Title 33, Chapter 22, Section 6
( 33-22-6)
(a) The Commissioner may revoke or suspend the license of any
premium finance company when and if after investigation the
Commissioner finds that: (1) Any license issued to the company was obtained by fraud; (2) There was any misrepresentation in the application for the
license; (3) The holder of the license has otherwise shown himself
untrustworthy or incompetent to act as a premium finance company; (4) The holder of such license has misappropriated, converted,
illegally withheld, or refused to pay over upon proper demand any
moneys belonging to an insurer or insured entrusted to the holder
in its fiduciary capacity; (5) The holder is found to be in an unsound condition or in such
condition as to render the future transaction of business in this
state hazardous to the public; or (6) The company has violated any of the provisions of this
chapter. (b) Before the Commissioner shall revoke, suspend, or refuse to
renew the license of any premium finance company, he shall give to
the person an opportunity to be fully heard and to introduce
evidence in his behalf. (c) In lieu of revoking or suspending the license for any of the
causes enumerated in subsection (a) of this Code section, the
Commissioner shall have the authority after a hearing to place the
premium finance company on probation for a period of time not to
exceed one year and may subject such company to a penalty of not
more than $1,000.00 for each offense when, in his judgment, he finds
that the public interest would not be harmed by the continued
operation of the company. (d) The Commissioner shall also have the authority after a hearing
to subject any person or entity who is acting as a premium finance
company in this state without a license, as provided for by this
chapter, to a penalty of not more than $1,000.00 for each violation
of this chapter. The amount of any such penalty shall be paid by the
company, person, or entity to the Commissioner for the use of the
state. (e) At any hearing provided by this Code section, the Commissioner
or his designee shall have authority to administer oaths to
witnesses. After having been administered the oath, anyone
testifying falsely commits the offense of perjury. (f) Any hearings provided for in this Code section shall be
conducted in accordance with Chapter 2 of this title. Any action of
the Commissioner in refusing to issue or renew a license or in
assessing a monetary fine shall be subject to review as provided in
Chapter 2 of this title. |