Section 408.280

Title XXVI TRADE AND COMMERCE

Chapter 408

Effective - 28 Aug 1989   

  408.280.  Insurance purchased to secure retail time contract, regulation. — 1.  The amount, if any, included for insurance, if a separate identified charge is made for the insurance, which insurance may be purchased by the seller or other person holding a retail time contract or account under a retail charge agreement, shall not exceed the applicable premium chargeable in accordance with the rates approved by the department of commerce and insurance of this state where such rates are required by law to be approved by such department.  All insurance shall be written by an insurance company authorized to do business in this state and all policies written in this state shall be countersigned by a duly licensed resident agent authorized to engage in the insurance business in this state, unless otherwise provided by law.  A buyer may be required to provide insurance on the goods at his own cost for the protection of the seller or other person holding a retail time contract or account under a retail charge agreement, as well as the buyer, but such insurance shall be subject to limitations provided for in regulations promulgated and issued by the director of finance pursuant to the provisions of subsection 3 of this section.  An additional charge may be made for insurance written in connection with the retail time contract which provides involuntary unemployment coverage.

  2.  The seller or other person holding a retail time contract or account under a retail charge agreement shall, within thirty days after provision for any insurance is agreed to by the buyer, send or cause to be sent to the buyer a policy or policies or certificate or certificates of insurance, clearly setting forth the amount of the premium, the kind or kinds of insurance, the coverage and, if a policy, all the terms, exceptions, limitations, restrictions and conditions of the contract or contracts of insurance, or, if a certificate, a summary of the certificate.

  3.  The amount of any life insurance shall not exceed the amount of the total unpaid balance from time to time under a retail time contract or under a retail charge agreement, except that where the buyer's obligation under a retail time contract is repayable in payments which are not substantially equal in amount, such insurance may be level term insurance in an amount which shall not exceed by more than five dollars the time balance as determined under subsection 5 of section 408.260.  The director of finance, or such agency or agencies as may exercise the powers and duties now performed by such director, shall issue regulations providing for and governing the types and limits of all other insurance and the issuance of policies in connection with retail time transactions.  Nothing in this section shall alter or amend the statutes of this state relating to insurance or affect the powers of the director of the department of commerce and insurance under such statutes.

  4.  The seller shall not decline existing insurance written by an insurance company authorized to do business in this state and the buyer shall have the privilege of purchasing insurance from an agent or broker of his own selection and of selecting his insurance company, except that the insurance company shall be acceptable to the holder, which acceptance shall not be unreasonably or arbitrarily withheld, and further, that the inclusion of the cost of the insurance premium in the retail time contract when the buyer selects his agent, broker or company shall be optional with the seller.

  5.  If any insurance is cancelled, or the premium adjusted, any refund of the insurance premium received by the holder shall be credited to the final maturing payments of the contract except to the extent applied toward payment for similar insurance protecting the interests of the buyer and the holder or either of them.

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(L. 1961 p. 638 § 5, A.L. 1989 H.B. 615 & 563)