; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1481; 2001 Act No. 82, Section 35; 2006 Act No. 315, Section 1, eff August 1, 2006.