(a) The purpose of this article is to subject to the jurisdiction of the commissioner and to the jurisdiction of the courts of this State, insurers not authorized to transact business in this State which place in or send into this State any false advertising designed to induce residents of this State to purchase insurance from insurers not authorized to transact business in this State. The Legislature declares it is in the interest of the citizens of this State who purchase insurance from insurers which solicit insurance business in this State in the manner set forth in the preceding sentence that such insurers be subject to the provisions of this article. In furtherance of such state interest, the Legislature in this article provides a method of substituted service of process upon such insurers and declares that in so doing, it exercises its power to protect its residents and also exercises powers and privileges available to the State by virtue of Public Law 15, 79th Congress of the United States, Chapter 20, 1st Session, S. 340, which declares that the business of insurance and every person engaged therein shall be subject to the laws of the several states; the authority provided in such sections to be in addition to any existing powers of this State.

(b) The provisions of this article shall be liberally construed.

Terms Used In California Insurance Code 1620.1

  • Commissioner: means the Insurance Commissioner of this State. See California Insurance Code 20
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: means any person, association, organization, partnership, business trust, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Insurance Code 19
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • Residents: means any person defined in Section 19 who is resident within the meaning of Section 30. See California Insurance Code 1620.2
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Insurance Code 28

(Added by Stats. 1961, Ch. 297.)