La. Admin. Code tit. 37 § XIII-13729

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section XIII-13729 - Conduct of Insurer in Connection with the Preparation of Required Reports and Documents

A. No director or officer of an insurer shall, directly or indirectly:

1. make or cause to be made a materially false or misleading statement to an accountant in connection with any audit, review or communication required under Regulation 98; or

2. omit to state, or cause another person to omit to state, any material fact necessary in order to make statements made, in light of the circumstances under which the statements were made, not misleading to an accountant in connection with any audit, review or communication required under Regulation 98.

B. No officer or director of an insurer, or any other person acting under the direction thereof, shall directly or indirectly take any action to coerce, manipulate, mislead or fraudulently influence any accountant engaged in the performance of an audit pursuant to Regulation 98 if that person knew or should have known that the action, if successful, could result in rendering the insurer's financial statements materially misleading.

C. For purposes of Subsection B of this Section, actions that, "if successful, could result in rendering the insurer's financial statements materially misleading" include but are not limited to actions taken at any time with respect to the professional engagement period to coerce, manipulate, mislead or fraudulently influence an accountant:

1. to issue or reissue a report on an insurer's financial statements that is not warranted in the circumstances due to material violations of statutory accounting principles prescribed by the commissioner, generally accepted auditing standards, or other professional or regulatory standards;

2. to not perform audit, review or other procedures required by generally accepted auditing standards or other professional standards;

3. to not withdraw an issued report; or

4. to not communicate matters to an insurer's audit committee.

D. If the commissioner believes that the company or any other person has not materially complied with Regulation 98 or any request, order and/or directive promulgated hereunder, after notice and opportunity to be heard, the commissioner may impose sanctions, including cease and desist orders, the levy of a civil fine as authorized by law, the suspension or revocation of Insurer' Certificate of Authority and the referral by the commissioner of this matter to the proper law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies pursuant to R.S. 22:11 et seq.

La. Admin. Code tit. 37, § XIII-13729

Promulgated by the Department of Insurance, Office of the Commissioner LR 35:2460 (November 2009).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with the R.S. 22:1 et seq., the "Audited Financial Reports Law"R.S. 22:671 et seq., more particularly R.S. 22:675 and the Administrative Procedure Act. R.S. 49:950 et seq.