The commissioner shall issue a license to act as an independent adjuster or public adjuster to a person who, as to the license classification applied for under Section 31A-26-204:
Terms Used In Utah Code 31A-26-203
Agency: means :
(a)
a person other than an individual, including a sole proprietorship by which an individual does business under an assumed name; and
completed by an applicant to provide information about the risk to be insured; and
(ii)
that contains information that is used by the insurer to evaluate risk and decide whether to:
(A)
insure the risk under:
(I)
the coverage as originally offered; or
(II)
a modification of the coverage as originally offered; or
(B)
decline to insure the risk; or
(b)
used by the insurer to gather information from the applicant before issuance of an annuity contract. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
business of insurance: includes :
(a)
providing health care insurance by an organization that is or is required to be licensed under this title;
(b)
providing a benefit to an employee in the event of a contingency not within the control of the employee, in which the employee is entitled to the benefit as a right, which benefit may be provided either:
(i)
by a single employer or by multiple employer groups; or
(ii)
through one or more trusts, associations, or other entities;
(c)
providing an annuity:
(i)
including an annuity issued in return for a gift; and
(ii)
except an annuity provided by a person specified in Subsections 31A-22-1305(2) and (3);
(d)
providing the characteristic services of a motor club;
(e)
providing another person with insurance;
(f)
making as insurer, guarantor, or surety, or proposing to make as insurer, guarantor, or surety, a contract or policy offering title insurance;
(g)
transacting or proposing to transact any phase of title insurance, including:
(i)
solicitation;
(ii)
negotiation preliminary to execution;
(iii)
execution of a contract of title insurance;
(iv)
insuring; and
(v)
transacting matters subsequent to the execution of the contract and arising out of the contract, including reinsurance;
(h)
transacting or proposing a life settlement; and
(i)
doing, or proposing to do, any business in substance equivalent to Subsections (95)(a) through (h) in a manner designed to evade this title. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
Escrow: means :
(i)
a transaction that effects the sale, transfer, encumbering, or leasing of real property, when a person not a party to the transaction, and neither having nor acquiring an interest in the title, performs, in accordance with the written instructions or terms of the written agreement between the parties to the transaction, any of the following actions:
(A)
the explanation, holding, or creation of a document; or
(B)
the receipt, deposit, and disbursement of money;
(ii)
a settlement or closing involving:
(A)
a mobile home;
(B)
a grazing right;
(C)
a water right; or
(D)
other personal property authorized by the commissioner. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
Filed: means that a filing is:
(i)
submitted to the department as required by and in accordance with applicable statute, rule, or filing order;
(ii)
received by the department within the time period provided in applicable statute, rule, or filing order; and
(iii)
accompanied by the appropriate fee in accordance with:
Independent adjuster: means an insurance adjuster required to be licensed under Section 31A-26-201, who engages in insurance adjusting as a representative of one or more insurers. See Utah Code 31A-26-102
Insurance: includes :
(i)
a risk distributing arrangement providing for compensation or replacement for damages or loss through the provision of a service or a benefit in kind;
(ii)
a contract of guaranty or suretyship entered into by the guarantor or surety as a business and not as merely incidental to a business transaction; and
(iii)
a plan in which the risk does not rest upon the person who makes an arrangement, but with a class of persons who have agreed to share the risk. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
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.
License: includes a certificate of authority issued to an insurer. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
Person: includes :
(a)
an individual;
(b)
a partnership;
(c)
a corporation;
(d)
an incorporated or unincorporated association;
(e)
a joint stock company;
(f)
a trust;
(g)
a limited liability company;
(h)
a reciprocal;
(i)
a syndicate; or
(j)
another similar entity or combination of entities acting in concert. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
Public adjuster: means a person required to be licensed under Section 31A-26-201, who engages in insurance adjusting as a representative of insureds and claimants under insurance policies. See Utah Code 31A-26-102
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Title insurance: means the insuring, guaranteeing, or indemnifying of an owner of real or personal property or the holder of liens or encumbrances on that property, or others interested in the property against loss or damage suffered by reason of liens or encumbrances upon, defects in, or the unmarketability of the title to the property, or invalidity or unenforceability of any liens or encumbrances on the property. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
(a)
satisfies the character requirements under Section 31A-26-205;
(b)
satisfies the applicable continuing education requirements under Section 31A-26-206;
(c)
satisfies the applicable examination requirements under Section 31A-26-207;
(d)
has not committed an act that is a ground for denial, suspension, or revocation provided for in Section 31A-26-213;
(e)
if a nonresident, complies with Section 31A-26-208; and
This Subsection (2) applies to the following persons:
(i)
an applicant for:
(A)
an independent adjuster’s license; or
(B)
a public adjuster’s license;
(ii)
a licensed independent adjuster; or
(iii)
a licensed public adjuster.
(b)
A person described in Subsection (2)(a) shall report to the commissioner:
(i)
an administrative action taken against the person, including a denial of a new or renewal license application:
(A)
in another jurisdiction; or
(B)
by another regulatory agency in this state; and
(ii)
a criminal prosecution taken against the person in any jurisdiction.
(c)
The report required by Subsection (2)(b) shall:
(i)
be filed:
(A)
at the time the person applies for an adjustor’s license; and
(B)
if an action or prosecution occurs on or after the day on which the person applies for an adjustor’s license:
(I)
for an administrative action, within 30 days of the final disposition of the administrative action; or
(II)
for a criminal prosecution, within 30 days of the initial appearance before a court; and
(ii)
include a copy of the complaint or other relevant legal documents related to the action or prosecution described in Subsection (2)(b).
(3)
(a)
The department may require a person applying for a license or for consent to engage in the business of insurance to submit to a criminal background check as a condition of receiving a license or consent.
(b)
A person, if required to submit to a criminal background check under Subsection (3)(a), shall:
(i)
submit a fingerprint card in a form acceptable to the department; and
(ii)
consent to a fingerprint background check by:
(A)
the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification; and
(B)
the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(c)
For a person who submits a fingerprint card and consents to a fingerprint background check under Subsection (3)(b), the department may request concerning a person applying for an independent or public adjuster’s license:
(i)
criminal background information maintained pursuant to 2, from the Bureau of Criminal Identification; and
(ii)
complete Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal background checks through the national criminal history system.
(d)
Information obtained by the department from the review of criminal history records received under this Subsection (3) shall be used by the department for the purposes of:
(i)
determining if a person satisfies the character requirements under Section 31A-26-205 for issuance or renewal of a license;
(ii)
determining if a person has failed to maintain the character requirements under Section 31A-26-205; and
(iii)
preventing a person who violates the federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. § 1033, from engaging in the business of insurance in the state.
(e)
If the department requests the criminal background information, the department shall:
(i)
pay to the Department of Public Safety the costs incurred by the Department of Public Safety in providing the department criminal background information under Subsection (3)(c)(i);
(ii)
pay to the Federal Bureau of Investigation the costs incurred by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in providing the department criminal background information under Subsection (3)(c)(ii); and
(iii)
charge the person applying for a license or for consent to engage in the business of insurance a fee equal to the aggregate of Subsections (3)(e)(i) and (ii).
(4)
The commissioner may deny a license application to act as an independent adjuster or public adjuster to a person who, as to the license classification applied for under Section 31A-26-204:
(a)
fails to satisfy the requirements in this section; or
(b)
commits an act that is a ground for denial, suspension, or revocation provided for in Section 31A-26-213.
(5)
Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, the commissioner may:
(a)
issue a license to an applicant for a license for a title insurance classification only with the concurrence of the Title and Escrow Commission; or
(b)
renew a license for a title insurance classification only with the concurrence of the Title and Escrow Commission.
