§ 83-18-29. Suspension or revocation of certificate of authority; fine in lieu of suspension or revocation.

(1)  The certificate of authority of an administrator shall be suspended or revoked if the commissioner finds that the administrator: 

§ 83-5-35. Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices defined.

The following are hereby defined as unfair methods of competition and unfair and deceptive acts or practices in the business of insurance. 

(a) Misrepresentations and false advertising of policy contracts. Making, issuing, circulating, or causing to be made, issued, or circulated, any estimate, illustration, circular, or statement misrepresenting the terms of any policy issued or to be issued, or the benefits or advantages promised thereby, or the dividends or share of the surplus to be received thereon; or making any false or misleading statement as to the dividends or share of surplus previously paid on similar policies; or making any misleading representation or any misrepresentation as to the financial condition of any insurer, or as to the legal reserve system upon which any life insurer operates; or using any name or title of any policy or class of policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof; or making any misrepresentation to any policyholder insured in any company for the purpose of inducing or tending to induce such policyholder to lapse, forfeit, or surrender his insurance. 

(b) False information and advertising generally. Making, publishing, disseminating, circulating, or placing before the public, or causing, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, or placed before the public, in a newspaper, magazine, or other publication, or in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter, or poster, or over any radio or television station, or in any other way, an advertisement, announcement, or statement containing any assertion, representation, or statement with respect to the business of insurance, or with respect to any person in the conduct of his insurance business, which is untrue, deceptive, or misleading. 

(c) Defamation. Making, publishing, disseminating, or circulating, directly or indirectly, or aiding, abetting, or encouraging the making, publishing, disseminating, or circulating of any oral or written statement or any pamphlet, circular, article, or literature which is false and maliciously critical of or derogatory to the financial condition of an insurer, and which is calculated to injure any person engaged in the business of insurance. 

(d) Boycott, coercion and intimidation. Entering into any agreement to commit, or by any concerted action committing, any act of boycott, coercion, or intimidation resulting in or tending to result in unreasonable restraint of, or monopoly in, the business of insurance. 

(1)  Unfair methods of competition affecting commerce and unfair or deceptive trade practices in or affecting commerce are prohibited. Action may be brought under Section 75-24-5(1) only under the provisions of Section 75-24-9. 

(2)  Without limiting the scope of subsection (1) of this section, the following unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive trade practices or acts in the conduct of any trade or commerce are hereby prohibited: 

(a) Passing off goods or services as those of another; 

(b) Misrepresentation of the source, sponsorship, approval, or certification of goods or services; 

(c) Misrepresentation of affiliation, connection, or association with, or certification by another; 

(d) Misrepresentation of designations of geographic origin in connection with goods or services; 

(e) Representing that goods or services have sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits, or quantities that they do not have or that a person has a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection that he does not have; 

(f) Representing that goods are original or new if they are reconditioned, reclaimed, used, or secondhand; 

(g) Representing that goods or services are of a particular standard, quality, or grade, or that goods are of a particular style or model, if they are of another; 

(h) Disparaging the goods, services, or business of another by false or misleading representation of fact; 

(i) Advertising goods or services with intent not to sell them as advertised; 

(j) Advertising goods or services with intent not to supply reasonably expectable public demand, unless the advertisement discloses a limitation of quantity; 

(k) Misrepresentations of fact concerning the reasons for, existence of, or amounts of price reductions; 

§ 83-18-29. Suspension or revocation of certificate of authority; fine in lieu of suspension or revocation.

§ 83-5-9. Business to be conducted in corporate name.

Every insurance company, foreign or domestic, shall conduct its business in this state in its own proper and corporate name; and the policies and contracts of insurance issued by it shall be headed or entitled only by its proper and corporate name. When any such company publishes its assets, it shall, in the same connection and with equal conspicuousness, publish its liabilities, computed on the basis allowed for its annual statements; and any publication purporting to show its capital shall exhibit only the amount of such capital as has actually been paid in cash. Any company or any agent thereof issuing or circulating advertisements in violation of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200.00). 

§ 75-2-204. Formation in general.

(1)  A contract for sale of goods may be made in any manner sufficient to show agreement, including conduct by both parties which recognizes the existence of such a contract. 

(2)  An agreement sufficient to constitute a contract for sale may be found even though the moment of its making is undetermined. 

(3)  Even though one or more terms are left open a contract for sale does not fail for indefiniteness if the parties have intended to make a contract and there is a reasonably certain basis for giving an appropriate remedy. 

§ 75-2-206. Offer and acceptance in formation of contract.

(1)  Unless otherwise unambiguously indicated by the language or circumstances 

(a) an offer to make a contract shall be construed as inviting acceptance in any manner and by any medium reasonable in the circumstances; 

(b) an order or other offer to buy goods for prompt or current shipment shall be construed as inviting acceptance either by a prompt promise to ship or by the prompt or current shipment of conforming or nonconforming goods, but such a shipment of nonconforming goods does not constitute an acceptance if the seller seasonably notifies the buyer that the shipment is offered only as an accommodation to the buyer. 

(2)  Where the beginning of a requested performance is a reasonable mode of acceptance, an offeror who is not notified of acceptance within a reasonable time may treat the offer as having lapsed before acceptance. 

§ 77-3-603. Conduct of telephone solicitors regulated.

Any telephone solicitor who makes an unsolicited telephonic sales call to a residential telephone number shall: 

(a) Make calls between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., Central Standard Time, Monday through Friday, and between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Saturdays (no calls shall be made on Sundays); 

(b) Identify himself or herself by his or her true first and last names and the business on whose behalf he or she is soliciting immediately upon making contact by telephone with the person who is the object of the telephone solicitation; and 

(c) Discontinue the call immediately if at any time during the conversation the person being solicited expresses disinterest in continuing the call or sales presentation. 

§ 77-3-603. Conduct of telephone solicitors regulated.

Any telephone solicitor who makes an unsolicited telephonic sales call to a residential telephone number shall: 

(a) Make calls between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., Central Standard Time, Monday through Friday, and between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Saturdays (no calls shall be made on Sundays); 

(b) Identify himself or herself by his or her true first and last names and the business on whose behalf he or she is soliciting immediately upon making contact by telephone with the person who is the object of the telephone solicitation; and 

(c) Discontinue the call immediately if at any time during the conversation the person being solicited expresses disinterest in continuing the call or sales presentation. 

§ 77-3-605. Registration of telephone solicitors with Attorney General; surety bond.

Any telephone solicitor shall apply for a certificate of registration from the Office of the Attorney General as a condition for doing business in this state. The certificate of registration shall be in a form as prescribed by the Attorney General. 

The application for a certificate of registration shall be accompanied by a surety bond in the penal sum of Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) with conditions and in a form prescribed by the Attorney General. The bond shall provide for the indemnification of any person suffering loss as the result of any fraud, misrepresentation or violation of Sections 77-3-601 through 77-3-619 by the principal. The term of the bond shall be continuous, but it shall be subject to cancellation by the surety in the manner described in this section. The surety may terminate the bond upon giving a sixty-day written notice to the principal and to the Attorney General, but the liability of the surety for acts of the principal and its agents shall continue during the sixty (60) days of cancellation notice. The notice does not absolve the surety from liability which accrues before the cancellation becomes final but which is discovered after that date and which may have arisen at any time during the term of the bond. Unless the bond is replaced by that of another surety before the expiration of the sixty (60) days' notice of cancellation, the certificate of registration shall be suspended. Any person required pursuant to this section to file a bond with an application for a certificate of registration may file, in lieu thereof, cash, a certificate of deposit, or government bonds in the amount of Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00). Such deposit is subject to the same terms and conditions as are provided for in the surety bond required herein. Any interest or earnings on such deposits are payable to the depositor. 

§ 77-3-607. Requisites of enforceable contract; certain exceptions; merchant not to charge consumer's account before receipt of copy of contract.

(1)  A contract made pursuant to a telephonic sales call is not valid and enforceable against a consumer unless made in compliance with this section. 

(2)  A contract made pursuant to a telephonic sales call shall: 

(a) Be reduced to writing and signed by the consumer. 

(b) Comply with all other applicable laws and rules. 

(c) Match the description of goods or services as principally used in the telephone solicitations. 

(d) Contain the name, address, and telephone number of the seller, the total price of the contract and a detailed description of the goods or services being sold. 

(e) Contain, in bold, conspicuous type, immediately preceding the signature, the following statement: 

"YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO PAY ANY MONEY UNLESS YOU SIGN THIS CONTRACT AND RETURN IT TO THE SELLER."

(f) Include in its terms any oral or written representations made by the telephone solicitor to the consumer in connection with the transaction. 

(3)  The provisions of this section do not apply to contractual sales regulated under other sections of the Mississippi statutes and to contractual sales of companies which provide telecommunication services and reach binding agreements by telephone for these services. 

(4)  A merchant who engages a telephone solicitor to make or cause to be made a telephonic sales call shall not make or submit any charge to the consumer's credit card account until after the merchant receives from the consumer a copy of the contract which complies with this section. 

(5)  The provisions of this section do not apply to a transaction: 

(a) Made in accordance with prior negotiations in the course of a visit by the consumer to a merchant operating a retail business establishment which has a fixed permanent location and where consumer goods are displayed or offered for sale on a continuing basis; 

(b) In which the consumer may obtain a full refund for the return of undamaged and unused goods or a cancellation of services notice to the seller within seven (7) days after receipt by the consumer, and the seller will process the refund within thirty (30) days after receipt of the returned merchandise by the consumer; 

(c) In which the consumer purchases goods or services after an examination of a television, radio, or print advertisement or a sample, brochure, or catalog of the merchant that contains the name, address and telephone number of the merchant; a description of the goods or services being sold; and any limitations or restrictions that apply to the offer; or 

(d) In which the merchant is a bona fide charitable organization ruled tax-exempt by the Internal Revenue Service. 

§ 77-3-609. Exempt parties and transactions.

The provisions of Sections 77-3-601 through 77-3-619 shall not apply to: 

(a) A person engaging in commercial telephone solicitation where the solicitation is an isolated transaction and not done in the course of a pattern of repeated transactions of like nature. 

(b) A person making calls for religious, charitable, political, education or other noncommercial purposes, or a person soliciting for a nonprofit corporation if that corporation is properly registered as such with the Secretary of State and is included within the exemption of S.501(c)(3) or S.501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code. 

(c) A person soliciting: 

(i) Without the intent to complete or obtain provisional acceptance of a sale during the telephone solicitation; 

(ii) Who does not make the major sales presentation during the telephone solicitation; or 

(iii) Without the intent to complete, and who does not complete, the sales presentation during the telephone solicitation, but who completes the sales presentation at a later face-to-face meeting between the seller and the prospective purchaser. However, if a seller, directly following a telephone solicitation, causes an individual whose primary purpose it is to go to the prospective purchaser to collect the payment or deliver any item purchased, this exemption does not apply. 

(d) Any licensed securities, commodities, or investments broker, dealer or investment advisor, when soliciting within the scope of his license. As used in this section, "licensed securities, commodities, or investments broker, dealer or investment advisor" means a person subject to license or registration as such by the Securities and Exchange Commission, by the National Association of Securities Dealers or other self-regulatory organization as defined by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 781), or by an official or agency of this state or of any state of the United States. 

(e) Any licensed associated person of a securities, commodities, or investments broker, dealer or investment advisor, when soliciting within the scope of his license. As used in this section, "licensed associated person of a securities, commodities, or investment broker, dealer or investment advisor" means any associated person registered or licensed by the National Association of Securities Dealers or other self-regulatory organization as defined by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 781) or by an official or agency of this state or of any state of the United States. 

(f) A person primarily soliciting the sale of a newspaper, magazine or periodical of general circulation by its publisher, or by the publisher's agent through written agreement. 

(g) A book, video or record club or contractual plan or arrangement: 

(i) Under which the seller provides the consumer with a form which the consumer may use to instruct the seller not to ship the offered merchandise; 

(ii) Which is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission trade regulation concerning "use of negative option plans by sellers in commerce"; or 

(iii) Which provides for the sale of books, records or videos which are not covered under paragraphs (i) or (ii), including continuity plans, subscription arrangements, standing order arrangements, supplements and series arrangements under which the seller periodically ships merchandise to a consumer who has consented in advance to receive such merchandise on a periodic basis. 

(h) Any supervised financial institution or parent, subsidiary or affiliate thereof. As used in this section, "supervised financial institution" means any commercial bank, trust company, savings and loan association, mutual savings bank, credit union, industrial loan company, consumer finance lender, commercial finance lender or insurer, provided that the institution is subject to supervision by an official or agency of this state, of any state or of the United States. 

(i) Any licensed insurance or real estate broker, agent, customer representative or solicitor when soliciting within the scope of his license. As used in this section, "licensed insurance or real estate broker, agent, customer representative or solicitor" means any insurance or real estate broker, agent, customer representative or solicitor licensed by an official or agency of this state or of any state of the United States. 

(j) A person soliciting the sale of services provided by a cable television system operating under authority of a franchise or permit. 

(k) A person who solicits sales by periodically publishing and delivering a catalog of the seller's merchandise to prospective purchasers, if the catalog: 

(i) Contains a written description or illustration of each item offered for sale; 

(ii) Includes the business address or home office address of the seller; 

(iii) Includes at least twenty-four (24) pages of written material and illustrations and is distributed in more than one (1) state; or 

(iv) Has an annual circulation by mailing of not less than two hundred fifty thousand (250,000). 

(l) A person who solicits contracts for the maintenance or repair of goods previously purchased from the person making the solicitation or on whose behalf the solicitation is made. 

(m) A telephone company, or its subsidiary or agents, or a business which is regulated by the Mississippi Public Service Commission, or a Federal Communications Commission licensed cellular telephone company or other bona fide radio telecommunication services provider. 

(n) Any publicly traded corporation which has securities registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission which are a reported security within the meaning of subparagraph (4) of Regulation Section 240.11a3-1,(a), under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or which is exempt from registration under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (E), (F), (G) or (H) of paragraph (2) of subsection (g) of Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. Section 781), or any subsidiary of such a corporation. 

(o) A business soliciting exclusively the sale of telephone answering services, provided that the telephone answering services will be supplied by the solicitor. 

(p) A person soliciting a transaction regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission if the person is registered or temporarily licensed for this activity with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. Section 1 et seq.) and the registration or license has not expired or been suspended or revoked. 

(q) A person soliciting the sale of food or produce if the solicitation neither intends to result in, or actually results in, a sale which costs the purchaser in excess of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00). 

(r) A person soliciting business from prospective consumers who have an established business relationship with, or who have previously purchased from, the business enterprise for which the solicitor is calling, if the solicitor is operating under the same exact business name. 

(s) A person who has been operating, for at least one (1) year, a retail business establishment under the same name as that used in connection with telemarketing, and both of the following occur on a continuing basis: 

(i) Either products are displayed and offered for sale, or services are offered for sale and provided at the business establishment; and 

(ii) A majority of the seller's business involves the buyer obtaining such products or services at the seller's location. 

(t) Any telephone marketing service company which provides telemarketing sales services under contract to sellers and has been operating continuously for at least five (5) years under the same business name and seventy-five percent (75%) of its contracts are performed on behalf of persons exempted from Sections 77-3-601 through 77-3-619. 

§ 75-66-3. Buyer's right of cancellation; notice.

(1)  Except as provided in subparagraph (5) of this section, in addition to any right otherwise to revoke an offer, cancel a contract or rescind a contract, the buyer has the right to cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day after the day at which the buyer signs an agreement or offer to purchase which complies with this chapter. 

(2)  Cancellation occurs when the buyer gives written notice of cancellation to the seller at the address stated in the agreement or offer to purchase. 

(3)  Notice of cancellation, if given by certified or registered mail, is given when it is deposited in a mailbox properly addressed and postage prepaid. 

(4)  Notice of cancellation given by the buyer need not take a particular form and is sufficient if it indicates by any form of written expression the intention of the buyer not to be bound by the home solicitation sale. 

(5)  The buyer may not cancel a home solicitation sale if the buyer requests the seller to provide goods or services without delay because of an emergency, and 

(a) the seller in good faith makes a substantial beginning of performance of the contract before the buyer gives notice of cancellation, and 

(b) in the case of goods, the goods cannot be returned to the seller in substantially as good condition as when received by the buyer. 

§ 75-66-5. When buyer's signature required on agreement or offer to purchase or attached statement; contents of documents; effect of seller's failure to comply with section.

(1)  In a home solicitation sale, unless the buyer requests the seller to provide goods or services without delay in an emergency, the seller must present to the buyer and obtain his signature to a written agreement or offer to purchase or his signature to a statement executed simultaneously with and attached to the written agreement or offer to purchase, which written statement, offer to purchase or attached statement, designates as the date of the transaction the date on which the buyer actually signs and contains a statement of the buyer's rights which shall comply with either paragraph 2 or paragraph 3 of this section. 

(2)  The statement must: 

(a) appear under the conspicuous caption: "BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL," and 

(b) read as follows: "If this agreement was solicited at your residence and you do not want the goods or services, you may cancel this agreement by mailing a notice to the seller by certified or registered mail. The notice must say that you do not want the goods or services and must be mailed before midnight on the third business day after you sign this agreement. The notice must be mailed to: ________ (insert name and mailing address of seller). If you cancel, the seller may keep all or part of your cash down payment, but in no event may the seller retain an amount in excess of five percent (5%) of the cash price or the amount of the cash down payment whichever is the lesser." 

(3)  A home solicitation sales contract which contains the notice of cancellation in the form and content required by rule or regulation of the Federal Trade Commission shall comply with the requirements of this section if it contains information to the consumer concerning his right to cancel at least equal to that required by subparagraph (2). 

(4)  Until the seller has complied with this section, the buyer may cancel the home solicitation sale by notifying the seller in any manner and by any means of his intention to cancel. 

§ 75-66-7. Tender to buyer on cancellation or revocation; retention of cancellation fee; rights of buyer on seller's failure to act.

(1)  Except as provided in this chapter, within ten (10) days after a home solicitation sale has been cancelled or an offer to purchase revoked, the seller must tender to the buyer any payments made by the buyer and any note or other evidence of indebtedness. 

(2)  If the down payment includes goods traded in, the goods must be tendered in substantially as good condition as when received by the seller. If the seller fails to tender the goods as provided by this section, the buyer may elect to recover an amount equal to the trade-in allowance stated in the agreement. 

(3)  The seller may retain as a cancellation fee five percent (5%) of the cash price but not exceeding the amount of the cash down payment. If the seller fails to comply with an obligation imposed by this section, or if the buyer avoids the sale on any ground independent of his right to cancel provided by the provisions on the buyer's right to cancel as provided by Section 75-66-3 (1) of this chapter or revokes his offer to purchase, the seller is not entitled to retain a cancellation fee. 

(4)  Until the seller has complied with the obligations imposed by this section, the buyer may retain possession of goods delivered to him by the seller and has a lien on the goods in his possession or control for any recovery to which he is entitled. 

§ 75-66-11. Chapter inapplicable to insurance sales or solicitations.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as to apply to the sale or solicitation of insurance. 

§ 83-17-403. Posing as adjuster prohibited; penalty.

(1)  No person shall act as or hold himself out to be an adjuster in this state unless he is licensed therefor by the Commissioner of Insurance in this state, except that an individual, who is undergoing education and training as an adjuster under the direction and supervision of a licensed adjuster for a period not exceeding twelve (12) months may act as an adjuster without having an adjuster's license, if at the beginning of such training period, the name of such trainee has been registered as such with the commissioner. 

(2)  Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) or by confinement in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and confinement. 

§ 83-17-413. Qualifications for license.

The commissioner shall license as an insurance adjuster only an individual who has otherwise complied with this article and who has furnished evidence satisfactory to the commissioner that: 

(a) He is at least eighteen (18) years of age; 

(b) He is a bona fide resident of this state, or is a resident of a state or country which will permit residents of this state to act as insurance adjusters in such other state or country; 

(c) If he is a nonresident of the United States, he has complied with all federal laws pertaining to employment or the transaction of business in the United States; 

(d) He is a trustworthy person; 

(e) He has had experience or special education or training with reference to the handling of loss claims under insurance contracts of sufficient duration and extent to make him competent to fulfill the responsibilities of an insurance adjuster; and 

(f) He has successfully passed an examination as required by the commissioner in accordance with this article or has been exempted according to the provisions of this article.