Louisiana § RS 22:691.13 - Sanctions

§ RS 22:691.13. Sanctions

            A. Except as provided in R.S. 22:691.5(E)(3), any insurer failing, without just cause, to file any registration statement as required in this Subpart shall be required, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, to pay a penalty of one hundred dollars for each day's delay, to be recovered by the commissioner of insurance and the penalty so recovered shall be deposited upon receipt in the state treasury. The maximum penalty under this Section is ten thousand dollars. The commissioner may reduce the penalty if the insurer demonstrates to the commissioner that the imposition of the penalty would constitute a financial hardship to the insurer.

            B. Every director or officer of an insurance holding company system who knowingly violates, participates in, or assents to, or who knowingly shall permit any of the officers or agents of the insurer to engage in transactions or make investments which have not been properly reported or submitted pursuant to or which violate this Subpart shall pay, in their individual capacity, a civil forfeiture of not more than one thousand dollars per violation. In determining the amount of the civil forfeiture, the commissioner shall take into account the appropriateness of the forfeiture with respect to the seriousness of the violation, the history of previous violations, and such other matters as justice may require.

            C. Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any insurer subject to this Subpart or any director, officer, employee, or agent thereof has engaged in any transaction or entered into a contract which is subject to the provisions of R.S. 22:691.7 and which would not have been approved had the approval been requested, the commissioner may order the insurer to cease and desist immediately any further activity under that transaction or contract. The commissioner may also order the insurer to void any contracts and restore the status quo if the action is in the best interest of the policyholders, creditors, or the public.

            D. Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any insurer or any director, officer, employee, or agent thereof has committed a willful violation of this Subpart, the commissioner may cause criminal proceedings to be instituted by the Nineteenth Judicial District Court in and for the parish of East Baton Rouge, against the insurer or the responsible director, officer, employee, or agent thereof. Any insurer which willfully violates this Subpart may be fined not more than one hundred thousand dollars. Any individual who willfully violates this Subpart may be fined in his individual capacity not more than fifty thousand dollars or be imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than five years or both.

            E. Any officer, director, or employee of an insurance holding company system who willfully and knowingly subscribes to or makes or causes to be made any false statements or false reports or false filings with the intent to deceive the commissioner in the performance of his duties under this Subpart, upon conviction thereof shall be imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than five years or fined not more than fifty thousand dollars, or both. Any fines imposed shall be paid by the officer, director, or employee in his individual capacity.

            F. If at the discretion of the commissioner, it appears that any person has committed a violation of R.S. 22:691.4 and the violation prevents the full understanding of the enterprise risk to the insurer by affiliates or by the insurance holding company system, the violation may serve as an independent basis for disapproving dividends or distributions and for placing the insurer under an order of supervision in accordance with R.S. 22:731 et seq.

            G. An aggrieved party affected by the commissioner's decision, act, or order may seek judicial review of the decision pursuant to R.S. 22:691.17.

            Acts 2012, No. 294, §1; Acts 2015, No. 196, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2016; Acts 2022, No. 185, §1.