Section 12995 Of Article 5. Fee Oversight From California Insurance Code >> Division 3. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 5.
12995
. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, all
uncontested departmental billings for services or assessments
authorized herein, which are not paid within 45 days of the invoice
date, shall be subject to a late charge, unless waived or modified by
the department. The late charge shall be 1 1/2 percent per month of
the balance due. This late charge shall be compounded monthly.
(b) Billings from the department shall be postmarked within five
working days of the invoice date. If the billing is postmarked more
than five working days after the invoice date, the insurer shall be
given 45 days from the date of the postmark to pay the amount due. In
those instances where a billing is postmarked more than five working
days after the invoice date, the insurer is required to submit the
postmarked envelope with payment to avoid a late charge.
(c) Payments shall be postmarked by the due date to avoid a late
charge. Except as provided in subdivision (d), contested billings for
which the original amount is paid to the department after the 45 day
period shall be subject to the late charge, unless waived or
modified by the department. The insurer shall provide written notice
of the contested billing and shall set forth the basis for the
contestability in writing to the department prior to the due date.
(d) Late charges shall be tolled for the portion of the billing
that is contested by an insurer. The commissioner shall consider the
material submitted by the insurer and reach a decision on the
contested billing within 30 days of receiving written notification
that a billing is being contested. The commissioner's written
decision on contested amounts shall be final and written
notification, including a revised amount, if any, shall be provided
indicating the basis for the decision. This written notification
shall also include an invoice date from which an insurer shall be
given 30 days to remit payment. This section shall not preclude an
insurer from filing a petition for writ of mandate in accordance with
the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(e) All late charges collected pursuant to this section shall be
deposited into the General Fund.
(f) This section shall not apply to the Insurance Department
Schedule of Fees and Charges pursuant to Section 12978.