When used in this Part:

A.  “Commissioner” means the commissioner of insurance of this state.

B.  “Insured” means the party named on a policy or certificate as the individual with legal rights to the benefits provided by such policy.

C.  “Insurer” means any person, reciprocal exchange, interinsurer, Lloyds insurer, fraternal benefit society, industrial and burial insurer, or any insurer that markets under the Home Service Marketing distribution method and issues a majority of its policies on a weekly or monthly basis, or any other legal entity engaged in the business of insurance, including insurance producers.  Insurer shall also mean medical service plans, hospital service plans, health maintenance organizations, and prepaid limited health care service plans.  For the purposes of this Part, these foregoing entities shall be deemed to be engaged in the business of insurance.

D.  “Person” means any natural or artificial entity, including but not limited to individuals, partnerships, associations, trusts, or corporations.

E.  “Policy” or “certificate” means any contract of insurance, indemnity, medical, health or hospital service, suretyship, or annuity issued, proposed for issuance, or intended for issuance by any insurer.

F.  “Producer” means a person required to be licensed under the laws of this state to sell, solicit, or negotiate insurance, and includes all persons or business entities otherwise referred to in this Code as “insurance agent”, “agent”, “insurance broker”, “broker”, “insurance solicitor”, “solicitor”, or “surplus lines broker”.

Acts 1958, No. 125; Acts 1993, No. 953, §1; Acts 1997, No. 949, §1; Acts 2001, No. 158, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2002; Redesignated from La. Rev. Stat. 22:1212 by Acts 2008, No. 415, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2012, No. 271, §1.