§ 36-6755. Examination and enforcement of act.

A.  After initial registration, and upon complaint or proper cause shown, providers, administrators, insurers or other persons shall be subject to periodic examination by the Insurance Commissioner, in the same manner and subject to the same terms and conditions that apply to insurers.

B.  The Commissioner may take action which is necessary or appropriate to enforce the provisions of the Oklahoma Home Service Contract Act and the orders of the Commissioner and to protect service contract holders in this state.

1.  If a provider has violated the Oklahoma Home Service Contract Act or the Commissioner’s rules or orders, the Commissioner may issue an order directed to that provider to cease and desist from committing violations of the Oklahoma Home Service Contract Act or the Commissioner's rules or orders, may issue an order prohibiting a service contract provider from selling or offering for sale service contracts in violation of the Oklahoma Home Service Contract Act, suspend that provider’s registration or may issue an order imposing a civil penalty on that provider, or any combination of the following, as applicable:

a.a person aggrieved by an order issued under this paragraph may request a hearing before the Commissioner.  The hearing request shall be filed with the Commissioner within twenty (20) days of the date the Commissioner's order is effective,

b.if a hearing is requested, an order issued by the Commissioner under this section shall be suspended from the original effective date of the order until completion of the hearing and final decision of the Commissioner, and

c.at the hearing, the burden shall be on the Commissioner to show why the order issued pursuant to this paragraph is justified.  The hearing requested under this section shall be held in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act and the laws and rules of the Insurance Department.

2.  The Commissioner may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction for an injunction or other appropriate relief to enjoin threatened or existing violations of the Oklahoma Home Service Contract Act or of the Commissioner’s orders or rules.  An action filed under this paragraph may also seek restitution on behalf of persons aggrieved by a violation of the Oklahoma Home Service Contract Act or orders or rules of the Commissioner.

3.  A person who is found to have violated the Oklahoma Home Service Contract Act or orders or rules of the Commissioner may be assessed a civil penalty in an amount determined by the Commissioner of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per violation and no more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) in the aggregate for all violations of a similar nature.  For purposes of this section, violations shall be of a similar nature if the violation consists of the same or similar course of conduct, action, or practice, irrespective of the number of times the act, conduct, or practice which is determined to be a violation of the Oklahoma Home Service Contract Act occurred.  This act is administrative only and nothing in this act shall be construed to create a private cause of action hereunder.

Added by Laws 2011, c. 224, § 6, eff. Nov. 1, 2011.