§691.13. Sanctions
A. Except as provided in R.S. 22:691.5(E)(3), any insurer failing, without just cause,
to file any registration statement as required in this Subpart shall be required, after notice and
an opportunity to be heard, to pay a penalty of one hundred dollars for each day's delay, to
be recovered by the commissioner of insurance and the penalty so recovered shall be
deposited upon receipt in the state treasury. The maximum penalty under this Section is ten
thousand dollars. The commissioner may reduce the penalty if the insurer demonstrates to
the commissioner that the imposition of the penalty would constitute a financial hardship to
the insurer.
B. Every director or officer of an insurance holding company system who knowingly
violates, participates in, or assents to, or who knowingly shall permit any of the officers or
agents of the insurer to engage in transactions or make investments which have not been
properly reported or submitted pursuant to or which violate this Subpart shall pay, in their
individual capacity, a civil forfeiture of not more than one thousand dollars per violation.
In determining the amount of the civil forfeiture, the commissioner shall take into account
the appropriateness of the forfeiture with respect to the seriousness of the violation, the
history of previous violations, and such other matters as justice may require.
C. Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any insurer subject to this Subpart
or any director, officer, employee, or agent thereof has engaged in any transaction or entered
into a contract which is subject to the provisions of R.S. 22:691.7 and which would not have
been approved had the approval been requested, the commissioner may order the insurer to
cease and desist immediately any further activity under that transaction or contract. The
commissioner may also order the insurer to void any contracts and restore the status quo if
the action is in the best interest of the policyholders, creditors, or the public.
D. Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any insurer or any director, officer,
employee, or agent thereof has committed a willful violation of this Subpart, the
commissioner may cause criminal proceedings to be instituted by the Nineteenth Judicial
District Court in and for the parish of East Baton Rouge, against the insurer or the
responsible director, officer, employee, or agent thereof. Any insurer which willfully violates
this Subpart may be fined not more than one hundred thousand dollars. Any individual who
willfully violates this Subpart may be fined in his individual capacity not more than fifty
thousand dollars or be imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than five years or
both.
E. Any officer, director, or employee of an insurance holding company system who
willfully and knowingly subscribes to or makes or causes to be made any false statements or
false reports or false filings with the intent to deceive the commissioner in the performance
of his duties under this Subpart, upon conviction thereof shall be imprisoned with or without
hard labor for not more than five years or fined not more than fifty thousand dollars, or both.
Any fines imposed shall be paid by the officer, director, or employee in his individual
capacity.
F. If at the discretion of the commissioner, it appears that any person has committed
a violation of R.S. 22:691.4 and the violation prevents the full understanding of the
enterprise risk to the insurer by affiliates or by the insurance holding company system, the
violation may serve as an independent basis for disapproving dividends or distributions and
for placing the insurer under an order of supervision in accordance with R.S. 22:731 et seq.
G. An aggrieved party affected by the commissioner's decision, act, or order may
seek judicial review of the decision pursuant to R.S. 22:691.17.
Acts 2012, No. 294, §1; Acts 2015, No. 196, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2016; Acts 2022, No.
185, §1.