Need help navigating the service contract, extended warranty or GAP waiver regulatory process?

If you are a provider, administrator, seller or insurer of service contracts or GAP waivers; or want to be, let us be your guide to all the state service contract/extended warranty and GAP waiver laws around the country.  We can help guide you through the licensing and registration hoops;  and also help you establish and maintain a compliant service contract, extended warranty or GAP program.

The Service Contracts Compass is designed to assist companies like yours by providing valuable information about changes in laws and regulations which may impact your service contract or GAP waiver programn and by offering compliance consulting services that can help you keep pace with the insurance laws. service contract laws and GAP waiver laws that govern your industry.

Depending on how your service contract program is structured, or if you are just starting out, some or all of the questions below may be worth exploring…and we can help!

– Do you wonder about recent law changes and need help implementing them accurately and timely?

– Do you need help developing a strategy to expand your program into other states?

– Are you considering the acquisition of an existing provider or program and need a due diligence audit?

– Do you and your program partners have the right license(s) for the kinds of service contracts that you offer or sell?

– Do you qualify for any exemptions that you may be unaware of?

– Are you calculating and returning refunds accurately in every jurisdiction?

– Could you benefit from a limited scope operational audit conducted by someone that is “on your team” to help identify potential regulatory problems before a regulator does?

– Do you have a knowledgeable resource who can offer issue-by-issue and state-by-state support for regulatory matters that may arise regarding your service contract program?

Be proactive rather than reactive!  Whether it’s regulatory filing support, contract analysis, or help communicating with a regulator, we have the experience and expertise in the world of service contract laws to offer strategies and solutions for every aspect of your program.

Please explore other areas of this site and be sure to read more about our firm’s practice group and its services. Check out our Service Contract and Extended Warranty Law Services and learn more about our Insurance Regulatory Practice Group.

Oklahoma – Forms No Longer Subject to Prior Approval !

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.

 

 

 

The information on this website is provided solely for informational purposes and presents only highly condensed summaries or general information relating to the topics presented. Therefore, it should not be relied upon as a complete record for purposes of regulatory compliance, nor is it intended to furnish legal advice adequate to any particular circumstances.  (c) Copyright Shirley F. Kerns 2016