Chap. 514.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 4235 of the Code of

Virginia. [S B 304]

Approved March 28, 1922. |

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sec-
tion forty-two hundred and thirty-five of the Code of Virginia be
amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Sec. 4235. Insurance companies to file list of agents; registration
of agents; fine for soliciting insurance without registration—Every
insurance company, except fraternal beneficiary associations, orders
or societies, doing business in this State shall file annually with the
commissioner of insurance, on or before the first day of July, and
at such other times as they may be appointed, a list of the agents
of said company authorized to solicit insurance for it in the State
of Virginia, and each such agent shall be required to secure a certifi-
cate of registration from said commissioner of insurance, for each
company proposed to be represented by him, authorizing him to rep-
resent said company for a period ending on the fifteenth day of
July of each year, the fee for said registration shall be one dollar
per annum; but the commissioner of insurance may, for good cause,
refuse to register such agent, or may, at any time that it may come
to his knowledge that any agent has misappropriated any premium
entrusted to him, or has failed to apply said premium as directed
by the policyholder or prospective policyholder, or has been guilty
of rebating, twisting the policies of other companies, or misrepre-
senting the provisions of the policy he is selling, or of the policies
of other companies, or has violated any of the provisions of section
forty-two hundred and twenty-two of the Code of Virginia, revoke
or suspend the certificate of registration of said agent, The com-
missioner of insurance may summon witnesses against any agent
accused of wrongdoing, and any registered agent may have a hear-
ing before the commissioner of insurance on any charge brought
against him and may introduce evidence in his behalf; but if the
commissioner of insurance revokes or suspends the certificate of
registration of any agent, then such agent can, as a matter of right.
appeal from such decision to the State corporation commission and
such appeal shall be informal and heard at once.

The certificate of registration shall state the date on which it
was issued, the name of the agent, and his address, and the name
of the company represented by him, and shall extend only to the
individual mentioned in it, and not to any clerk or employee of
said agent. |
Before the commissioner of insurance shall issue a certificate of
registration to any person who has not heretofore received such a
certificate, he shall require the company desiring to appoint such per-
son as its agent to solicit insurance for it in this State, to certify
by an executive officer or managing agent thereof, that such company
has duly investigated the character and record of such person, and
satisfied itself that he is trustworthy to act as its agent and intends
to act in good faith as an insurance agent.

Any person soliciting or producing applications for any insurance
company authorized to do business in this State without having first
procured a certificate of registration as hereinbefore prescribed shall
be subject to a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than one
hundred dollars.

This section shall not apply to mutual fire insurance companies
conducting business exclusively in this State and on a strictly mutual
plan which pays its losses wholly from assessments upon its members
and makes no division or distribution of its earnings or profits among
its members.

The fees provided for in this section shall be collected by the
commissioner of insurance and shall be paid into the treasury of the
Commonwealth as provided in section forty-one hundred and ninety-
seven, and placed by the auditor of public accounts to the credit of
the fund for the maintenance of the bureau of insurance.