# Title 26.1 — Insurance

## Chapter 26.1-26.9 — Self-Service Storage Insurance

### § 26.1-26.9-01. Definitions.

For purposes of this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Location" means any physical location in this state or any website, call center site, or
similar location directed to residents of this state.
2. "Occupant" means the person who rents a space at a self-service storage facility
under a rental agreement, or a sublessee, successor, or assignee of the renter.
3. "Owner" means any person who owns, leases, subleases, manages, or operates a
self-service storage facility and receives rent from an occupant under a rental
agreement.
4. "Personal property" means movable property not affixed to land, including
merchandise and household goods.
5. "Rental agreement" means a written agreement between the owner and the occupant
which establishes or modifies the terms and conditions of the occupant's use of a
space at a self-service storage facility.
6. "Self-service storage facility" means any real property used for renting or leasing
individual spaces in which occupants customarily store and remove their personal
property. The term does not include a garage used principally for parking motor
vehicles; any property of a financial institution which contains vaults, safe deposit
boxes, or other receptacles for the purpose and benefit of the financial institution's
customers; or a warehouse where warehouse receipts, bills of lading, or other
documents of title are issued for the personal property stored.
7. "Self-service storage insurance" means personal property insurance offered in
connection with and incidental to the rental of a space at a self-service storage facility
and which provides coverage to occupants at the self-service storage facility where the
insurance is transacted for the loss of or damage to personal property occurring at the
facility or when the property is in transit to or from the facility during the period of the
rental agreement.
8. "Supervising entity" means a person that is a licensed insurer or insurance producer
appointed by an insurer to supervise the administration of a self-service storage
insurance program.
### § 26.1-26.9-02. Licensure of owners.

1. An owner shall obtain from the insurance commissioner and hold a limited lines
license under this section if the owner sells, solicits, or offers coverage for self-service
storage insurance. This section does not require an owner to be licensed solely to
display and make available to occupants and prospective occupants brochures and
other promotional materials created by or on behalf of an authorized insurer or surplus
lines insurer.
2. A limited lines license issued under this section is limited to authorizing an owner and
the owner's employees and authorized representatives to sell, solicit, and offer
coverage for self-service storage insurance to occupants.
3. A limited lines license issued under this section authorizes an owner and the owner's
employees and authorized representatives to sell, solicit, and offer self-service storage
insurance coverage at each location at which the owner conducts business.
4. The owner or supervising entity shall maintain a registry of owner locations authorized
to sell, solicit, or offer self-service storage insurance coverage in this state. Upon
request by the commissioner, and with five days' notice, the owner or supervising
entity shall provide the registry to the commissioner for inspection and examination.
5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a license issued under this section
authorizes the licensee and the licensee's employees and authorized representatives
to engage only in activities permitted by this chapter in connection with the business of
insurance unless authorized to do so under another license issued by the
commissioner.

### § 26.1-26.9-03. Sale of self-service storage insurance - Requirements.

1. At every location where self-service storage insurance is offered to occupants, the
owner shall make available to occupants brochures or other written or electronic
materials that:
a. Disclose that self-service storage insurance may provide a duplication of
coverage already provided by an occupant's homeowner's insurance policy,
renter's insurance policy, or other source of coverage.
b. State the purchase by the occupant of the self-service storage insurance offered
by the owner is not required to lease a space at the self-service storage facility.
c. Provide the actual terms of the self-service storage insurance coverage, or
summarize the material terms of the insurance coverage, including:
(1) The identity of the insurer;
(2) The identity of the supervising entity;
(3) The amount of any applicable deductible and how the deductible is to be
paid;
(4) Benefits of the coverage; and
(5) Key terms and conditions of the coverage.
d. Summarize the process for filing a claim.
e. State an occupant that purchases self-service storage insurance may cancel
enrollment for the occupant's coverage at any time, and the person paying the
premium shall receive a refund of any applicable unearned premium.
2. The written materials required by this section are not subject to filing or approval
requirements with the commissioner.
3. Self-service storage insurance may be provided under an individual policy or a
commercial, corporate, group, or master policy. Form, policy, and rate filings for
self-service storage insurance must be made with the commissioner in accordance
with this chapter and section 26.1-30-19.
4. Eligibility and underwriting standards for occupants electing to purchase self-service
storage insurance coverage must be established for the self-service storage insurance
program.
5. The owner is exempt from the examination and education requirements in chapter
26.1-26.
### § 26.1-26.9-04. Authority of owners.

1. Employees and authorized representatives of an owner may sell, solicit, and offer
self-service storage insurance to occupants and are not subject to licensure as an
insurance producer under this chapter if:
a. The owner obtains a limited lines license to authorize the owner's employees and
authorized representatives to sell, solicit, and offer self-service storage insurance
under this chapter.
b. The owner files an acknowledgment with the commissioner in a form and manner
directed by the commissioner that the owner's counter sales employees and
authorized representatives act on the owner's behalf and the owner is
responsible for any representations made by the counter sales employees or
authorized representatives relating to the self-service storage insurance offered
through the owner. The acknowledgment must state the commissioner may take
any administrative action included in this title.
c. The insurer issuing the self-service storage insurance or a supervising entity
supervises the development of a training program for employees and authorized
representatives of the owner. The training required by this subdivision:
(1) Must be delivered to employees and authorized representatives of the
owner who are engaged directly in the activity of selling, soliciting, or
offering self-service storage insurance, and the training materials must be
maintained by the owner and made available to the commissioner for
inspection upon request.

(2) Must include providing each employee and authorized representative with
basic instruction about the self-service storage insurance offered to
customers and the disclosures required under section 26.1-26.9-03; and
(3) May be provided in electronic form, provided the owner or supervising entity
implements a supplemental education program regarding the self-service
storage insurance conducted and overseen by a licensed producer.
d. An employee or authorized representative of an owner may not advertise,
represent, or otherwise be held out to the public as a nonlimited lines-licensed
insurance producer, unless otherwise licensed.
2. An owner's employees and authorized representatives may not be paid directly by an
insurance company, or be paid a commission or any other compensation for the sale
of self-service storage insurance. This section does not prevent an owner from
including the results of selling, soliciting, or offering self-service storage insurance in
an overall performance compensation incentive program for employees and
authorized representatives.
3. The owner may bill and collect charges for self-service storage insurance coverage.
Any charge to the occupant for coverage not included in the cost of the rental of a
space must be separately itemized on the occupant's bill. If the self-service storage
insurance coverage is included with the lease of a space, the owner clearly and
conspicuously shall disclose to the occupant, on the rental invoice or elsewhere, any
self-service storage insurance coverage included with the rental of a space. An owner
billing and collecting the charges is not required to maintain the funds in a segregated
account if the owner is authorized by the insurer to hold the funds in an alternative
manner. All premiums received by an owner from an occupant for the sale of
self-service storage insurance must be considered funds held by the owner in a
fiduciary capacity for the benefit of the insurer. An owner may receive compensation
for billing and collection services.
### § 26.1-26.9-05. Application for license and fees.

1. An owner selling, soliciting, or offering self-service storage insurance shall apply to the
commissioner.
2. a. The applicant shall provide the name, residential address, and other information
required by the commissioner for the supervising entity designated by the
applicant as the person responsible for the owner's compliance with the
insurance laws, rules, and regulations of this state.
b. If the owner derives more than fifty percent of the owner's revenue from the sale
of self-service storage insurance, the names, residential addresses, and other
information required by the commissioner must be provided for all officers,
directors, and shareholders of record having beneficial ownership of ten percent
or more.
3. Each owner licensed under this chapter shall pay to the commissioner a fee as
prescribed by the commissioner.
4. An owner selling, soliciting, or offering self-service storage insurance before the
effective date of this Act shall apply for licensure within ninety days of the application
being made available by the commissioner. An applicant that begins to sell, solicit, or
offer self-service storage insurance after the effective date of this Act shall obtain a
license before selling, soliciting, or offering self-service storage insurance.
### § 26.1-26.9-06. Authority of commissioner to investigate.

Within a reasonable time after receipt of a properly completed application for a license
under this chapter, the commissioner may conduct investigations and propound interrogatories
concerning the applicant's qualifications, residence, business affiliations, and any other matter
the commissioner believes necessary or advisable to determine compliance with this chapter or
for the protection of the public.

### § 26.1-26.9-07. Examination and investigation by commissioner.

If the commissioner believes this chapter has been violated, the commissioner, at the
expense of the insurer involved, may examine, at the offices of the insurer or insurance
producer, whether located within or outside this state, all books, records, and papers of the
insurer or insurance producer, and may examine under oath, the officers, managers, and
insurance producer of the insurer, or the insured, regarding the violation.
### § 26.1-26.9-08. License suspension, revocation, or refusal - Grounds.

The commissioner may suspend, revoke, place on probation, or refuse to continue or issue
a license issued under this chapter if, after notice to the licensee or applicant and a hearing, the
commissioner finds as to the licensee any of the following conditions:
1. A materially untrue statement in the license application.
2. An acquisition or attempt to acquire a license through misrepresentation or fraud.
3. The applicant cheated on an examination for an insurance license.
4. Any cause for which issuance of the license could have been refused had it then
existed and been known to the commissioner at the time of issuance.
5. The applicant or licensee has been convicted of a felony or convicted of an offense, as
defined by section 12.1-01-04, determined by the commissioner to have a direct
bearing on a person's ability to serve the public as a licensee, or the commissioner
finds, after conviction of an offense, the person is not sufficiently rehabilitated under
section 12.1-33-02.1.
6. In the conduct of affairs under the license, the licensee has used fraudulent, coercive,
or dishonest practices, or has shown to be incompetent, untrustworthy, or financially
irresponsible.
7. A misrepresentation of the terms of any actual or proposed insurance contract.
8. The licensee knowingly solicited, procured, or sold unnecessary or excessive
insurance coverage to any person.
9. The licensee has forged another's name to an application for insurance.
10. An improper withholding of, misappropriating of, or converting to one's own use any
moneys belonging to policyholders, insurers, beneficiaries, or others received in the
course of one's insurance business.
11. The licensee has been found guilty of any unfair trade practice defined in this title or
fraud.
12. A violation of or noncompliance with any insurance laws of this state or a violation of or
noncompliance with any lawful rules or orders of the commissioner or of a
commissioner of another state.
13. The licensee's license has been suspended or revoked in any other state, province,
district, or territory for any reason or purpose other than noncompliance with
continuing education programs, or noncompliance with mandatory filing requirements
imposed upon a licensee by the state, province, district, or territory, provided the filing
does not directly affect the public interest, safety, or welfare.
14. The applicant or licensee has refused to respond within twenty days to a written
request by the commissioner for information regarding any potential violation of this
section.
15. Without express prior written approval from the commissioner, the licensee
communicates with a person the licensee knows has contacted the department
regarding an alleged violation committed by the licensee in an attempt to have the
complainant dismiss the complaint.
16. The licensee knowingly accepts insurance business from an individual who is not
licensed.
17. The applicant or licensee knowingly fails to comply with a court order imposing child
support obligation.
18. The applicant or licensee fails to file the required returns or pay the taxes due under
chapter 57-38 or comply with a court order directing payment of any income tax or
employer income tax withholding imposed by chapter 57-38.

### § 26.1-26.9-09. Rulemaking authority.

The commissioner may adopt reasonable rules for the implementation and administration of
this chapter.
