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Senate Study Bill 1151 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1relating to the insurance fraud bureau, criminal history
2checks for licenses granted by the insurance division, and
3resolving inconsistencies.
4BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 Section 1. Section 502.604A, Code 2019, is amended to read
2as follows:
3502.604A Limited law Law enforcement authority.
4The administrator or the administrator’s designee, when
5carrying out the provisions of section 502.603 or 502.604, may
6develop, share, and receive information related to any law
7enforcement purpose, including any criminal investigation.
8The administrator or designee shall not have the authority to
9issue criminal subpoenas or make arrests. The administrator
10or designee shall not be considered a peace officer, including
11as provided in chapter 801. An insurance fraud bureau
12investigator shall be authorized to conduct an investigation
13under article 5 of this chapter and shall have law enforcement
14authority pursuant to section 507E.8.
15 Sec. 2. Section 507E.2, Code 2019, is amended to read as
16follows:
17507E.2 Purpose Insurance fraud bureau.
181. An insurance fraud bureau is created within the insurance
19division. Upon a reasonable determination by the division,
20by its own inquiries or as a result of complaints a complaint
21 filed with the division, that a person has engaged in, is
22engaging in, or may be engaging in an act or practice that
23violates this chapter or any other provision of the insurance
24 code subject to the jurisdiction of the commissioner, the
25division may administer oaths and affirmations, serve subpoenas
26ordering the attendance of witnesses, and collect evidence
27related to such act or practice.
282. The commissioner shall dedicate a minimum of two
29insurance fraud bureau investigators to the investigation of
30suspected workers’ compensation fraud.
31 Sec. 3. Section 507E.5, subsection 5, Code 2019, is amended
32to read as follows:
335. An insurance fraud bureau investigator or other staff
34member of the bureau is not subject to subpoena in a civil
35action concerning any matter of which the bureau investigator
-1-1or other staff member has knowledge pursuant to a pending or
2continuing investigation being conducted by the bureau pursuant
3to this chapter.
4 Sec. 4. Section 507E.8, Code 2019, is amended to read as
5follows:
6507E.8 Law enforcement officer status authority.
71. Bureau investigators For purposes of an arrest resulting
8from a criminal violation of any provision of the Code subject
9to the jurisdiction of the commissioner established as a result
10of an investigation pursuant to this chapter, an insurance
11fraud bureau investigator shall have the power authority and
12status of a law enforcement officers who by the nature of their
13duties may be required to perform the duties of a peace officer
14when making arrests for criminal violations established as a
15result of their investigations pursuant to this chapter officer
16pursuant to section 80B.3, subsection 3.
172. The general laws applicable to arrests an arrest by a
18 law enforcement officers officer of the state also apply to
19an insurance fraud bureau investigators investigator. Bureau
20investigators An insurance fraud bureau investigator shall
21have the power to execute arrest warrants and search warrants
22for the same criminal violations, serve subpoenas issued for
23the examination, investigation, and trial of all offenses
24identified through their investigations the course of an
25investigation conducted pursuant to this section, and arrest
26upon probable cause without warrant a person found in the act
27of committing a violation of the provisions a provision of this
28chapter.
29 Sec. 5. Section 508E.3, Code 2019, is amended to read as
30follows:
31508E.3 License requirements.
321. a. A person shall not operate as a viatical settlement
33provider or viatical settlement broker without first obtaining
34a license from the commissioner of the state of residence of
35the viator.
-2- 1b. (1) A life insurance producer who has been duly licensed
2as a resident insurance producer with a life line of authority
3in this state or the life insurance producer’s home state for
4at least one year immediately prior to operating as a viatical
5settlement broker and is licensed as a nonresident producer in
6this state shall be deemed to meet the licensing requirements
7of this section and shall be permitted to operate as a viatical
8settlement broker.
9(2) Not later than thirty days from the first day of
10operating as a viatical settlement broker, the life insurance
11producer shall notify the commissioner that the life insurance
12producer is acting as a viatical settlement broker on a form
13prescribed by the commissioner, and shall pay any applicable
14fee of up to one hundred dollars as provided by rules adopted
15by the commissioner. The notification shall include an
16acknowledgment by the life insurance producer that the life
17insurance producer will operate as a viatical settlement broker
18in accordance with this chapter. The notification shall also
19include proof that the life insurance producer is covered by an
20errors and omissions policy for an amount of not less than one
21hundred thousand dollars per occurrence and not less than one
22hundred thousand dollars total annual aggregate for all claims
23during the policy period.
24(3) b. The An insurer that issued the a policy being
25viaticated shall not be responsible for any act or omission of
26a viatical settlement broker or viatical settlement provider
27arising out of or in connection with the viatical settlement
28transaction, unless the insurer receives compensation for the
29placement of a viatical settlement contract from the viatical
30settlement provider or viatical settlement broker in connection
31with the viatical settlement contract.
32c. A person licensed as an attorney, certified public
33accountant, or financial planner accredited by a nationally
34recognized accreditation agency who is retained to represent
35the a viator, whose compensation is not paid directly or
-3-1indirectly by the viatical settlement provider, may negotiate a
2 viatical settlement contracts contract on behalf of the viator
3without having to obtain a license as a viatical settlement
4broker.
52. An application for a viatical settlement provider
6or viatical settlement broker license shall be made to the
7commissioner by the applicant on a form prescribed by the
8commissioner, and the application shall be accompanied by a
9fee of not more than one hundred dollars as provided by rules
10adopted by the commissioner.
113. The A viatical settlement provider or viatical
12settlement broker license term shall be three years and the
13license may be renewed upon payment of the a renewal fee of not
14more than one hundred dollars as provided by rules adopted by
15the commissioner. A failure to pay the fee by the renewal date
16results shall result in expiration of the license.
174. An applicant shall provide information on forms
18required by the commissioner and shall meet all requirements
19pursuant to section 522B.5A if required by the commissioner.
20 The commissioner shall have the authority, at any time, to
21require the an applicant to fully disclose the identity of
22all stockholders, partners, officers, members, and employees,
23and the. The commissioner may, in the exercise of the
24 commissioner’s discretion, refuse to issue a license in the
25name of a legal entity to such applicant if not satisfied that
26any officer, employee, stockholder, partner, or member thereof,
27or employee who may materially influence the applicant’s
28conduct meets the standards of this chapter.
295. A license issued to a legal entity authorizes all
30partners, officers, members, and designated employees to act as
31viatical settlement providers or viatical settlement brokers,
32as applicable, under the license, and all those persons
33shall be named in the application and any supplements to the
34application.
356. 5. Upon the filing of an application and the payment of
-4-1the license fee, the commissioner shall make an investigation
2of investigate each applicant and issue a license if the
3commissioner finds that the applicant complies with all of the
4following:
5a. If a viatical settlement provider, has provided a
6detailed plan of operation.
7b. Is competent and trustworthy and intends to act in good
8faith in the capacity involved by the license applied for.
9c. Has a good business reputation and has had experience,
10training, or education so as to be qualified in the business
11for which the license is applied for.
12d. If a legal entity, provides a certificate of good
13standing from the state of its domicile.
14e. d. If a viatical settlement provider or viatical
15settlement broker, has provided an antifraud plan that meets
16the requirements of pursuant to section 508E.15, subsection 7.
177. 6. The commissioner shall not issue a license to a
18nonresident applicant unless a written designation of an
19agent for service of process is filed and maintained with the
20commissioner or the applicant has filed with the commissioner
21the applicant’s written irrevocable consent that any action
22against the applicant may be commenced against the applicant by
23service of process on the commissioner. If an applicant files
24such consent, service of process made on the commissioner as
25the agent for service of process shall be made as provided in
26section 505.30.
278. 7. A viatical settlement provider or viatical settlement
28broker shall provide to the commissioner new or revised
29information about officers, ten-percent-or-more stockholders,
30partners, directors, members, or designated employees within
31thirty days of the change.
329. 8. An individual licensed as a viatical settlement
33broker shall complete on a triennial basis running concurrent
34with the license term twenty credits of training related to
35viatical settlements and viatical settlement transactions, as
-5-1required by the commissioner; provided, however, that a life
2insurance producer who is operating as a viatical settlement
3broker pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph “b”, shall not be
4subject to the requirements of this subsection. Any person
5failing to meet the requirements of this subsection shall be
6subject to the penalties imposed by the commissioner.
710. 9. Fees collected pursuant to this section shall be
8deposited as provided in section 505.7.
9 Sec. 6. Section 522B.5, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph
101, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
11A person applying for a resident insurance producer license
12shall make application to the commissioner on the uniform
13application, meet all requirements pursuant to section 522B.5A,
14 and declare under penalty of refusal, suspension, or revocation
15of the license that the all statements made in the application
16are true, correct, and complete to the best of the individual’s
17knowledge and belief. Before approving the application, the
18commissioner shall find all of the following:
19 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 522B.5A Criminal history check.
201. In determining eligibility for licensure, the
21commissioner is authorized to require an applicant pursuant to
22subsection 2 to provide to the commissioner the applicant’s
23fingerprints and reasonable fees required to perform a
24state criminal history check through the Iowa single contact
25repository and a national criminal history check through
26the federal bureau of investigation. By submitting such
27fingerprints, the applicant authorizes the commissioner to do
28all of the following:
29a. Submit the applicant’s fingerprints to the department of
30public safety for a state criminal history check and submission
31to the federal bureau of investigation for the purpose of
32conducting a national criminal history check.
33b. Receive the results of the state and national criminal
34history checks directly from the department of public safety
35and the federal bureau of investigation.
-6- 12. The commissioner is authorized to require a state and
2national criminal history check on each applicant that applies
3for any of the following:
4a. An initial license in Iowa as a resident insurance
5producer.
6b. An initial license or an additional line of authority
7under a nonresident insurance producer license if a state and
8national criminal history check has not already been completed.
9c. A renewal, reinstatement, or reissuance of a license if
10a producer’s license has been revoked or suspended pursuant to
11section 522B.11.
12d. An initial license as a viatical settlement provider or
13viatical settlement broker in this state.
143. The commissioner shall require an applicant pursuant
15to subsection 2 to submit a full set of fingerprints and any
16other required identifying information to the commissioner on a
17form prescribed by the department of public safety. In lieu
18of the department of public safety, the commissioner shall be
19authorized to receive an applicant’s criminal history check
20information, requested by the department of public safety
21pursuant to this section, directly from the federal bureau of
22investigation.
234. The commissioner may contract with a third-party vendor
24or the department of public safety for the collection and
25transmission of an applicant’s fingerprints for the purpose of
26conducting a state and national criminal history check. The
27commissioner may agree to reasonable fees to be charged by
28the third-party vendor or the department of public safety and
29may require such reasonable fees to be paid by the applicant
30directly to the third-party vendor or the department of public
31safety.
325. The commissioner shall apply security measures
33consistent with the standards of the criminal justice
34information services division of the federal bureau of
35investigation for the storage of fingerprints and necessary
-7-1identifying information, and shall limit the use of such solely
2to the purposes authorized in this section.
36. The results of a criminal history check conducted
4pursuant to this section shall not be considered a public
5record pursuant to chapter 22. An applicant’s fingerprints and
6any criminal history check information shall not be subject to
7subpoena, other than a subpoena issued in a criminal action or
8investigation, shall be confidential by law and privileged, and
9shall not be subject to discovery or be admissible in evidence
10in a private civil action.
11 Sec. 8. Section 522C.5, Code 2019, is amended to read as
12follows:
13522C.5 Application for license.
141. A person applying for a public adjuster license shall
15make application on a uniform individual application or uniform
16business entity application as prescribed by the commissioner
17pursuant to rules adopted under chapter 17A.
182. In determining eligibility for licensure under this
19chapter, the commissioner shall is authorized to require
20a criminal history check pursuant to section 522B.5A for
21 each individual applying for a public adjuster license to
22submit a full set of fingerprints with the application. The
23commissioner shall also require and for each individual who
24will be acting as a public adjuster of a business entity
25applying for licensure under this chapter to submit a full
26set of fingerprints for each individual who will be acting
27as a public adjuster on behalf of the business entity. The
28commissioner shall conduct a state and national criminal
29history record check on each applicant. The commissioner is
30authorized to submit fingerprints and any required fees to the
31state department of public safety, the state attorney general,
32and the federal bureau of investigation for the performance of
33such criminal record checks.
34a. The commissioner may contract for the collection,
35transmission, and resubmission of fingerprints required under
-8-1this section and may contract for a reasonable fingerprinting
2fee to be charged by the contractor for these services. Any
3fees for the collection, transmission, and retention of
4fingerprints submitted pursuant to this subsection shall be
5paid directly to the contractor by the applicant.
6b. The commissioner may waive submission of fingerprints
7by any person who has previously furnished fingerprints if
8those fingerprints are on file with the central repository
9of the national association of insurance commissioners, its
10affiliates, or subsidiaries.
11c. The commissioner may receive criminal history record
12information concerning an applicant that was requested by the
13state department of justice directly from the federal bureau
14of investigation.
15d. The commissioner may submit electronic fingerprint
16records and necessary identifying information to the national
17association of insurance commissioners, its affiliates,
18or subsidiaries for permanent retention in a centralized
19repository whose purpose is to provide state insurance
20commissioners with access to fingerprint records in order to
21perform criminal history record checks.
22EXPLANATION
23The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
24the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
25This bill relates to the insurance fraud bureau and criminal
26history checks for licenses granted by the insurance division.
27The bill clarifies that the insurance fraud bureau has the
28authority to conduct investigations in all areas under the
29jurisdiction of the insurance commissioner and also clarifies
30the law enforcement authority of an insurance fraud bureau
31investigator. The bill requires the commissioner to dedicate
32a minimum of two insurance fraud bureau investigators to the
33investigation of suspected workers’ compensation fraud.
34The bill authorizes the commissioner to require new
35applicants licensed under the commissioner’s jurisdiction to
-9-1submit fingerprints. The bill does not apply to current Iowa
2producers in good standing.
3The bill provides that by submitting fingerprints an
4applicant is authorizing the commissioner to submit such
5fingerprints to the department of public safety for a state
6criminal history check and for submission to the federal bureau
7of investigation for a national criminal history check. The
8applicant is also authorizing the department of public safety
9and the federal bureau of investigation to send the results of
10the criminal history checks directly to the commissioner. The
11bill also provides that the federal bureau of investigation may
12send the criminal history results directly to the commissioner
13rather than to the department of public safety.
14The bill authorizes the commissioner to contract with a
15third-party vendor or the department of public safety for the
16collection and submission of applicants’ fingerprints. The
17commissioner may agree to reasonable fees to be charged by the
18vendor or by the department of public safety.
19The commissioner is required to apply security measures for
20the storage of fingerprints and must limit use of fingerprints
21to purposes authorized in the bill. The bill provides that an
22applicant’s criminal history check is not a public record under
23Code chapter 22. An applicant’s fingerprints and criminal
24history check are only subject to a subpoena issued in a
25criminal action or investigation, shall be confidential by law
26and privileged, and are not subject to discovery or admissible
27in a private civil action.
28The bill requires any person operating as either a viatical
29settlement provider or viatical settlement broker to be
30licensed and no longer allows an exception for a life insurance
31producer licensed for at least one year as a resident producer
32in this state, or the producer’s home state, to operate as
33a viatical settlement broker. The bill no longer permits a
34license to be issued to a legal entity, as is currently allowed
35by law, to operate as either a viatical settlement provider or
-10-1viatical settlement broker.
-11-ko/rn
2checks for licenses granted by the insurance division, and
3resolving inconsistencies.
4BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 Section 1. Section 502.604A, Code 2019, is amended to read
2as follows:
3502.604A Limited law Law enforcement authority.
4The administrator or the administrator’s designee, when
5carrying out the provisions of section 502.603 or 502.604, may
6develop, share, and receive information related to any law
7enforcement purpose, including any criminal investigation.
8The administrator or designee shall not have the authority to
9issue criminal subpoenas or make arrests. The administrator
10or designee shall not be considered a peace officer, including
11as provided in chapter 801. An insurance fraud bureau
12investigator shall be authorized to conduct an investigation
13under article 5 of this chapter and shall have law enforcement
14authority pursuant to section 507E.8.
15 Sec. 2. Section 507E.2, Code 2019, is amended to read as
16follows:
17507E.2 Purpose Insurance fraud bureau.
181. An insurance fraud bureau is created within the insurance
19division. Upon a reasonable determination by the division,
20by its own inquiries or as a result of complaints a complaint
21 filed with the division, that a person has engaged in, is
22engaging in, or may be engaging in an act or practice that
23violates this chapter or any other provision of the insurance
24 code subject to the jurisdiction of the commissioner, the
25division may administer oaths and affirmations, serve subpoenas
26ordering the attendance of witnesses, and collect evidence
27related to such act or practice.
282. The commissioner shall dedicate a minimum of two
29insurance fraud bureau investigators to the investigation of
30suspected workers’ compensation fraud.
31 Sec. 3. Section 507E.5, subsection 5, Code 2019, is amended
32to read as follows:
335. An insurance fraud bureau investigator or other staff
34member of the bureau is not subject to subpoena in a civil
35action concerning any matter of which the bureau investigator
-1-1or other staff member has knowledge pursuant to a pending or
2continuing investigation being conducted by the bureau pursuant
3to this chapter.
4 Sec. 4. Section 507E.8, Code 2019, is amended to read as
5follows:
6507E.8 Law enforcement officer status authority.
71. Bureau investigators For purposes of an arrest resulting
8from a criminal violation of any provision of the Code subject
9to the jurisdiction of the commissioner established as a result
10of an investigation pursuant to this chapter, an insurance
11fraud bureau investigator shall have the power authority and
12status of a law enforcement officers who by the nature of their
13duties may be required to perform the duties of a peace officer
14when making arrests for criminal violations established as a
15result of their investigations pursuant to this chapter officer
16pursuant to section 80B.3, subsection 3.
172. The general laws applicable to arrests an arrest by a
18 law enforcement officers officer of the state also apply to
19an insurance fraud bureau investigators investigator. Bureau
20investigators An insurance fraud bureau investigator shall
21have the power to execute arrest warrants and search warrants
22for the same criminal violations, serve subpoenas issued for
23the examination, investigation, and trial of all offenses
24identified through their investigations the course of an
25investigation conducted pursuant to this section, and arrest
26upon probable cause without warrant a person found in the act
27of committing a violation of the provisions a provision of this
28chapter.
29 Sec. 5. Section 508E.3, Code 2019, is amended to read as
30follows:
31508E.3 License requirements.
321. a. A person shall not operate as a viatical settlement
33provider or viatical settlement broker without first obtaining
34a license from the commissioner of the state of residence of
35the viator.
-2- 1b. (1) A life insurance producer who has been duly licensed
2as a resident insurance producer with a life line of authority
3in this state or the life insurance producer’s home state for
4at least one year immediately prior to operating as a viatical
5settlement broker and is licensed as a nonresident producer in
6this state shall be deemed to meet the licensing requirements
7of this section and shall be permitted to operate as a viatical
8settlement broker.
9(2) Not later than thirty days from the first day of
10operating as a viatical settlement broker, the life insurance
11producer shall notify the commissioner that the life insurance
12producer is acting as a viatical settlement broker on a form
13prescribed by the commissioner, and shall pay any applicable
14fee of up to one hundred dollars as provided by rules adopted
15by the commissioner. The notification shall include an
16acknowledgment by the life insurance producer that the life
17insurance producer will operate as a viatical settlement broker
18in accordance with this chapter. The notification shall also
19include proof that the life insurance producer is covered by an
20errors and omissions policy for an amount of not less than one
21hundred thousand dollars per occurrence and not less than one
22hundred thousand dollars total annual aggregate for all claims
23during the policy period.
24(3) b. The An insurer that issued the a policy being
25viaticated shall not be responsible for any act or omission of
26a viatical settlement broker or viatical settlement provider
27arising out of or in connection with the viatical settlement
28transaction, unless the insurer receives compensation for the
29placement of a viatical settlement contract from the viatical
30settlement provider or viatical settlement broker in connection
31with the viatical settlement contract.
32c. A person licensed as an attorney, certified public
33accountant, or financial planner accredited by a nationally
34recognized accreditation agency who is retained to represent
35the a viator, whose compensation is not paid directly or
-3-1indirectly by the viatical settlement provider, may negotiate a
2 viatical settlement contracts contract on behalf of the viator
3without having to obtain a license as a viatical settlement
4broker.
52. An application for a viatical settlement provider
6or viatical settlement broker license shall be made to the
7commissioner by the applicant on a form prescribed by the
8commissioner, and the application shall be accompanied by a
9fee of not more than one hundred dollars as provided by rules
10adopted by the commissioner.
113. The A viatical settlement provider or viatical
12settlement broker license term shall be three years and the
13license may be renewed upon payment of the a renewal fee of not
14more than one hundred dollars as provided by rules adopted by
15the commissioner. A failure to pay the fee by the renewal date
16results shall result in expiration of the license.
174. An applicant shall provide information on forms
18required by the commissioner and shall meet all requirements
19pursuant to section 522B.5A if required by the commissioner.
20 The commissioner shall have the authority, at any time, to
21require the an applicant to fully disclose the identity of
22all stockholders, partners, officers, members, and employees,
23and the. The commissioner may, in the exercise of the
24 commissioner’s discretion, refuse to issue a license in the
25name of a legal entity to such applicant if not satisfied that
26any officer, employee, stockholder, partner, or member thereof,
27or employee who may materially influence the applicant’s
28conduct meets the standards of this chapter.
295. A license issued to a legal entity authorizes all
30partners, officers, members, and designated employees to act as
31viatical settlement providers or viatical settlement brokers,
32as applicable, under the license, and all those persons
33shall be named in the application and any supplements to the
34application.
356. 5. Upon the filing of an application and the payment of
-4-1the license fee, the commissioner shall make an investigation
2of investigate each applicant and issue a license if the
3commissioner finds that the applicant complies with all of the
4following:
5a. If a viatical settlement provider, has provided a
6detailed plan of operation.
7b. Is competent and trustworthy and intends to act in good
8faith in the capacity involved by the license applied for.
9c. Has a good business reputation and has had experience,
10training, or education so as to be qualified in the business
11for which the license is applied for.
12d. If a legal entity, provides a certificate of good
13standing from the state of its domicile.
14e. d. If a viatical settlement provider or viatical
15settlement broker, has provided an antifraud plan that meets
16the requirements of pursuant to section 508E.15, subsection 7.
177. 6. The commissioner shall not issue a license to a
18nonresident applicant unless a written designation of an
19agent for service of process is filed and maintained with the
20commissioner or the applicant has filed with the commissioner
21the applicant’s written irrevocable consent that any action
22against the applicant may be commenced against the applicant by
23service of process on the commissioner. If an applicant files
24such consent, service of process made on the commissioner as
25the agent for service of process shall be made as provided in
26section 505.30.
278. 7. A viatical settlement provider or viatical settlement
28broker shall provide to the commissioner new or revised
29information about officers, ten-percent-or-more stockholders,
30partners, directors, members, or designated employees within
31thirty days of the change.
329. 8. An individual licensed as a viatical settlement
33broker shall complete on a triennial basis running concurrent
34with the license term twenty credits of training related to
35viatical settlements and viatical settlement transactions, as
-5-1required by the commissioner; provided, however, that a life
2insurance producer who is operating as a viatical settlement
3broker pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph “b”, shall not be
4subject to the requirements of this subsection. Any person
5failing to meet the requirements of this subsection shall be
6subject to the penalties imposed by the commissioner.
710. 9. Fees collected pursuant to this section shall be
8deposited as provided in section 505.7.
9 Sec. 6. Section 522B.5, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph
101, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
11A person applying for a resident insurance producer license
12shall make application to the commissioner on the uniform
13application, meet all requirements pursuant to section 522B.5A,
14 and declare under penalty of refusal, suspension, or revocation
15of the license that the all statements made in the application
16are true, correct, and complete to the best of the individual’s
17knowledge and belief. Before approving the application, the
18commissioner shall find all of the following:
19 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 522B.5A Criminal history check.
201. In determining eligibility for licensure, the
21commissioner is authorized to require an applicant pursuant to
22subsection 2 to provide to the commissioner the applicant’s
23fingerprints and reasonable fees required to perform a
24state criminal history check through the Iowa single contact
25repository and a national criminal history check through
26the federal bureau of investigation. By submitting such
27fingerprints, the applicant authorizes the commissioner to do
28all of the following:
29a. Submit the applicant’s fingerprints to the department of
30public safety for a state criminal history check and submission
31to the federal bureau of investigation for the purpose of
32conducting a national criminal history check.
33b. Receive the results of the state and national criminal
34history checks directly from the department of public safety
35and the federal bureau of investigation.
-6- 12. The commissioner is authorized to require a state and
2national criminal history check on each applicant that applies
3for any of the following:
4a. An initial license in Iowa as a resident insurance
5producer.
6b. An initial license or an additional line of authority
7under a nonresident insurance producer license if a state and
8national criminal history check has not already been completed.
9c. A renewal, reinstatement, or reissuance of a license if
10a producer’s license has been revoked or suspended pursuant to
11section 522B.11.
12d. An initial license as a viatical settlement provider or
13viatical settlement broker in this state.
143. The commissioner shall require an applicant pursuant
15to subsection 2 to submit a full set of fingerprints and any
16other required identifying information to the commissioner on a
17form prescribed by the department of public safety. In lieu
18of the department of public safety, the commissioner shall be
19authorized to receive an applicant’s criminal history check
20information, requested by the department of public safety
21pursuant to this section, directly from the federal bureau of
22investigation.
234. The commissioner may contract with a third-party vendor
24or the department of public safety for the collection and
25transmission of an applicant’s fingerprints for the purpose of
26conducting a state and national criminal history check. The
27commissioner may agree to reasonable fees to be charged by
28the third-party vendor or the department of public safety and
29may require such reasonable fees to be paid by the applicant
30directly to the third-party vendor or the department of public
31safety.
325. The commissioner shall apply security measures
33consistent with the standards of the criminal justice
34information services division of the federal bureau of
35investigation for the storage of fingerprints and necessary
-7-1identifying information, and shall limit the use of such solely
2to the purposes authorized in this section.
36. The results of a criminal history check conducted
4pursuant to this section shall not be considered a public
5record pursuant to chapter 22. An applicant’s fingerprints and
6any criminal history check information shall not be subject to
7subpoena, other than a subpoena issued in a criminal action or
8investigation, shall be confidential by law and privileged, and
9shall not be subject to discovery or be admissible in evidence
10in a private civil action.
11 Sec. 8. Section 522C.5, Code 2019, is amended to read as
12follows:
13522C.5 Application for license.
141. A person applying for a public adjuster license shall
15make application on a uniform individual application or uniform
16business entity application as prescribed by the commissioner
17pursuant to rules adopted under chapter 17A.
182. In determining eligibility for licensure under this
19chapter, the commissioner shall is authorized to require
20a criminal history check pursuant to section 522B.5A for
21 each individual applying for a public adjuster license to
22submit a full set of fingerprints with the application. The
23commissioner shall also require and for each individual who
24will be acting as a public adjuster of a business entity
25applying for licensure under this chapter to submit a full
26set of fingerprints for each individual who will be acting
27as a public adjuster on behalf of the business entity. The
28commissioner shall conduct a state and national criminal
29history record check on each applicant. The commissioner is
30authorized to submit fingerprints and any required fees to the
31state department of public safety, the state attorney general,
32and the federal bureau of investigation for the performance of
33such criminal record checks.
34a. The commissioner may contract for the collection,
35transmission, and resubmission of fingerprints required under
-8-1this section and may contract for a reasonable fingerprinting
2fee to be charged by the contractor for these services. Any
3fees for the collection, transmission, and retention of
4fingerprints submitted pursuant to this subsection shall be
5paid directly to the contractor by the applicant.
6b. The commissioner may waive submission of fingerprints
7by any person who has previously furnished fingerprints if
8those fingerprints are on file with the central repository
9of the national association of insurance commissioners, its
10affiliates, or subsidiaries.
11c. The commissioner may receive criminal history record
12information concerning an applicant that was requested by the
13state department of justice directly from the federal bureau
14of investigation.
15d. The commissioner may submit electronic fingerprint
16records and necessary identifying information to the national
17association of insurance commissioners, its affiliates,
18or subsidiaries for permanent retention in a centralized
19repository whose purpose is to provide state insurance
20commissioners with access to fingerprint records in order to
21perform criminal history record checks.
22EXPLANATION
23The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
24the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
25This bill relates to the insurance fraud bureau and criminal
26history checks for licenses granted by the insurance division.
27The bill clarifies that the insurance fraud bureau has the
28authority to conduct investigations in all areas under the
29jurisdiction of the insurance commissioner and also clarifies
30the law enforcement authority of an insurance fraud bureau
31investigator. The bill requires the commissioner to dedicate
32a minimum of two insurance fraud bureau investigators to the
33investigation of suspected workers’ compensation fraud.
34The bill authorizes the commissioner to require new
35applicants licensed under the commissioner’s jurisdiction to
-9-1submit fingerprints. The bill does not apply to current Iowa
2producers in good standing.
3The bill provides that by submitting fingerprints an
4applicant is authorizing the commissioner to submit such
5fingerprints to the department of public safety for a state
6criminal history check and for submission to the federal bureau
7of investigation for a national criminal history check. The
8applicant is also authorizing the department of public safety
9and the federal bureau of investigation to send the results of
10the criminal history checks directly to the commissioner. The
11bill also provides that the federal bureau of investigation may
12send the criminal history results directly to the commissioner
13rather than to the department of public safety.
14The bill authorizes the commissioner to contract with a
15third-party vendor or the department of public safety for the
16collection and submission of applicants’ fingerprints. The
17commissioner may agree to reasonable fees to be charged by the
18vendor or by the department of public safety.
19The commissioner is required to apply security measures for
20the storage of fingerprints and must limit use of fingerprints
21to purposes authorized in the bill. The bill provides that an
22applicant’s criminal history check is not a public record under
23Code chapter 22. An applicant’s fingerprints and criminal
24history check are only subject to a subpoena issued in a
25criminal action or investigation, shall be confidential by law
26and privileged, and are not subject to discovery or admissible
27in a private civil action.
28The bill requires any person operating as either a viatical
29settlement provider or viatical settlement broker to be
30licensed and no longer allows an exception for a life insurance
31producer licensed for at least one year as a resident producer
32in this state, or the producer’s home state, to operate as
33a viatical settlement broker. The bill no longer permits a
34license to be issued to a legal entity, as is currently allowed
35by law, to operate as either a viatical settlement provider or
-10-1viatical settlement broker.
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