Art. 1 General Provisions. 88 1, 2 Section 42. Stockholders to make good impairment or deficiency. 43. Impaired mutual insurance corporations. 44. Reports of corporations. 45. Forms of report to be furnished by superintendent. 46. Annual report of superintendent. 47. Deceptive statements prohibited. 48. Contents of advertisements. 49. Agents. * 50. Agents' certificate of authority. 51. Examination of securities deposited by officers of corporation. 52. Reorganization of existing corporations and amendment of certificates. 53. General penalties. 54. Conduct of insurance business by persons not in corporated. 55. Insurance without the consent of the insured prohibited. 56. Foreign insurance companies. 57. Application of article limited. 58. Policy to contain the entire contract; statements of 60. Estimates and misrepresentations prohibited. 81. Short title and application. This chapter shall be known as the "Insurance Law," and shall be applicable to all corporations authorized by law to make insurances. Formerly L. 1892, ch. 690, § 1. There shall § 2. The superintendent of insurance. continue to be a separate and distinct department charged with the execution of the laws relating to insurance, to be known as the insurance department, the chief officer of which shall be the superintendent of insurance, who, after the termination of the term of office of the present superintendent, or whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office, shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, and shall hold his office for the term of three years. He shall receive an annual salary of seven thousand dollars, which shall be in full of all services performed by him in any capacity. The superintendent and his deputies * So in original. 883-5 General Provisions. Art. 1 shall take and subscribe and file in the office of the secretary of state the constitutional oath of office within fifteen days from the time of notice of their appointments respectively. The superintendent shall, within the same time, give an official undertaking in the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, with two good sureties to be approved by the comptroller. Neither the superintendent nor any deputy nor employee shall be directly or indirectly interested in any insurance corporation, except as an ordinary policyholder. Formerly L. 1892, ch. 600, § 2, as am'd by L. 1906, ch. 326, § 1. § 3. Offices for insurance department. There shall be assigned to the superintendent of insurance, by the trustees of the capitol, suitable offices in the city of Albany for conducting the business of the insurance department. The superintendent shall, from time to time, furnish the necessary furniture, stationery, fuel, lights and other proper conveniences for the transaction of such business, the expense of which, and the rent of such offices, if any, shall be paid on the certificate of the superintendent and the warrant of the comptroller. Formerly L. 1892, ch. 690, § 3. 4. Seal and certificate, when evidence. The seal of office now used by the superintendent of insurance shall continue to be the seal of his office and may be renewed whenever necessary. Every certificate, assignment, conveyance or other paper executed by him in pursuance of any authority conferred by law and sealed with such seal of office, shall be received as evidence and may be recorded in the proper recording offices in the same manner and with the like effect as a deed regularly acknowledged or proved before an officer authorized by law to take the proof or acknowledgment of deeds. Formerly L. 1892, ch. 690, § 4. § 5. Deputy superintendent and clerks. The superintendent of insurance shall employ from time to time the necessary clerks to discharge such duties and to be paid such compensation as he shall prescribe. He shall appoint one or more of such clerks to be his deputies. In case of the absence of the superintendent or his inability from any cause to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon his first deputy; and in the absence of both the superintendent and his first deputy or their inability from any cause to discharge the powers and duties of the office, the powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon his second deputy. Art. 1 General Provisions. 88 6,7 The compensation of the clerks of the department shall be paid to them monthly on the certificate of the superintendent and on the warrant of the comptroller. Formerly L. 1892, ch. 690, §. 5. § 6. Fees. Every corporation or person to whom this chapter shall be applicable shall pay the following fees to the superintendent, unless remitted by him. For filing the declaration and certified copy of the charter required by law, thirty dollars; except corporations for the insurance of domestic animals, co-operative life or casualty insurance corporations, and fraternal beneficiary corporations; in which cases, such fee shall be ten dollars. For filing the annual report required by law, twenty dollars; except in the cases of corporations for the insurance of domestic animals and co-operative insurance corporations, in which case the fee shall be one dollar for each one hundred members or fraction thereof, not exceeding twenty-five dollars in any case. No charge shall be made for filing the report of a fraternal beneficiary corporation. For each certificate of authority and certified copy thereof, and for each certificate of deposit, valuation or compliance, not exceeding five dollars. For every copy of any paper filed in his office, ten cents per folio; and for affixing the official seal on such copy and certifying the same, one dollar. All fees, perquisites and moneys received by the insurance department, or any officer thereof, from or on account of any insurance corporation, shall be paid into the state treasury monthly. Formerly L. 1892, ch. 690, § 6, as am'd by L. 1893, ch. 725, § 1. § 7. Expenses of examinations. The expense of every examination or other investigation of the affairs of an insurance corporation, pursuant to the authority conferred by the provisions of this chapter, shall be borne and paid by the corporation so examined, unless remitted by the superintendent. If a corporation for the insurance of domestic animals, such expense shall not exceed for any one corporation the sum of fifty dollars in any one year. No charge shall be made for any examination of an insurance corporation by the superintendent or his deputy personally, or by one or more of the regular clerks of the department except for necessary traveling and other actual expenses. All charges for making any examination and all charges against an insurance corporation by an attorney or appraiser of the department shall be presented in the form of an itemized bill approved by the superintendent, audited by the comptroller, and paid on his warrant drawn in the usual manner on the state treasurer, to the person making the examination. The corporation examined on receiving a cer §§ 8,9 General Provisions. Art. 1 tified copy of such bill so approved, audited and paid, shall repay the amount thereof to the superintendent of insurance, to be by him paid into the state treasury to replace the money drawn out as above provided. No insurance corporation shall either directly or indirectly pay by way of gift, credit or otherwise, any other or further sum to the superintendent or any clerk or employee of the insurance department or any examiner for extra service or for purposes of legislation, or on any other pretense whatsoever. Formerly L. 1892, ch. 690, § 7, as am'd by L. 1898, ch. 171, § 1, and L. 1906, ch. 326, § 2. § 8. Expenses of department; how defrayed. If the expenses of the insurance department, including salary, clerk hire and other expenses and such additional sum as may be certified to the comptroller by the attorney-general as a reasonable compensation for services and expenses of deputies and clerks in his office in proceedings or litigation for or on account of insurance corporations or in which such corporations were parties shall exceed the amount of fees collected under this chapter and paid into the state treasury, the excess of such expenses shall be annually assessed by the superintendent pro rata upon all the insurance corporations of the state so doing business therein; and the superintendent shall collect such assessments and pay them into the state treasury. Formerly L. 1892, ch. 690, § 8. § 9. Certificate of authorization of superintendent. No corporation nor any individual, as principal, shall transact the business of insurance within this state without the certificate of the superintendent of insurance, certifying under his hand and official seal that such corporation or individual has complied with all the requirements of law to be observed by such corporation or individual, and that such corporation or individual is authorized to transact the business of insurance specified therein in this state. Such certificate shall be recorded in the office of the superintendent in a book to be kept by him for that purpose. No corporation or individual shall transact in this state any insurance business not specified in the certificate of authority granted by the superintendent. The superintendent may refuse to issue any such certificate to a foreign corporation, if, in his judgment, such refusal will best promote the interests of the people of the state. This section shall not apply to any domestic insurance corporations, existing on the first day of October, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, or to fraternal insurance associations organized on the lodge system. Nothing in this section Art. 1 General Provisions. 8 10 contained shall apply to any insurance company organized prior to the first day of October, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, under any general or special law of this state and carrying on business on said date, but every such corporation is hereby recognized as an existing corporation and is hereby authorized to continue as such corporation and to continue such business until the legislature shall otherwise provide, subject to such of the provisions of this chapter as are made applicable to such corporations. Formerly L. 1892, ch. 690, § 9, as am'd by L. 1893, ch. 725, § 1. § 10. Certificate of attorney-general; corporate names; number of directors. When application is made to the superintendent of insurance by any persons desiring to become incorporated as an insurance corporation, or for authority to transact the business of insurance in this state, under or pursuant to any declaration and charter presented for filing in the insurance department, or any amended declaration or charter required by law to be filed, or to be approved by the superintendent, the superintendent shall not file such declaration and charter or grant such certificate of authority until such declaration and charter shall have been examined by the attorney-general and certified by him to the superintendent to be in accordance with the requirements of law. No certificate of authority to transact the business of insurance in this state shall be granted by the superintendent of insurance to any insurance corporation hereafter applying therefor, if such corporation has the same name as another corporation authorized to transact such business in this state at the time of granting such certificate, or a name so nearly resembling it as to be calculated to deceive. The certificate of incorporation of a domestic insurance corporation hereafter organized shall contain a provision that the number of directors shall in no case be less than the minimum number of incorporators required under this chapter to organize such a corporation. The number of directors of a domestic insurance corporation heretofore organized shall not be less than the number specified in the certificate of incorporation, except that the number of directors of such domestic insurance corporation may be reduced to the minimum number of incorporators required under this chapter to organize such corporation; such reduction to be made pursuant to the provisions of the stock corporation law relating to the proceedings to be taken for the reduction of the number of directors of any stock corporation. Formerly L. 1892, ch. 690, § 10, as am'd by L. 1893, ch. 725, § 1; L. 1898, ch. 171, § 2, and L. 1900, ch. 366, § 1. |