Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 732 § 732.220 — Exclusive agency contracts

Exclusive agency contracts. (1) No domestic insurer shall make any contract whereby any person is granted or is to enjoy in fact the controlling or preemptive right to produce substantially all insurance business for the insurer, unless the contract is filed with and approved by the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services. The contract filed with the director shall be accompanied by such application for approval as the director by rule may consider reasonably appropriate to the purposes of this section. The contract shall be deemed approved unless disapproved by the director within 20 days after date of filing, subject to such reasonable extension of time as the director may require by notice given within such 20 days. Notice of any disapproval shall be delivered to the insurer in writing, stating the grounds therefor. (2) Any such contract shall provide that any such producer of an insurer’s business shall within 90 days after expiration of each calendar year furnish the insurer’s board of directors or other governing body a written statement of: (a) Amounts received under or on account of the contract and amounts expended thereunder during such calendar year, including the emoluments received therefrom by the respective directors, trustees, officers, and other principal management personnel of the producer; (b) Amounts paid by the producer during such calendar year, for any purpose, to any director, trustee, officer, agent or employee of the insurer or to any person who is directly or indirectly the beneficial owner of more than 10 percent of any class of any equity security of the insurer; and (c) Such classification of items and further detail as the insurer’s board of directors or other governing body may reasonably require. (3) The director shall disapprove any such contract if, taking into account the customary and prevailing practices of the insurance business and such opportunities for abuse as may be apparent in any conflicts of interest revealed by the contract or application, the director finds that such contract: (a) Subjects the insurer to charges that are disproportionate to those that the insurer might reasonably be expected to incur under alternative arrangements for the production of the insurer’s business; (b) Is to extend for an unreasonable length of time, taking into account the incentives reasonably necessary to induce the producer to undertake the contract, the prospect of changes which are reasonably likely to render the contract unfavorable to the insurer and such other factors as the director reasonably considers appropriate; (c) Does not contain fair and adequate standards of performance; or (d) Contains other inequitable provision or provisions which impair the proper interests of stockholders, policyholders, members or subscribers of the insurer. (4) The director may, after a hearing held thereon, withdraw approval of any such contract theretofore approved by the director, if the director finds that the bases of the original approval no longer exist, or that the contract has, in actual operation, shown itself to be subject to disapproval on any of the grounds referred to in subsection (3) of this section. (5) This section does not apply as to any contract entered into prior to June 8, 1967, nor to any extension or amendment to such contract to the extent that such extension or amendment may be effected merely by notice and without further consideration. [1967 c.359 §167]