(a)        For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)        Certificate of insurance. – A document prepared or issued exclusively by an insurance company or licensed producer that is used to verify or evidence the existence of property or casualty insurance coverage, including a document submitted or created electronically. Certificate of insurance shall not include a document prepared or issued by an insurance company or producer that is used to verify or evidence the existence of property insurance provided to a lender covering real or personal property which serves as the lender’s security for commercial mortgages.

(2)        Commercial mortgages. – Mortgages or other instruments given for the purpose of creating a lien encumbering office, multiunit residential, apartments, commercial, or industrial properties. Commercial mortgages shall not include a lien encumbering one- to four-family residential properties.

(b)        A certificate of insurance is not a policy of insurance and does not amend, extend, or alter the coverage afforded by the policy to which the certificate of insurance makes reference. A certificate of insurance shall not confer to a certificate of insurance holder new or additional rights beyond what the referenced policy of insurance expressly provides.

(c)        It is unlawful for any person to knowingly prepare, issue, request, or require a certificate of insurance that meets any of the following criteria:

(1)        Has not been filed with and approved by the Commissioner.

(2)        Contains any false or misleading information concerning the policy of insurance to which the certificate of insurance makes reference.

(3)        Purports to alter, amend, or extend the coverage provided by the policy of insurance to which the certificate of insurance makes reference.

(d)       Any person not otherwise subject to regulation under Chapter 58 of the N.C. Gen. Stat. who prepares, issues, requests, or requires a certificate of insurance that meets the criteria of subdivision (2) or (3) of subsection (c) of this section is subject to a civil penalty of up to five thousand dollars ($5,000). The clear proceeds of the penalty shall be remitted to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund in accordance with N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-457.2 Payment of the civil penalty under this section shall be in addition to payment of any other penalty for a violation of the criminal laws of this State.

(e)        A holder of a certificate of insurance shall have a legal right to notice of cancellation, nonrenewal, or any material change, or any similar notice concerning a policy of insurance, only if the holder is named within the policy or any endorsement and the policy or endorsement requires notice to be provided to the holder. The terms and conditions of the notice, including the required timing of the notice, are governed by the policy of insurance and cannot be altered by a certificate of insurance. ?(2011-196, s. 3; 2021-177, s. 2.)