S*1065(Rat #0231, Act #0226 of 2014)  General Bill, By Hayes
 AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 5
 TO CHAPTER 43, TITLE 38 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE LIMITED LICENSING OF
 SELF-STORAGE FACILITIES TO SELL OR OFFER INSURANCE. - ratified title

   02/27/14  Senate Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 4)
   02/27/14  Senate Referred to Committee on Banking and Insurance
                     (Senate Journal-page 4)
   03/13/14  Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment
                     Banking and Insurance (Senate Journal-page 7)
   03/18/14  Senate Committee Amendment Adopted (Senate Journal-page 18)
   03/18/14  Senate Read second time (Senate Journal-page 18)
   03/18/14  Senate Roll call Ayes-37  Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 18)
   03/19/14  Senate Read third time and sent to House
                     (Senate Journal-page 22)
   03/20/14  House  Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 18)
   03/20/14  House  Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and
                     Industry (House Journal-page 18)
   05/15/14  House  Committee report: Favorable Labor, Commerce and
                     Industry (House Journal-page 10)
   05/21/14  House  Read second time (House Journal-page 177)
   05/21/14  House  Roll call Yeas-92  Nays-2 (House Journal-page 177)
   05/22/14  House  Read third time and enrolled (House Journal-page 5)
   05/29/14         Ratified R 231
   06/02/14         Signed By Governor
   06/13/14         Effective date 06/02/14
   06/16/14         Act No. 226

(A226, R231, S1065)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 5 TO CHAPTER 43, TITLE 38 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE LIMITED LICENSING OF SELF-STORAGE FACILITIES TO SELL OR OFFER INSURANCE.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Self-storage facility insurance limited licenses

SECTION    1.    Chapter 43, Title 38 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

Section 38-43-610.    For the purposes of this article:

(1)    'Licensee' means a person who holds a limited license.

(2)    'Limited license' means the authority of a person authorized to sell certain insurance pursuant to the provisions of this article.

(3)    'Rental agreement' means a written agreement setting forth the terms and conditions governing the use of a storage space provided by a self-service storage facility for rental or lease.

(4)    'Owner' means the owner of a self-service storage facility or his agent.

(5)    'Occupant' means a person or his lessee, successor, or assignee entitled to the use of the storage space at a self-storage facility under a rental agreement to the exclusion of others.

(6)    'Self-service storage facility' means real property designed and used for the sole purpose of renting or leasing individual storage space to occupants given access to this storage space for the sole purpose of storing and removing personal property.

(7)    'Rental period' means the term of a rental agreement.

Section 38-43-620.    The director or his designee may issue a limited license to an owner who has complied with the requirements of this article.

Section 38-43-630.    (A)    Before issuing a limited license, an application for a limited license must be filed with the director, signed by an officer of the applicant, on a form prescribed by the department. An applicant for a limited license must be approved and vouched for by an official or licensed representative of the insurer for which the applicant proposes to act pursuant to Section 38-43-40 and Section 38-43-50. An application must be accompanied by a forty dollar fee. A limited license must be renewed biennially before May first of odd numbered years on a renewal application form provided by the department, and this form must be accompanied by a forty dollar renewal fee. The department shall cancel a license that is not renewed as required by this section. The licensee may reinstate a license within six months after the renewal deadline by paying the forty dollar renewal fee and a forty dollar reinstatement fee. A limited license fee is not refundable.

(B)    A limited license holder must not advertise, represent, or otherwise hold itself or its employee out as a licensed insurer, insurance agent, or insurance broker.

Section 38-43-640.    (A)    A licensee must be the owner of a self-service rental facility or his employee or agent.

(B)    A licensee only may sell or offer to sell insurance in connection with, and incidental to, the rental of a self-storage space in the owner's facility. This insurance only may provide coverage for:

(1)    casualty loss of the property contained in the self-storage space;

(2)    liability insurance for personal injuries, excluding injuries compensable by workers' compensation, arising on the premises of the individual self-storage space; or

(3)    both.

Section 38-43-650.    (A)    Prior to issuing a policy under the provisions of this chapter, a licensee shall provide a written document that:

(1)    summarizes clearly and correctly the material terms of coverage offered to an occupant, including the identity of the insurer;

(2)    discloses that the coverage offered by the self-service storage facility may provide a duplication of coverage already provided by a homeowners' insurance policy or other source of coverage in effect for the occupant;

(3)    describes the process for filing a claim if the occupant elects to purchase coverage and in the event of a claim; and

(4)    states that the charges for coverage are itemized and ancillary to the rental agreement.

(B)    If the rental agreement requires the occupant to provide insurance of the type described in Section 38-43-640(B), this requirement may be satisfied if the occupant:

(1)    purchases this coverage from a licensee; or

(2)    provides evidence of this coverage from another source.

Section 38-43-660.    (A)    The employee or agent of an owner who is a licensee may act individually on behalf, and under the supervision of, the owner-licensee with respect to providing coverage for which the licensee is authorized to provide, but only if the owner instructs the employee or agent about the kinds of insurance sold pursuant to the owner's license.

(B)    The provisions of this chapter do not prohibit:

(1)    the payment or receipt of a commission for the sale of insurance that the licensee is authorized to sell; and

(2)    the payment of a bonus, incentive payment, or compensation by a licensee to his employee or agent; provided, however, that these payments may not be made based on the completion of a sale of insurance coverage.

Section 38-43-670.    Notwithstanding another provision of this chapter, a regulation promulgated by the department, or an order issued by the director, a licensee, his employee, and agent must not be required to:

(1)    act as a fiduciary of money received from the sale of insurance authorized to be sold under the provisions of this chapter; or

(2)    hold this money in a separate trust account if the insurer represented by the license holder provides written consent, signed by an officer of the insurer, that a premium is not required to be segregated from money received by the license holder because of the consumer transaction associated with the coverage.

Section 38-43-680.    The director may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, respond to a violation of a provision of this chapter under the provisions of Section 38-2-10 by:

(1)    revoking or suspending a limited license; or

(2)    imposing other penalties, including suspending the transaction of insurance at a specific rental location where a violation of this chapter occurred, as the director considers necessary or convenient to carry out the provisions of this chapter."

Time effective

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 29th day of May, 2014.

Approved the 2nd day of June, 2014.