§ 36-906. Group, associations and organizations; duties; licensing; adherence to filings.

A. Every group, association, or other organization of insurers authorized to act as such under the terms of this article, except groups or fleets described in subsections C and D of Section 905 shall file with the Board (1) a copy of its constitution, its articles of agreement or association, or its certificate of incorporation, and of its bylaws, rules, and regulations governing the conduct of its business; (2) a list of its members and subscribers, if any; (3) the name and address of a resident of the state upon whom notices or orders of the Board or process affecting it may be served; and shall notify and file with the Board promptly any change in the foregoing.

B.  No group, association, or organization shall engage in any unfair or unreasonable practice in the conduct of its business.

C.  No rating organization shall conduct its business with respect to insurance on risks located within the state without a license from the Board.  To obtain such a license, a rating organization shall, in addition to the matters specified in subsection A of this section, supply to the Board a statement relating to its qualifications as a rating organization and its ability adequately to administer the rates, rules and regulations which it may make in behalf of its members and subscribers.  No rating organization shall be licensed in this state unless it execute and file with the Board its permission for any of its members to deviate from its rate, in accordance with subsection F of this section.

If the Board finds that the applicant is competent, trustworthy, and otherwise qualified to act as a rating organization, it shall forthwith issue a license specifying the kinds of insurance and subdivisions thereof for which the applicant is authorized to act as a rating organization, but if the Board does not so find within thirty (30) days after it has received such application, it shall at the request of the applicant, give the applicant a full hearing.

Licenses issued pursuant to this section shall remain in effect until suspended or revoked by the Board unless voluntarily surrendered by the rating organization.  The fee for said license shall be Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00).

The license of any rating organization may be suspended or revoked by the Board for failure to comply with this law or for incompetence or untrustworthiness.  The Board shall not revoke or suspend the license of any rating organization until it has given it not less than thirty (30) days notice of the proposed revocation or suspension and of the grounds alleged therefor and has afforded the rating organization an opportunity to be heard.  In lieu of revoking or suspending the license of any rating organization after hearing and for the causes named herein, the Board may subject such rating organization to a penalty of not more than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) when in its judgment it finds that the public interest would be best served by the continued operation of the rating organization.

D.  Every licensed rating organization shall, subject to reasonable rules and regulations, permit any insurer not a member to be subscriber to its rating services for any kind of insurance, or subdivision thereof for which it is authorized to act; shall give notice of changes in such rules and regulations to its subscribers; and shall furnish its rating services without discrimination to its members and subscribers.

E.  No licensed rating organization shall adopt any rule, effect any agreement, or take any action contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this law or which would have the effect of prohibiting, restricting, or regulating the payment or allowance by any of its members or subscribers of dividends, savings, or unabsorbed premium deposits; nor practice or sanction any plan or act of boycott, coercion, or intimidation; nor enter into or sanction any contract or act by which any person is restrained from lawfully engaging in the business of insurance.

F.  Every member of or a subscriber to a licensed rating organization shall adhere to the filings made on its behalf by such organization except that any such member or subscriber may deviate from such filing if it has filed with the rating organization and with the Board, at least fifteen (15) days before the effective date thereof, the deviation to be applied and the information upon which such deviation is based.  The Board shall disapprove such deviation if it finds that the deviation to applied would not be uniform in its application or would be inconsistent with the provisions of this article.