Oklahoma Senate Bill 427 has cleared both chambers of the Legislature and was ordered for Enrollment today. SB 427 includes the following amendments to the state’s Service Warranty Act:
- Eliminates the current requirement to file service contract/warranties for prior approval; instead they must be filed on an Informational basis only;
- Provides the Commissioner of Insurance with the authority to order a Service Warranty Association to stop using a service warranty form if the Department finds that the form is misleading, deceptive or otherwise violates the service warranty law;
- Relaxes the current requirement that a Service Warranty Association’s Oklahoma license number appear on each service warranty form such that it now may either be pre-printed on the service warranty for OR may be added at the time of sale to the consumer;
- Eliminates the requirement to file a listing of the Service Warranty Association’s authorized sales representatives with the Department and instead, requires that an Association maintain a register of such sales reps. An Association must produce the register upon request of the Commissioner of Insurance with ten days’ notice.
- Amends and expands the current Unfair Trade Practices section of the SWA law.
This bill will be effective November 1, 2017. However, the allowance that an SWA’s license number may be added at the time of sale (rather than be pre-printed on the warranty form) may be implemented with forms as soon as July 1, 2017. However, such forms are still subject to prior approval until November 1, 2017, when the “Informational Only” filing protocol becomes effective.