New Hampshire Insurance Laws, Rules, and Regulations
The regulator and the rulebook
New Hampshire's Insurance Code is administered by the Insurance Department, headed by a Commissioner nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Executive Council. The Commissioner licenses producers and insurers, reviews policy forms, oversees rates under a competitive rating framework, conducts financial and market-conduct examinations, and enforces the unfair trade practice and unfair claim settlement practice statutes.
Producer licensing duties
A license is required to solicit, negotiate, or sell insurance, and licenses are issued by line of authority. Nonresident producers generally qualify through reciprocity when the home-state license is in good standing. Insurers must appoint the producers who act for them and report terminations to the Department. Producers hold premiums in a fiduciary capacity and may not commingle those funds with their own; commissions may be split only with licensed persons, and continuing education must be completed for each license term.
Practices that get tested
Know rebating (offering any part of the commission, or anything of value not stated in the policy, to induce a sale), twisting (misrepresentation used to induce replacement), misrepresentation of policy terms, and unfair claim practices such as failing to investigate promptly, denying without a reasonable basis, or failing to explain a denial. Cancellation and nonrenewal are different acts with different rules: nonpayment of premium permits very short notice, midterm cancellation for other reasons is limited to stated grounds with a longer notice period, and nonrenewal requires advance written notice. Unearned premium is returned pro rata when the insurer cancels and short rate when the insured cancels.
Worked example
A producer offers to rebate $100 of her own commission to win an account and discloses the rebate in writing on the application. The disclosure changes nothing: rebating is prohibited, and both the producer and the insurer can be disciplined.
Traps
Reading a nonrenewal question as a cancellation question and applying the wrong notice period; assuming the Commissioner sets every rate instead of reviewing insurer filings; and assuming a disclosed rebate is lawful.