Chapter Ins 6

Ins 6.59(8)(e) (e) A licensed nonresident agent, after becoming a resident of a state other than Wisconsin, may retain licensing authority under the nonresident license for a maximum of 60 days, at which time all authority granted under the nonresident license shall terminate if licensure in the new home state, as defined by s. Ins 28.03 (3m), cannot be verified by the commissioner, unless a letter of certification or other comparable evidence from the new home state is provided to the commissioner.

Ins 6.59 History History: Cr. Register, March, 1977, No. 255, eff. 4-1-77; am. (8), Register, June, 1978, No. 270, eff. 7-1-78; cr. (10), Register, September, 1978, No. 273, eff. 10-1-78; am. (3) and (7), Register, February, 1980, No. 290, eff. 3-1-80; r. (6) and (9), renum. (7), (8) and (10) to be (6), (7) and (8), Register, August, 1980, No. 296, eff. 9-1-80; r. and recr. Register, September, 1981, No. 309, eff. 10-1-81; am. (4), cr. (8), Register, December, 1984, No. 348, eff. 1-1-85; am. (2), (3), (4) (a) and (b) and (6), Register, May, 1987, No. 377, eff. 7-1-87; am. (4) (a) and (5) (b), Register, January, 1992, No. 433, eff. 2-1-92; cr. (8) (e), Register, April, 1992, No. 436, eff. 5-1-92; am. (4) (a) and (c), Register, June, 1992, No. 438, eff. 7-1-92; emerg. am. (1), (2), (4) (a), (c), (5) (a), (8) (a) to (c) and (e), cr. (9), eff. 3-12-93; emerg. am. (3), (4) (b), (c) and (6), r. and recr. (4) (a), cr. (4) (am) and (as), eff. 7-1-93; am. (1), (2), (3), (c), (5) (a), (8) (a) to (c) and (e), cr. (4) (am), (as), (9), r. and recr. (4) (a), Register, July, 1993, No. 451, eff. 8-1-93; emerg. am. (4) (a), eff. 10-9-95; am. (4) (a) and (am), Register, February, 1996, No. 482, eff. 3-1-96; am. (4) (a), (am) and (as), Register, January, 1999, No. 517, eff. 2-1-99; cr. (4) (av), Register, October, 2000, No. 538, eff. 11-1-00; CR 01-074: am. (4) (am), (5) (a), (c) and (d), cr. (5) (d) 1. to 14. and (5) (e), r. (7) and (9), Register January 2002 No. 553, eff. 2-1-02; CR 05-111: am. (3) and (4) (a) to (av), cr. (4) (ax) Register October 2006 No. 610, eff. 11-1-06; CR 07-096: am. (2) and (4) (a) Register March 2008 No. 627, eff. 4-1-08; CR 09-022: am. (2), (3), (4) (a), (b), (c), (8) (a), (b), (c) and (e), cr. (4) (an) and (ap) Register August 2009 No. 644, eff. 9-1-09; CR 19-025: am. (4) (a), (am), (an), (ap), (as), (av), (ax), r. (4) (b.), am. (4) (c), (5) (a), (8) (e) Register August 2020 No. 776, eff. 9-1-20.

Ins 6.595 Ins 6.595 Exemption of licensing of individuals as intermediaries.

Ins 6.595(1) (1) Definitions. In this section:

Ins 6.595(1)(a) (a) “Negotiate” means to confer directly with or offer advice directly to a purchaser or prospective purchaser of a particular contract of insurance concerning any of the substantive benefits, terms or conditions of the contract, provided that the person engaged in that act either sells insurance or obtains insurance from insurers for purchasers.

Ins 6.595(1)(am) (am) “Producer” means an insurance marketing intermediary as defined in s. 628.02, Stats.

Ins 6.595(1)(b) (b) “Sell” or “Place” means to exchange a contract of insurance by any means, for money or its equivalent, on behalf of an insurance company.

Ins 6.595(1)(c) (c) “Solicit” means attempting to sell insurance or asking or urging a person to apply for a particular kind of insurance from a particular company.

Ins 6.595(2) (2) Exemptions. The following persons are not required to obtain an intermediary license:

Ins 6.595(2)(a) (a) A town mutual agent exempt from licensing under s. 628.03 (1), Stats., by s. 628.05 (1), Stats., includes an agent for a town mutual not authorized to insure members against loss to property by windstorm or hail insurance as provided in ss. 612.31 (2) (a) 3. and 612.33 (2) (a), Stats., who provides windstorm or hail insurance to the town mutual’s members through an insurance policy issued by another authorized insurer operating on an assessment plan. The town mutual agent need not be licensed but the other insurer must list the agent and pay the listing fee in accordance with s. Ins 6.57.

Ins 6.595(2)(b) (b) An officer, director or employee of an insurer or of an insurance producer, provided that the officer, director or employee does not receive any commission on policies written or sold to insure risks residing, located or to be performed in this state and any of the following apply:

Ins 6.595(2)(b)1. 1. The officer, director or employee’s activities are executive, administrative, managerial, clerical or a combination of these, and are only indirectly related to the sale, solicitation or negotiation of insurance.

Ins 6.595(2)(b)2. 2. The officer, director or employee’s function relates to underwriting, loss control, inspection or the processing, adjusting, investigating or settling of a claim on a contract of insurance.

Ins 6.595(2)(b)3. 3. The officer, director or employee is acting in the capacity of a special agent or agency supervisor assisting insurance producers where the person’s activities are limited to providing technical advice and assistance to licensed insurance producers and do not include the sale, solicitation or negotiation of insurance.

Ins 6.595(2)(c) (c) A person who secures and furnishes information for the purpose of group life insurance, group property and casualty insurance, group annuities, group or blanket accident and health insurance; or for the purpose of enrolling individuals under plans; issuing certificates under plans or otherwise assisting in administering plans; or performs administrative services related to mass marketed property and casualty insurance; where no commission is paid to the person for the service;

Ins 6.595(2)(d) (d) An employer or association or its officers, directors, employees, or the trustees of an employee trust plan, to the extent that the employers, officers, employees, director or trustees are engaged in the administration or operation of a program of employee benefits for the employer’s or association’s own employees or the employees of its subsidiaries or affiliates, which program involves the use of insurance issued by an insurer, as long as the employers, associations, officers, directors, employees or trustees are not in any manner compensated, directly or indirectly, by the company issuing the contracts;

Ins 6.595(2)(e) (e) Employees of insurers or organizations employed by insurers who are engaging in the inspection, rating or classification of risks, or in the supervision of the training of insurance producers and who are not individually engaged in the sale, solicitation or negotiation of insurance;

Ins 6.595(2)(f) (f) A person whose activities in this state are limited to advertising without the intent to solicit insurance in this state through communications in printed publications or other forms of electronic mass media whose distribution is not limited to residents of the state, provided that the person does not sell, solicit or negotiate insurance that would insure risks residing, located or to be performed in this state;

Ins 6.595(2)(g) (g) A person who is not a resident of this state who sells, solicits or negotiates a contract of insurance for commercial property and casualty risks to an insured with risks located in more than one state insured under that contract, provided that that person is otherwise licensed as an insurance producer to sell, solicit or negotiate that insurance in the state where the insured maintains its principal place of business and the contract of insurance insures risks located in that state; or

Ins 6.595(2)(h) (h) A salaried full-time employee who counsels or advises his or her employer relative to the insurance interests of the employer or of the subsidiaries or business affiliates of the employer provided that the employee does not sell or solicit insurance or receive a commission.

Ins 6.595(2)(i) (i) Persons selling rental car insurance which is provided in connection with and incidental to the lease or rental of a motor vehicle which do not require a commercial license to operate for a total period of 90 consecutive days or less and not exceeding the lease or rental period. This exemption does not relieve the person of the requirement to reply to the commissioner under s. 601.42, Stats.

Ins 6.595 History History: CR 01-074: cr. Register January 2002 No. 553, eff. 2-1-02; CR 19-025: cr. (1) (am) Register August 2020 No. 776, eff. 9-1-20; correction in (1) (am) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register August 2020 No. 776.

Ins 6.60 Ins 6.60 Prohibited business practices.

Ins 6.60(1) (1) In this section:

Ins 6.60(1)(a) (a) “Affiliate” means any person who is under the control of or acts at the direction of the agent.

Ins 6.60(1)(b) (b) “Agent” means an intermediary as defined in s. 628.02, Stats.

Ins 6.60(1)(c) (c) “Customer” means a natural person with whom the agent or affiliate is doing or has, within 3 years from the act or transaction regulated by this section, done an insurance business as that term is defined in s. 618.02 (2) and (3), Stats.

Ins 6.60(1)(d) (d) “Personal financial transaction” includes a transaction in which the agent or an affiliate of the agent borrows money, property or securities from a customer; loans money, property or securities to a customer; acts as custodian for money, property or securities of a customer; obtains power of attorney over money, property or securities of a customer; obtains a guarantee of any loan from a customer; shares directly or indirectly in profits or losses with a customer; or without furnishing equal consideration obtains title to or ownership of any property of a customer. In this section “personal financial transaction” does not include transactions conducted by an agent or affiliate in the normal course of doing an insurance business such as holding an insurance policy for analysis or servicing, or receiving an insurance premium from a customer provided the transaction is properly recorded on the records of the agent or affiliate as required by s. Ins 6.61, including the name of the insurer for whom the premium was received, and the agent or affiliate immediately issues a written receipt to the customer for the policy or premium.

Ins 6.60(2) (2) The following are deemed to be unfair trade practices by an agent or affiliate pursuant to s. 628.34 (12), Stats., without limiting those terms to the practices specified in this section:

Ins 6.60(2)(a) (a) Effecting or attempting to effect a personal financial transaction with a customer unless any of the following apply:

Ins 6.60(2)(a)1. 1. The customer is a relative of the agent or affiliate as defined in s. 13.62 (12g), Stats.

Ins 6.60(2)(a)2. 2. The customer is a person residing in the household of the agent or affiliate at the time of the transaction.

Ins 6.60(2)(a)3. 3. The transaction is a bona fide arm’s length business transaction where the customer is either qualified to understand and assess the transaction or has been advised or represented in the transaction by a qualified individual who is not the agent or affiliate.

Ins 6.60(2)(a)4. 4. The agent or affiliate is acting lawfully pursuant to authority given under federal or state law governing the securities or investment advisory business.

Ins 6.60(2)(b) (b) Knowingly being listed as a beneficiary of any proceeds of a life insurance policy or annuity issued to a customer unless the agent or affiliate has an insurable interest in the life of the customer.

Ins 6.60(2)(c) (c) Engaging in transactions with a customer in violation of ch. 551, Stats., the Wisconsin uniform securities law, ch. 553, Stats., the Wisconsin franchise investment law, the U.S. securities act of 1933 (15 USCS 77a et seq), the U. S. securities exchange act of 1934 (15 USCS 78a-78kk), the U. S. investment company act of 1940 (15 USCS 80 a-1 – 80a-52), or any rules or regulations promulgated under any of such laws.

Ins 6.60(2)(d) (d) Making misleading statements to a customer regarding or otherwise misrepresenting one’s qualifications or services. This includes using terms such as “financial”, “investment” or “retirement” in conjunction with terms such as “planner”, “planning” or “consulting” when, under the circumstances, the statements, representations or use of these terms do not accurately describe the nature of the services offered or the qualifications of the person offering the services.

Ins 6.60(2)(e) (e) Selling, soliciting the sale, or assisting the sale, of health coverage that is:

Ins 6.60(2)(e)1. 1. Provided by a person who is not licensed as an insurer in this state; and

Ins 6.60(2)(e)2. 2. Represented to be authorized under, or exempt from state insurance regulation under, the federal employee retirement income security act (29 USCS 1001 et seq).

Ins 6.60(3) (3) 

Ins 6.60(3)(a) (a) For the purpose of s. 618.39 (1), Stats., an agent should know that placement of insurance is illegal if the agent:

Ins 6.60(3)(a)1. 1. Sells, solicits the sale, or assists in the sale, of health coverage offered by a person not licensed as an insurer in this state; and

Ins 6.60(3)(a)2. 2. Knows that the health coverage is represented to be authorized, or exempt from state insurance regulation, under the federal employee retirement income security act (29 USCS 1001 et seq).

Ins 6.60(3)(b) (b) An agent’s lack of knowledge of any of the following is not a defense to a violation of s. 618.39 (1), Stats.:

Ins 6.60(3)(b)1. 1. That the person providing the coverage is not licensed in this state.

Ins 6.60(3)(b)2. 2. That the person is an insurer as defined under s. 600.03 (27), Stats.

Ins 6.60(3)(b)3. 3. That the represented authorization or exemption under the federal employee retirement income security act is false (29 USCS 1001 et seq).

Ins 6.60(4) (4) The commissioner shall order, for any agent who violates s. 618.39, Stats., not less than revocation of the agent’s license and that the agent pay any claims not paid within 60 days by the unauthorized insurer. An agent may establish the basis for a lesser penalty for a violation of s. 618.39, Stats., only if the agent shows all of the following:

Ins 6.60(4)(a) (a) Substantial mitigating factors.

Ins 6.60(4)(b) (b) The agent made, and solicited to make, only a few sales of the coverage.

Ins 6.60(4)(c) (c) The agent did not serve as a general agent, was not eligible for override commissions, and was not responsible for recruiting, and did not recruit, other agents to sell the coverage.

Ins 6.60(5) (5) A violation of sub. (2) is a cause for denial of an agent license application under s. 628.04 (1), Stats., and a cause for agent license suspension, revocation or limitation under s. 628.10 (2) (b), Stats.

Ins 6.60 History History: CR 01-072: cr. Register January 2002 No. 553, eff. 2-1-02.

Ins 6.61 Ins 6.61 Intermediary records.

Ins 6.61(1) (1) Purpose. This section protects insurance policyholders by prescribing minimum standards and techniques of accounting and data handling of intermediaries to ensure that timely and reliable information will exist and be available to the commissioner. This section implements and interprets ss. 601.42 and 628.34, Stats., by establishing minimum records to be maintained by intermediaries.

Ins 6.61(2) (2) Scope. This section applies to all intermediaries transacting insurance business in this state and to Wisconsin insurance transactions of nonresident intermediaries unless the nonresident is required to maintain records in a similar specified manner by the intermediary’s state of domicile.

Ins 6.61(3) (3) Definitions. As used in this section:

Ins 6.61(3)(a) (a) “Business checking account” means any account utilized by an intermediary for insurance-related transactions.

Ins 6.61(3)(b) (b) “Cash disbursed record” means a record showing all monies paid out by the intermediary in connection with insurance.

Ins 6.61(3)(c) (c) “Cash receipts record” means a record showing all monies received by the intermediary in connection with insurance.

Ins 6.61(3)(d) (d) “Commission statements” means records or statements which show the commissions and fees allocated to the intermediary for insurance transactions.

Ins 6.61(3)(e) (e) “Formal administrative action” means consent decrees, cease and desist orders, stipulations, suspensions, revocations, license denials, fines, forfeitures, settlement agreements, license restrictions or actions limiting the intermediary’s method of conducting an insurance business but does not include administrative actions based solely on failing to comply with continuing education requirements or solely on failing to pay a regulation fee for licensing.

Ins 6.61(3)(f) (f) “Intermediary” means an agent, broker or producer and any person, partnership or corporation requiring a license under the provisions of ch. 628, Stats.

Ins 6.61(3)(g) (g) “Personnel records” means those records pertaining to anyone who is directly retained or employed by an intermediary in connection with insurance including subagents, secretaries, phone solicitors, and independent contractors.

Ins 6.61(3)(h) (h) “Policyholder records” means all records, applications, request for changes, claims, and complaints associated with a policy generated by or through the intermediary.

Ins 6.61(4) (4) Cash disbursed record. The cash disbursed record shall show the name of the party to whom the payment was made, date of payment, and reason for payment.

Ins 6.61(5) (5) Cash receipts record. The cash receipts record shall show the name of the party who remitted the money, date of receipt, and reason for payment.

Ins 6.61(6) (6) Commission statements. The commission statements shall show the insured name, policy number, premium, amount of commission, and date allocated or paid or both.

Ins 6.61(7) (7) Personnel records. Personnel records shall include dates of employment, position, description of principal duties, name of employee, and last known address and phone number of employee.

Ins 6.61(8) (8) Recordkeeping requirements. Beginning on January 1, 1988, each intermediary shall maintain, for a 3-year period, unless a specific period is provided elsewhere, the following records:

Ins 6.61(8)(a) (a) Cash receipts record.

Ins 6.61(8)(b) (b) Cash disbursed record.

Ins 6.61(8)(c) (c) Commission statements.

Ins 6.61(8)(d) (d) Policyholder records.

Ins 6.61(8)(e) (e) Business checking account.

Ins 6.61(8)(f) (f) Personnel records.

Ins 6.61(9) (9) Special requirements for newly issued contracts. Each intermediary shall maintain records for a 3-year period giving the effective date of the coverage on all newly issued contracts.

Ins 6.61(10) (10) Special requirements for individually-issued life and accident and health contracts. Each intermediary shall maintain records for a 3-year period indicating that the necessary suitability inquiry and replacement procedures required by ss. Ins 2.07, 2.14 (5) (f), 2.15 (9) (f), 3.27 (7), and 3.29 were followed for each individually-issued life and accident and health contract written or replaced or both.

Ins 6.61(11) (11) Special requirements for title insurance. Each intermediary who is employed by, or is, an affiliate of a producer of title insurance shall maintain records for 3 years for each application or order for title insurance accepted in this state. The records shall state whether the application or order was directly or indirectly referred as provided by s. Ins 3.32 (5) by a producer of title insurance which is an affiliate as defined by s. Ins 3.32 (3) (a), (bm) and (c) and the name of each producer of title insurance who is an affiliate and acts as broker, agent, lender, representative or attorney in the transaction which resulted in the application or order. Each intermediary who is an affiliate of a producer of title insurance shall maintain a record of gross revenue from operations in this state from title insurance by quarter calendar year which shall separately show gross revenue from operations in this state derived from applications or orders for title insurance directly or indirectly referred by the affiliate.

Ins 6.61(12) (12) Place of maintaining records. The intermediary shall maintain records required by subs. (8), (9), (10) and (11) at the business address of the intermediary or the insurer recorded with the commissioner of insurance, or at another location only if the intermediary provides written notice of the other location to the commissioner of insurance.

Ins 6.61(13) (13) Updating records. The intermediary shall update all intermediary records at reasonable intervals or as necessary and shall maintain all financial intermediary records according to accepted accounting principles.

Ins 6.61(14) (14) Maintaining policyholder records. The intermediary shall retain policyholder records for a period of at least 3 years after termination or lapse of the policy.

Ins 6.61(15) (15) Change of name or address. Each intermediary shall, within 30 days, notify the commissioner of insurance in writing in a manner prescribed by the commissioner of any change in the intermediary’s name, residence address, contact email address, business address or mailing address.

Ins 6.61(16) (16) Notification of formal administrative actions, criminal proceedings and lawsuits. Each intermediary shall notify the commissioner in writing of the following within 30 days:

Ins 6.61(16)(a) (a) Except for action taken by the Wisconsin office of the commissioner of insurance, any formal administrative action against the intermediary taken by any state’s insurance regulatory agency, commission or board or other regulatory agency which licenses the person for any occupational activity. The notification shall include a description of the basis for the administrative action and any action taken as a result of the proceeding, a copy of the notice of hearing and other documents describing the problem, a copy of the order, consent to order, stipulation, final resolution and other relevant documents.

Ins 6.61(16)(b) (b) Any initial pretrial hearing date related to any criminal prosecution of the intermediary taken in any jurisdiction, other than a misdemeanor charge related to the use of a motor vehicle or the violation of a fish and game regulation. The notification shall include a copy of the initial criminal complaint filed, the order resulting from the hearing and any other relevant legal documents.

Ins 6.61(16)(c) (c) Any felony conviction or misdemeanor conviction in any jurisdiction, other than a misdemeanor conviction related to the use of a motor vehicle or the violation of a fish and game regulation. The notification shall include a copy of the initial criminal complaint or criminal charging document filed, the judgement of conviction, the sentencing document, the intermediary’s explanation of what happened to cause criminal proceedings, the intermediary’s reasons why no action should be taken regarding the intermediary’s license and any other relevant legal documents.

Ins 6.61(16)(d) (d) Any lawsuit filed against the licensee or the licensee’s business in which there are allegations of misrepresentation, fraud, theft or embezzlement involving the licensee or the licensee’s business. The notification shall include a copy of the initial suit documents, the intermediary’s explanation of what happened to cause the civil proceedings, the intermediary’s reasons why no action should be taken regarding the intermediary’s license and any other relevant legal documents.