Sec. 5. (a) The commissioner may not issue a certificate of authority to a nonresident applicant until that nonresident files with the commissioner, in a form prescribed by the commissioner, a designation of an individual resident of Indiana, a corporate resident of Indiana, or an authorized Indiana insurer as the nonresident applicant’s legal representative upon whom may be served all lawful process in any action, suit, or proceeding:

(1) instituted by or on behalf of an interested person; and

Terms Used In Indiana Code 27-1-27-5

  • certificate of authority: means an instrument in writing issued by the department to an insurer, which sets out the authority of such insurer to engage in the business of insurance or activities connected therewith. See Indiana Code 27-1-2-3
  • Commissioner: means the "insurance commissioner" of this state. See Indiana Code 27-1-2-3
  • Insurance: means a contract of insurance or an agreement by which one (1) party, for a consideration, promises to pay money or its equivalent or to do an act valuable to the insured upon the destruction, loss or injury of something in which the other party has a pecuniary interest, or in consideration of a price paid, adequate to the risk, becomes security to the other against loss by certain specified risks; to grant indemnity or security against loss for a consideration. See Indiana Code 27-1-2-3
  • insurer: means a company, firm, partnership, association, order, society or system making any kind or kinds of insurance and shall include associations operating as Lloyds, reciprocal or inter-insurers, or individual underwriters. See Indiana Code 27-1-2-3
  • person: includes individuals, corporations, associations, and partnerships; personal pronoun includes all genders; the singular includes the plural and the plural includes the singular. See Indiana Code 27-1-2-3
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
(2) arising out of the nonresident applicant’s public adjuster’s insurance business.

     (b) The designation required by subsection (a) constitutes an agreement that service of process upon the nonresident applicant’s legal representative is of the same legal force and validity as personal service of process upon an Indiana resident.

     (c) Service upon a nonresident may be made by serving the nonresident applicant’s legal representative with an appropriate number of copies of the process.

     (d) The nonresident applicant’s legal representative shall forward a copy of the process by registered mail to the nonresident at his last known address of record or principal place of business, keeping a record of such process and service.

     (e) Service of process is sufficient as long as notice of the service and a copy of the process are sent not more than ten (10) days after the nonresident applicant’s legal representative received the service of process on behalf of the nonresident.

     (f) Service of process upon a nonresident in any action instituted by the commissioner under this chapter shall be made by the commissioner by mailing the process to the nonresident applicant’s legal representative or the nonresident by registered mail at his last known address of record or principal place of business.

As added by P.L.257-1983, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.31-1988, SEC.15; P.L.130-1994, SEC.33; P.L.116-1994, SEC.43; P.L.268-1999, SEC.14.

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