A person that engages in or transacts insurance business in the State, or performs an act relative to a subject of insurance resident, located, or to be performed in the State, shall comply with each applicable provision of this article.

This article does not apply to: a fraternal benefit society, except as provided in Title 8, Subtitle 4 of this article; a nonprofit health service plan, except as otherwise provided in this article; an organization that: is organized and operated as a nonprofit organization exclusively for the purpose of helping nonprofit educational or scientific institutions by issuing annuity contracts only to or for the benefit of those institutions or individuals serving those institutions; irrevocably appoints the Commissioner as attorney to receive service of process issued against it in the State so as to bind the organization and its successors and to remain in effect as long as there is in force in the State a contract or obligation arising from it; is legally organized and qualified to do business and has been actively doing business under the laws of its state of domicile for at least 10 years before July 1, 1977; files with the Commissioner a copy of any contract form issued to residents of this State; files with the Commissioner on or before March 1 of each year: a copy of its annual statement prepared under the laws of its state of domicile; and any other financial material that the Commissioner requests; agrees to submit to periodic examinations as the Commissioner considers necessary; and pays the premium tax imposed by Title 6 of this article on all premiums allocable to this State for life insurance and health insurance in effect for residents of this State; a voluntary noncontractual religious publication arrangement that: is a nonprofit religious organization for which the State may not be held in any way liable or responsible for any of its debts, claims, obligations, or liabilities; publishes a newsletter whose subscribers are limited to members of the same denomination or religion; acts as an organizational clearinghouse for information between subscribers who have medical costs and subscribers who choose to assist with those costs; matches subscribers with a willingness to pay and subscribers with present medical costs; coordinates payments directly from one subscriber to another; suggests amounts to give that are voluntary among the subscribers, with no assumption of risk or promise to pay either among the subscribers or between the subscribers and the organization; does not use a compensated insurance producer, representative, or other person to solicit or enroll subscribers; does not make a direct or indirect representation that it is operating in a financially sound manner or that it has had a successful history of meeting subscribers’ medical costs; provides to each subscriber a written monthly statement listing both the total dollar amount of qualified medical costs submitted for publication and the amount actually published and assigned for payment; does not use funds paid by subscribers for medical costs to cover administrative costs; submits a registration statement, including a copy of any application forms and guidelines, promotional, or informational material distributed by or on behalf of the arrangement, to the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of Title 6, Subtitle 4 of the Business Regulation Article; and provides the following verbatim written disclaimer as a separate cover sheet for any and all documents distributed by or on behalf of the exempt arrangement, including applications, guidelines, promotional, or informational material and all periodic publications: “Notice This publication is not issued by an insurance company nor is it offered through an insurance company. It does not guarantee or promise that your medical bills will be published or assigned to others for payment. No other subscriber will be compelled to contribute toward the cost of your medical bills. Therefore, this publication should never be considered a substitute for an insurance policy. This activity is not regulated by the State Insurance Administration, and your liabilities are not covered by the Life and Health Guaranty Fund. Whether or not you receive any payments for medical expenses and whether or not this entity continues to operate, you are always liable for any unpaid bills.”; or except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a self–funded student health plan operated by an independent institution of higher education, as defined in § 10–101 of the Education Article, that provides health care services to its students and their dependents if the institution files on July 1 each year, for the student health plan that will be offered to students for the upcoming school year, a report with the Commissioner certifying under penalties of perjury that: the student health plan satisfies any applicable minimum essential coverage standards under federal law; the institution pledges assets sufficient to support the liabilities of the student health plan; the institution demonstrates an ability to operate the student health plan in a sound manner by having operated an employer–sponsored plan, as defined in § 15–1401 of this article, in the prior calendar year with at least 10,000 enrollees, including employees and their dependents; the institution maintains at least an AA bond rating by one of the major credit rating agencies; and the institution operates the student health plan in compliance with Title 15, Subtitles 10A and 10D of this article. Title 15, Subtitles 10A and 10D of this article apply to a self–funded student health plan operated by an independent institution of higher education, as defined in § 10–101 of the Education Article, that provides health care services to its students and their dependents.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “Certificate of guarantee” means an instrument that is issued: by a nonprofit association of contractors, or its wholly owned subsidiary that is approved to operate by a county; and on behalf of a contractor for the purpose of satisfying: county bond requirements for public improvements; or other county bond requirements. “Contractor” means a person that, for a fixed price, commission, fee, or percentage, undertakes to bid on or accepts or offers to accept orders or contracts to perform or supervise the construction, improvement, or maintenance of a building, structure, or road. This article does not apply to a certificate of guarantee. A county: may honor certificates of guarantee; but is not required under this article to honor certificates of guarantee.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “Utility provider” means: a public or private provider of electricity, gas, water, wastewater, solid waste collection, or similar service; or a provider of communications services involving the transmission, conveyance, or routing of voice, data, audio, video, or any other information or signals, to a point, or between or among points, by or through an electronic, radio, satellite, cable, optical, microwave, or other medium or method in existence now or in the future, regardless of the protocol used for transmission. “Utility provider” includes cable service, Internet access service, voice over Internet service, telephone or wireless telephone service, and other similar providers. “Waiver of customer liability” means an optional agreement: between a utility provider and a customer of the utility provider; that is contained in: the agreement under which the utility provider provides services to the customer; or a separate agreement between the utility provider and the customer; and under which the utility provider agrees, in return for a specified charge payable by the customer to the utility provider, to waive all or part of the customer’s liability to the utility provider for incurred charges during a defined period in the event of any of the following qualifying events or conditions involving the customer: call to active service in the uniformed services; involuntary unemployment; death; disability; hospitalization; marriage; divorce; evacuation; displacement due to natural disaster or other cause; qualification for family leave; or any other similar event or condition. Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, a waiver of customer liability is not considered insurance for purposes of this article.

Except for provisions governing the reporting and investigation of workers’ compensation insurance fraud claims under § 2–201, Title 2, Subtitle 4, and Title 27, Subtitles 4 and 8 of this article, for the purpose of workers’ compensation insurance, this article does not apply to an employer who: participates in a governmental self–insurance group under § 9–404 of the Labor and Employment Article; or self–insures under § 9–405 of the Labor and Employment Article.

A county or municipal corporation of the State may not: require an insurer, insurance producer, adjuster, public adjuster, or advisor to obtain a local certificate of authority or certificate of qualification to transact insurance business in that county or municipal corporation; or impose a local occupational tax or fee for transacting insurance business. This section does not preempt or prevent the taxation and regulation of persons engaged in the bail bond business other than corporate sureties and their insurance producers that are required to be licensed under this article.

The provisions of this article supersede any inconsistent provisions of any other part of the Code.

A provision of this article that relates to a particular kind of insurance, particular type of insurer, or particular matter prevails over a provision that relates to insurance in general, insurers in general, or that matter in general.

A requirement in this article that a document be under oath means that the document shall be supported by: a written statement signed by the individual making it in which the individual solemnly affirms under the penalties of perjury that the contents of the document are true to the best of the individual’s knowledge, information, and belief; or a certification of an officer authorized to administer an oath that a named individual made oath that the contents of the document are true to the best of the individual’s knowledge, information, and belief.