Unless the person entitled to the funds directs otherwise in writing, a Hawaii insurance producer holding return premium funds must return those funds within:
C. 30 days is correct. Hawaiʻi imposes fiduciary responsibilities on producers who receive premium and return-premium funds. HRS §431:9A-123.5 provides that every licensed producer acts in a trustee capacity with respect to these funds. The producer must either remit the funds to the insurer or person entitled to receive them or maintain them in an appropriate federally insured account located in Hawaiʻi, separate from the producer's personal funds.
The statute specifically states that return premiums must be returned within thirty days unless the person entitled to those funds directs otherwise in writing .
This requirement is closely related to the prohibition against commingling. Premiums belong to the insurer or policyholder, depending on the circumstances; they are not the producer's personal assets. A producer who treats fiduciary funds as personal money can face significant licensing and disciplinary consequences.
Ten and twenty days are not the statutory time period. Sixty days would improperly delay the return of money belonging to the policyholder or other entitled party.
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