Rhode Island § 27-72-12 - Life Settlements Act

§ 27-72-12. Authority to promulgate regulations — Conflict of laws.

(a) The commissioner may:

(1) Promulgate regulations implementing this chapter and regulating the activities and relationships of providers, brokers, insurers, and their agents, subject to statutory limitations on administrative rulemaking.

(2) Provide by regulation that the commissioner is authorized and may in his or her discretion recover the reasonable cost of legal services incurred by the department in enforcement actions under this chapter either from the licensee against whom the action is taken or by way of an assessment of all providers licensed pursuant to § 27-72-3(a). The assessment formula shall be set by regulation based upon information provided in the prior years annual statement filed pursuant to § 27-72-3(l).

(b) Conflict of laws.

(1) If there is more than one owner on a single policy, and the owners are residents of different states, the life settlement contract shall be governed by the law of the state in which the owner having the largest percentage of ownership resides or, if the owners hold equal ownership, the state of residence of one owner agreed upon in writing by all of the owners. The law of the state of the insured shall govern in the event that equal owners fail to agree in writing upon a state of residence for jurisdictional purposes.

(2) A provider from this state who enters into a life settlement contract with an owner who is a resident of another state that has enacted statutes or adopted regulations governing life settlement contracts, shall be governed in the effectuation of that life settlement contract by the statutes and regulations of the owner’s state of residence. If the state in which the owner is a resident has not enacted statutes or regulations governing life settlement contracts, the provider shall give the owner notice that neither state regulates the transaction upon which he or she is entering. For transactions in those states, however, the provider is to maintain all records required as if the transactions were executed in the state of residence. The forms used in those states need not be approved by the department.

(3) If there is a conflict in the laws that apply to an owner and a purchaser in any individual transaction, the laws of the state that apply to the owner shall take precedence and the provider shall comply with those laws.