1753.
As used in this article, the following terms have the following meanings:(a) “Aggregator site” means an internet website that provides access to information regarding insurance products from more than one insurer, including product and insurer information, for use in comparison shopping.
(b) “Blanket travel insurance” means a policy of travel insurance issued to an eligible group providing coverage for specific classes of persons defined in the policy, with coverage provided to all members of the eligible group without a separate charge to each individual member.
(c) “Cancellation fee waiver” means a contractual agreement between a supplier of travel services and its customer to waive some or all of the nonrefundable cancellation fee provisions of the supplier’s underlying travel contract with or without regard to the reason for the cancellation or form of reimbursement. A cancellation fee waiver is not insurance.
(d) “Eligible group” means two or more persons engaged in a common enterprise, or who have an economic, educational, or social affinity or relationship. An eligible group may include, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(1) An entity engaged in the business of providing travel or travel services, including, but not limited to, tour operators, lodging providers, vacation property owners, hotels and resorts, travel clubs, travel agencies, property managers, cultural exchange programs, and common carriers, or the operator, owner, or lessor of a means of transportation of passengers, including, but not limited to, airlines, cruise lines, railroads, steamship companies, and public bus carriers, wherein, with regard to a particular travel or type of travel or travelers, all members or customers of the group have a common exposure to risk by such travel.
(2) A college, school, or other institution of learning covering students, teachers, employees, or volunteers.
(3) An employer covering a group of employees, volunteers, contractors, board of directors, dependents, or guests.
(4) A sports team, camp, or sponsor thereof, covering participants, members, campers, employees, officials, supervisors, or volunteers.
(5) A religious, charitable, recreational, educational, or civic organization, or branch thereof, covering a group of members, participants, or volunteers.
(6) A financial institution or financial institution vendor, or parent holding company, trustee, or agent of, or designated by, one or more financial institutions or financial institution vendors, including account holders, credit card holders, debtors, guarantors, or purchasers.
(7) An incorporated or unincorporated association, including labor unions, having a common interest, constitution, and bylaws, and organized and maintained in good faith for purposes other than obtaining insurance for members or participants of the association covering its members.
(8) A trust or the trustees of a fund established, created, or maintained for the benefit of and covering members, employees, or customers, subject to the commissioner’s permitting the use of a trust and the state’s premium tax provisions in Section 1756.1 of one or more associations meeting the requirements of paragraph (7).
(9) An entertainment production company covering a group of participants, volunteers, audience members, contestants, or workers.
(10) A volunteer fire department, ambulance, rescue, police, court, first aid, civil defense, or other volunteer group.
(11) A preschool, daycare institution for children or adults, and senior citizen clubs.
(12) An automobile or truck rental or leasing company covering a group of individuals who may become renters, lessees, or passengers defined by their travel status on the rented or leased vehicles. The common carrier, operator, owner, or lessor of a means of transportation, or the automobile or truck rental or leasing company, is the policyholder under a policy to which this section applies.
(13) Any other group for which the commissioner has determined that the members are engaged in a common enterprise, or have an economic, educational, or social affinity or relationship, and that issuance of the policy would not be contrary to the public interest.
(e) “Fulfillment materials” means documentation sent to the purchaser of a travel protection plan confirming the purchase and providing the travel protection plan’s coverage and assistance details.
(f) “Group travel insurance” means travel insurance issued to an eligible group under which individuals of that group may elect to be covered at the individual’s own expense.
(g) “Limited lines travel insurance agent” means any of the following:
(1) A licensed managing general agent or third-party administrator.
(2) A licensed insurance agent, including a limited lines agent.
(3) A travel administrator.
(a) (4) “Limited lines travel insurance agent” means an An insurer designee that is licensed to transact travel insurance, as defined in subdivision (b). (j).
(h) “Primary certificate holder” means an individual who elects and purchases travel insurance under a group travel insurance policy.
(i) “Primary policyholder” means an individual who elects and purchases individual travel insurance.
(b) (j) “Transact” means, for the purposes of this article, the following activities when engaged in by a travel retailer:
(1) Offering and disseminating information to a prospective or current policyholder on behalf of a limited lines travel insurance agent, including brochures, buyer guides, descriptions of coverage, and price.
(2) Referring specific questions regarding coverage features and benefits from a prospective or current policyholder to a limited lines travel insurance agent.
(3) Disseminating and processing applications for coverage, coverage selection forms, or other similar forms in response to a request from a prospective or current policyholder.
(4) Collecting premiums from a prospective or current policyholder on behalf of a limited lines travel insurance agent.
(5) Receiving and recording information from a policyholder to share with a limited lines travel insurance agent.
(k) “Travel administrator” means a person who directly or indirectly underwrites, collects charges, collateral or premiums from, or adjusts or settles claims on residents of this state in connection with travel insurance. A person shall not be considered a travel administrator if that person’s only actions that would otherwise cause it to be considered a travel administrator would fall into any of the following categories:
(1) A person working for a travel administrator to the extent that the person’s activities are subject to the supervision and control of the travel administrator.
(2) An insurance agent selling insurance or engaged in administrative and claims-related activities within the scope of the agent’s license.
(3) A travel retailer offering and disseminating travel insurance and that is registered under the license of a limited lines travel insurance agent in accordance with this article.
(4) An individual adjusting or settling claims in the normal course of that individual’s practice or employment as an attorney and who does not collect charges or premiums in connection with insurance coverage.
(5) A business entity that is affiliated with a licensed insurer while acting as a travel administrator for the direct and assumed insurance business of an affiliated insurer.
(l) “Travel assistance services” means noninsurance services for which the consumer is not indemnified based on a fortuitous event, and when providing the service does not result in transfer or shifting of risk that would constitute the business of insurance. Travel assistance services include, but are not limited to, security advisories, destination information, vaccination and immunization information services, travel reservation services, entertainment, activity and event planning, translation assistance, emergency messaging, international legal and medical referrals, medical case monitoring, coordination of transportation arrangements, emergency cash transfer assistance, medical prescription replacement assistance, passport and travel document replacement assistance, lost luggage assistance, concierge services, and any other service that is furnished in connection with planned travel. Travel assistance services are not insurance and not related to insurance.
(c) (m) (1) “Travel insurance” means insurance coverage for personal risks incidental to planned travel, including one or more of the following:
(A) Interruption or cancellation of a trip or event.
(B) Loss of baggage or personal effects.
(C) Damages to accommodations or rental vehicles.
(D) Sickness, accident, disability, or death occurring during travel.
(E) Emergency evacuation.
(F) Repatriation of remains.
(G) Any other contractual obligations to indemnify or pay a specified amount to the traveler upon determinable contingencies related to travel as approved by the commissioner.
(2) Travel insurance does not include major medical plans, which provide comprehensive medical protection for travelers with trips lasting six months or longer, including, for example, those working overseas as an expatriate or military personnel being deployed. deployed, or any other product that requires a specific insurance agent license.
(3) Travel insurance does not include damage waiver contracts, as defined in subdivision (g) of Section 1939.01 of the Civil Code. The phrase “damage waiver” or “collision damage waiver” cannot be used to describe travel insurance coverage, but the insurance contract may otherwise refer to “damage waiver” or “collision damage waiver” provided by a rental company, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1939.01 of the Civil Code.
(n) “Travel protection plan” means a plan that provides one or more of the following:
(1) Travel insurance.
(2) Travel assistance services.
(3) Cancellation fee waivers.
(d) (o) “Travel retailer” means a business organization that makes, arranges, or offers planned travel services and may offer and disseminate transact travel insurance as a service to its customers on behalf of and under the direction of a limited lines travel insurance agent.