Hawaii Insurance Laws, Rules, and Regulations
The statutory framework
Hawaii's insurance law is codified in HRS Chapter 431 (recodified in 1988) and amplified by Title 24 of the Hawaii Administrative Rules. The Insurance Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, headed by the Insurance Commissioner, licenses insurers, producers, and adjusters, examines market conduct, and enforces the unfair trade and unfair claims settlement practice provisions of HRS Article 13.
Licensing
Hawaii licenses adjusters under HRS 431:9A. Independent adjusters represent insurers; public adjusters are compensated by the insured to represent the insured's interest in a first-party claim. A producer (agent or broker) license does not authorize adjusting, and one person cannot act for both sides on the same claim. Salaried staff adjusters handling only their employer-insurer's claims generally fall outside the license requirement, but every adjuster must still comply with the statutes.
Claims conduct
HRS 431:13-103 prohibits misrepresenting policy provisions, failing to acknowledge and act reasonably promptly on claim communications, failing to adopt reasonable standards for prompt investigation, refusing to pay without a reasonable investigation, and offering substantially less than the amount ultimately recovered. Hawaii is a no-fault auto state (HRS 431:10C): minimum limits of $20,000/$40,000 bodily injury, $10,000 property damage, and $10,000 personal injury protection, with a tort threshold before pain-and-suffering claims.
Traps
Questions like to swap independent and public adjusters, or imply a producer license covers adjusting. Another favorite is treating the Hurricane Relief Fund or the Hawaii Property Insurance Association as ordinary private insurers rather than residual-market mechanisms.
Rule of thumb
Match any day count in a question to its cited rule; where no specific deadline applies, the standard is 'reasonably promptly.' A file that cannot show a prompt acknowledgment and a documented decision is a violation waiting to be cited.