Effective Date: January 2021

1.   INTRODUCTION

A. Welcome to the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (“NAMIC”, “we”, “us” or “our”) website. Through our www.namic.org website (“Site”) we provide information on our organization as well as news, information, products, and services for the property/casualty insurance industry (collectively, “Services”). Certain areas of the Site have information that is available only to registered Users (as described below). Certain areas of the Site allow you to register for events, purchase products, or register to connected with companies to serve as a director. Throughout these Terms of Use, all references to the Site shall include the websites of affiliates and subsidiaries of NAMIC that are involved with the operation of the Site or the provision of the Services. Your use of our Site and our Services is governed by these Terms of Use and our privacy policy (which is incorporated by reference herein (“Privacy Policy”)) (collectively, these “Terms”). References to “Users”, “you” or “your” mean you as a visitor to our Site, as a registered User, an event registrant, purchaser, or as a member of NAMIC.

IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

B. By using the Site or the Services agree that these Terms (including the Privacy Policy) form a binding agreement between us and you as a user of the Site and/or the Services.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, YOU MAY NOT USE THE SITE OR THE SERVICES. IMPORTANT: THESE TERMS CONTAIN AN ARBITRATION PROVISION REQUIRING ALL CLAIMS TO BE RESOLVED BY WAY OF BINDING ARBITRATION, AND ALSO CONTAINS A CLASS ACTION WAIVER. Please carefully review Sections 13B and 14 of these Terms for more information.

2.   ACCOUNT REGISTRATION

A. While the public areas of our Site are generally available to anyone, the Services (including certain website pages and services we provide) are intended for access and use by individuals who are at least 18 years old and who register with us. If you submit to register as a member by clicking on the checkbox on our “Create Account” Site page you agree to be bound by these Terms. You represent (i) that you are at least 18 years old and reside in a state, region, or country in which the Services may legally be provided, (ii) you are the person whose name and other information have been provided for the account that you have or are creating, (iii) that you have not previously been suspended or removed from the Service, and (iv) that your registration and your use of the Service is in compliance with any and all applicable laws and regulations. If you are using the Service on behalf of an entity, organization, or company, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind such organization to these Terms and you agree to be bound by these Terms on behalf of such organization.

B. Users who register for an account with us are referred to as “Registered Users”. Registered Users have access to additional content (“Additional Content”). All of the information that you supply to us in creating your User account must be accurate. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password.

C. We may use the email you provide to us in your Registered User account profile to send electronic communications to you. By becoming a Registered User you expressly understand that you may receive electronic communications from NAMIC and are freely and expressly consenting to the receipt of these communications.

D. You are responsible for authorizing, deauthorizing and administering account access.

E. You are responsible for maintaining confidentiality of all passwords.

F. We periodically update the database of Registered Users, and we may delete all information on Registered Users for whom there is no activity during the previous two years. Users who are deleted from the database for this reason will be required to reregister (see our re-registration Site page here) for access to the Registered Users area of the Site by submitting new profile information.

3. PRIVACY. We will maintain and use your “Personal Information” as defined and described in our privacy policy (which may be modified from time to time in our discretion, which modifications are effective as of the date posted on our Site.)

4. GRANT OF RIGHT TO ACCESS. We grant you a personal, limited, non-transferable, non-exclusive right to access and use the Site and our Services (Registered Users having the right to access additional content) as set forth in these Terms, provided that (i) you use the Site and the Services according to the Terms; (ii) you will use the Site and the Services only for purposes that are permitted by these Terms; (iii) you will not alter, adapt or otherwise modify any part of the Services other than as may be reasonably necessary to use that part of the Services for their intended purpose(s); (iv) you will use the Site and the Services in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations; (v) you will otherwise comply in full with these Terms; and, (vi) you will not distribute or transfer any portion of the Site on any media without our prior written approval.

5. DISCLAIMER; NO WARRANTIES

A. THE SITE, SERVICES AND THE INFORMATION IN THIS SITE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, TEXT, GRAPHICS, AUDIO, VIDEOS, AND LINKS, ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED OTHER THAN AS EXPRESSLY STATED HEREIN. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, FREEDOM FROM COMPUTER VIRUS, AND WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING, OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR USAGE OF TRADE. WE DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE SITE, OR RELATED TO THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE SITE, OR RELATED TO THE SERVICES OR THE SERVER THAT ENABLES THE SERVICES TO BE AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. WE DO NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF THE CONTENT IN THIS SITE IN TERMS OF ITS COMPLETENESS, CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, ADEQUACY, USEFULNESS, TIMELINESS, RELIABILITY OR OTHERWISE. DEPENDING ON THE STATE IN WHICH YOU RESIDE SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS OR INFORMATION OF THIRD PARTIES, AND YOU RELEASE US FROM ANY CLAIMS AND DAMAGES, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH ANY CLAIM YOU HAVE OR MAY HAVE AGAINST ANY SUCH THIRD PARTIES.

B. Use of the Site is at your own risk. The Site may contain advice, opinions, and statements of various third-party information providers and content providers. NAMIC does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information provided by any information provider or content provider, or any user of the Site or other person or entity. Reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement, or other information shall also be at your own risk. Neither NAMIC nor its information providers or content providers shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error, omission, interruption, use of any content herein, regardless of cause, for any damages resulting therefrom. Transmission and/or receipt of the information contained in the Site does not constitute a professional-client relationship of any kind. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness, and usefulness of any opinions, advice, services or other information provided. All information contained on any Site page is distributed with the understanding that the authors, publishers, and distributors are not rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice or opinions on specific facts or matters, and accordingly assume no liability whatsoever in connection with its use.

C. The information provided on the Site does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. All information, content, and materials available on the Site and via the Services are for general informational purposes only.  Information on this Site may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. Users of the Site should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.   You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of information on the Site without first seeking legal advice from counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Use of the Site or Services or any of the links or resources contained within the Site or Services does not create an attorney-client relationship between the user and NAMIC. 

6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

A. You agree that use of the Site and the Services does not constitute any basis for ownership of the Site or the Service and that we, our affiliates, or our licensors own all legal right, title, and interest in and to the Site and the Services and all information, materials, images, buttons, layout, software, photographs, articles, functions, text, video, and other content solely provided by or on our behalf on the Services. The Site, Service, and the selection and arrangement thereof, are protected under the copyright laws and other intellectual property laws of the United States and other countries. We reserve all rights not expressly granted herein in and to the Site and the Services. Unless otherwise noted, our name and all other trademarks, service marks, trade names, logos or other designations of source displayed on the Site are our property, or that of our affiliates or licensors. Nothing on the Site shall be construed as granting any license or right not expressly set forth herein. Any unauthorized use of the Site or the Services will terminate the permission or license granted herein and may violate applicable law. Any improvements or modifications you suggest to our Site or Service we shall own, and you agree to and do hereby assign to us all your right, title and interest in and to any modifications and improvements automatically upon creation and without the need for further action, consideration, or notice to affect such assignment. Any reproduction, retransmission, or republication of all or part of any graphic images, videos, materials or documents found on the Site is expressly prohibited, unless we or the copyright owner of the material has expressly granted its prior written consent to so reproduce, retransmit, or republish the material.

B. The trademarks, service marks, taglines, and logos of NAMIC and its affiliated entities appearing on the Site are owned by NAMIC or its affiliates, and may not be used in any advertising or publicity, or otherwise to indicate NAMIC’s (or NAMIC’s affiliates’) sponsorship of or affiliation with any product or service, without NAMIC’s prior express written permission. All third-party trademarks, service marks, trade names, logos or other designations of source are the property of their respective owners. Any insurance producer, insurance company, or financial institution logos are the exclusive property of the respective insurance entities, and are used with their permission.

7. LINKS TO THIRD PARTIES’ WEBSITES. The Site may contain links to other sites maintained by third parties. Some third party sites may require visitors to be subscribers to their sites for access to content. NAMIC does not operate or control in any respect any information, products or services on such third-party sites and does not guarantee that the links or any information contained thereon will be accurate at the time of your access. Third party links are included solely for the convenience of users, and do not constitute any endorsement, approval or certification by NAMIC, its affiliates and/or its suppliers of the content of any site referenced by a link or otherwise. You assume sole responsibility for use of third-party links and pointers and disclaimers set forth herein are equally applicable to such third-party websites.

8. THIRD PARTY CONTENT. Any opinions, advice, services, or information made available on the Site by third parties, including information providers and users are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of NAMIC.

9. MODIFICATION OF THE TERMS. We reserve the right to modify the Terms from time to time, with or without notice, and we will post the modified Terms on our Site. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review the Terms periodically to familiarize yourself with any modifications. With respect to such modified Terms, we may, at its sole discretion, require you to accept the then-current Terms via a click-through box. Even without such a “click accept” agreement, your continued use of the Site or Services after such modifications will constitute your acknowledgement and agreement of the modified Terms. Your use of the Site or the Services in any way after a change to the Terms is effective means you agree to the updated Terms.

10. TERMINATION; SUSPENSION

A. We reserve the right to stop providing the Site or the Service to you or access to the Site at any time for any reason and without prior notice.

B. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to terminate any Registered User’s account, without prior notice, for any one or all of the following: (i) if you breach, whether intentional or unintentional, any of these Terms, any supplemental rules and guidelines, any of the terms and conditions of the respective service providers, or any of our rights; (ii) upon our receipt of any third party chargeback associated with any payment method tendered as payment on your account; (iii) if we do not receive a written response from you within 48 hours of any notice sent to you; (iv) if, in our judgment, your use of the Site or the Service has the potential to pose any harm to us, any of our members, affiliates, partners, service providers, or customers; (v) if a hacked script or otherwise compromised website is discovered on our systems at the Service in use by you; (vi) if an unusual spike in resource usage is detected by our systems resulting in an account far outstripping the allotted resources; (vii) if you fail to cure any suspension of your account or any individual Service, to our satisfaction, and within the time frame we specify; (viii) you are no longer eligible to be a Registered User; or, (ix) if, in our judgment, we have received too many complaints about your User Content (where submission of User Content is permitted). In the event of any such termination of your account, you will not be eligible for a refund of any fees and you may be prohibited from reopening your account, opening a new account or accessing any existing account. You agree that we shall not be liable, in any way, for any termination pursuant to this section of the Terms.

C. Upon any termination of your account: (i) these Terms applicable to Registered Users and all rights granted under these Terms shall cease immediately (except those expressly surviving or which by their nature would survive); (ii) all access to the portions of the Site or Services that was granted to you has Registered User and your account will cease immediately; and, (iii) all of your Registered User data may (at our option) be deleted from our servers and backup systems and we may not have or keep backup of such data. You agree to hold us harmless from and against any and all claims, losses or damages arising from any termination of your Registered User account, if applicable. Any and all sections in these Terms which impose obligations continuing in their nature shall survive termination or otherwise continue to remain in full force and effect even after account termination.

11. INDEMNIFICATION. By utilizing the Site, or the Service you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold us and our officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates harmless from and against any and all liability, losses, costs, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by us through your use of the Site or the Services in violation of these Terms (including, but not limited to, negligent or wrongful conduct, infringement of any third party’s intellectual property, confidentiality, privacy or publicity rights). We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, and in such case, you agree to cooperate with our defense of such claim. This section shall survive any expiration or termination of the Terms.

12. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

A. WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR COMPANY MAY SUFFER. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, YOU AGREE THAT IN NO EVENT WILL WE BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR OTHER CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS AND DAMAGES RELATED TO CORRUPTION OR DELETION OF THE SERVICES) ARISING OUT OF OR IN RELATION TO THIS AGREEMENT OR YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, INOPERABILITY OF OUR OR OUR CONTRACTORS’ SERVERS), REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF, KNEW, OR SHOULD HAVE KNOW OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND EVEN IF DIRECT DAMAGES DO NOT SATISFY A REMEDY. THIS INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, ANY LOSS THAT MAY OCCUR DUE TO ANY LOSS OF THE SERVICE, THE USE OF THE SITE OR THE SERVICE, ACCESS DELAYS OR ACCESS INTERRUPTIONS TO THE SITE OR THE SERVICE, THE NON-DELIVERY OR MIS-DELIVERY OF DATA BETWEEN YOU AND US, EVENTS BEYOND OUR REASONABLE CONTROL, THE NON-RECOGNITION OF OUR HOSTING SERVERS, THE FAILURE TO PAY ANY FEES HEREUNDER, THE PROTECTION OR PRIVACY OF ELECTRONIC MAIL OR OTHER INFORMATION TRANSFERRED THROUGH THE INTERNET OR ANY OTHER NETWORK PROVIDER OR SERVICE ITS CUSTOMERS MAY UTILIZE, OR THE APPLICATION OF ANY POLICY SET FORTH HEREIN.

B. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR ANY DISPUTE WITH US, OUR OWNERS, SUBSIDIARIES, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, ATTORNEYS, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES, AND LICENSORS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SITE, SERVICE, OR ANY USER CONTENT IS TO STOP USING THE SITE, THE SERVICES, AND TO REQUEST THAT WE DELETE YOUR REGISTERED USER ACCOUNT. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT WE, OUR OWNERS, SUBSIDIARIES, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, ATTORNEYS, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES, AND LICENSORS ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY ACT OR FAILURE TO ACT BY THEM OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR COMPANY REGARDING CONDUCT, COMMUNICATION OR CONTENT ON THE SITE. IN NO CASE SHALL THE LIABILITY OF US, OUR OWNERS,SUBSIDIARIES, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, ATTORNEYS, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES, AND LICENSORS TO YOU EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNT THAT YOU PAID TO US FOR THE SERVICE OR ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS (US$100).

C. By utilizing the Site, or the Service you agree to indemnify, defend and hold us and our officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates harmless from and against any and all liability, losses, costs, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by us through your use of the Site, or the Services in violation of these Terms (including, but not limited to, negligent or wrongful conduct, infringement of any third party’s intellectual property, confidentiality, privacy or publicity rights). We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, and in such case, you agree to cooperate with our defense of such claim. This section shall survive any expiration or termination of the Terms.

13. DISPUTE RESOLUTION

A. Time Limitation. Any claim or action against us must be brought within twelve (12) months of the cause arising, otherwise such claim or action is permanently barred.

B. Arbitration

i. Other than for the grounds set forth in Subsection C below, in the event of any dispute, claim, question or disagreement arising from or relating to the Terms or the breach thereof, or the access or use of the Site or our Services, the parties hereto shall use reasonable efforts to settle the dispute, claim, question, or disagreement. To this effect, the parties shall consult and negotiate with each other in good faith and, recognizing their mutual interests, attempt to reach a just and equitable solution satisfactory to both parties. If the parties do not reach such solution within a period of thirty (30) days, then, upon notice by either party to the other, such dispute, claim, question or disagreement shall be resolved by binding arbitration in ­­­­­­­­­­­­­Indianapolis, Indiana in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”), subject to the limitations of this Section. This agreement to arbitrate will be specifically enforceable under the prevailing law of any court having jurisdiction. Notice of a demand for arbitration shall be filed in writing with the other party hereto and with the AAA. The demand for arbitration shall be made within a reasonable time after the dispute has arisen, and in no event shall any such demand be made after the date when institution of legal or equitable proceedings based on such dispute would be barred by the applicable statute of limitations. The parties agree that one (1) arbitrator shall arbitrate the dispute. The arbitrator shall be selected by the joint agreement of the parties, but if they do not so agree within twenty (20) days after the date of the notice of a demand for arbitration referred to above, the selection shall be made pursuant to the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the AAA from the panels of business arbitrators maintained by the AAA. The decision of the arbitrator shall be made in writing and shall be final. Judgment may be entered upon it in any court having jurisdiction thereof, and the decision shall not be subject to vacation, modification or appeal, except to the extent permitted by Sections 10 and 11 of the Federal Arbitration Act, the terms of which Sections the parties agree shall apply. The expenses of arbitration, including and the fees and expenses of the arbitrator and the AAA, shall be shared equally by the parties.

ii. The arbitrator will have no authority to award attorneys’ fees, punitive damages, or any other monetary relief not measured by the prevailing party’s actual damages and each party irrevocably waives any claim thereto. The award may include equitable relief. The arbitrator will not make any ruling, finding, or award that does not otherwise conform to the Terms. The arbitrator may render a summary disposition relative to all or some of the issues, provided that the responding party has had an adequate opportunity to respond to any such application for such disposition.

iii. The parties agree to treat all aspects of the arbitration as confidential, as provided in the AAA Rules. Before making any disclosure permitted by the Rules, a party shall give written notice to the other party and afford such party a reasonable opportunity to protect its interests. Further, judgment on the arbitrators’ award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.

C. Exceptions to Agreement to Arbitrate. You and we agree that we will go to court to resolve disputes relating to our intellectual property (e.g., trademarks, trade dress, domain names, trade secrets, copyrights or patents).

14. CLASS ACTION WAIVER. Any proceedings to resolve or litigate any dispute in any forum will be conducted solely on an individual basis. You agree that neither you nor we will seek to have any dispute heard as a class action or in any other proceeding in which either party acts or proposes to act in a representative capacity, and each party hereby waives any right to assert consolidated claims with respect to any disputes subject to arbitration under these Terms or any disputes between the parties. No arbitration or proceeding will be combined with another without the prior written consent of all parties to all affected arbitrations or proceedings.

15. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. Each party irrevocably and unconditionally waives any right we or you may have to a trial by jury for any legal action arising out of or relating to these Terms or the transactions contemplated hereby.

16. COMMUNICATION

A. By creating a Registered User account or giving us any contact information, you agree to and do hereby consent to receive mail and electronic communications (email, text/SMS and by telephone) from us and/or by posting the Communications on the Site  concerning information and/or our Services (collectively, “Communications”). For Registered Users, Communications may be those that we are required to send to you by law concerning us, your account or information, the Site, or the Services (“Required Communications”). The Communications may also be those that we send to you for other reasons. You may change the information  on file for your account by visiting your account profile page or by contacting us. You may opt out of receiving all Communications, other than Required Communications, via email by sending a notice to us that identifies your full name and email address; however, you will not receive any further electronic notices from us (other than Required Communications), which notices may include important notices or announcements.

B. Please contact us at webmaster@namic.org with questions about our Site or our policies.

17. GENERAL

A. Governing Law. For all legal proceedings arising out of use of the Site, the Services, and/or relating to these Terms, these Terms and the relationship between you and us shall, irrespective of any choice of laws rules, be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Indiana. Where filing suit in court is permitted hereunder, you and we hereby irrevocably and unconditionally submit to the jurisdiction of courts located in Indianapolis, Indiana or the court of competent jurisdiction closest thereto if no court of competent jurisdiction resides therein, and the parties consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts and expressly waive any right they may otherwise have to cause any such action or proceeding to be brought or tried elsewhere.

B. Assignment. You may not assign, convey, or transfer (whether by contract, merger or operation of law) (collectively, “assign” or variants) these Terms, in whole or in part, without our prior written consent, which may be granted or withheld by us in our sole discretion. Any attempted assignment in violation of these Terms will be of no power or effect. We may assign these Terms freely at any time without notice. Subject to the foregoing, these Terms will bind and inure to the benefit of each party’s permitted successors and assigns.We reserve the right to, and you hereby consent to, our right to disclose, transfer, and/or assign your Personal Information in connection with a merger, consolidation, restructuring, financing, sale, or other transaction, or pursuant to any court proceeding. In addition, when a potential buyer is interested in purchasing us, you agree that we may provide the potential buyer with your Personal Information, subject to the restrictions in these Terms.

C. Entire Agreement. These Terms, including, but not limited to, the Privacy Policy (and updates to the foregoing), and any other terms or policies to which you have separately agreed or consented to by way of your use of the Site or the Services shall constitute the entire and exclusive understanding and agreement between you and us regarding this subject matter, and shall supersede any and all prior or contemporaneous representations or understandings relating to this subject matter. In the event that any part of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the unenforceable part shall be given effect to the greatest extent possible and the remaining parts will remain in full force and effect. Upon termination of these Terms, any provision which, by its nature or express terms should survive, will survive such termination or expiration. The failure of us to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms, including any failure to act with respect to a breach, will not constitute a waiver of such right or our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches.

D. Headings. The headings of sections and paragraphs in these Terms are for convenience only and shall not affect its interpretation.

E. Waiver. The failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision shall not affect our right to exercise or enforce such right or provision at any time thereafter, nor shall a waiver of any breach or default of these Terms constitute a waiver of any subsequent breach or default or a waiver of the provision itself.

F. Severability. If any portion of these Terms is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in such provision, and, notwithstanding such finding, the remaining provisions of these Terms shall remain in full force and effect.

G. Independent Contractors. The parties intend that an independent contractor relationship will be created by these Terms, and that no partnership, joint venture, employee, employer or other relationship is intended. You agree not to hold yourself out as in any way sponsored by, affiliated with, endorsed by, in partnership or venture with, nor as an employee or employer of us, any of our affiliates or its respective service providers.

 

ANTI-TRUST POLICY

As you use our Site, and any of its features or information, please keep in mind that numerous state and Federal laws absolutely prohibit the exchange of information among competitors regarding price, refusals to deal, or agreements to proceed in certain anti-competitive respects, and that no such exchange of this information is either sanctioned by us or, if known to us, will be allowed to continue.

Although Congress has given a limited exemption to the insurance industry from certain otherwise prohibited activities, by enactment of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, the users of our Site should realize (1) that NAMIC itself, as a trade association, has no such exemption, and (2) that the exemption provided companies has definite limits.

Conviction upon violation of the anti-trust laws (Sherman Act, Clayton Act, FTC Act and Robinson-Patman Act) will result in mandatory jail sentences, fines or both. Insurance company practices are exempt only if they: (a) involve the business of insurance; (b) are regulated by state law; and, (c) do not constitute an agreement to boycott, coerce or intimidate or an act to further any of the three.

The following practices should be avoided while using our Site (Please note that legislative activities are protected by the 1st Amendment and are generally not subject to anti-trust laws.):

1. Discussing rates or the stabilizing of rates or other terms or conditions of any products to be offered for sale.
2. Discussing underwriting criteria with an intent toward standardizing.
3. Discussing a market division plan, including discussions of type or products to be offered, customers to whom insurance products may be sold or the territories in which they may be sold.
4. Discussing matters that would adversely affect availability of insurance or services to the public.
5. Discussing future rate plans including actuarial projections.
6. Discussing “fair” profit levels or discussing price, profits, commission or any other cost components and elements.
7. Keeping access to NAMIC membership unduly restrictive or denying unique services of NAMIC to non-members.
8. Developing “standards” for company operations.
9. Trading information on bidding for office equipment and supplies or agreeing to collectively refrain from purchasing any equipment, services or supplies from any supplier.
10. Suggesting a certain credit policy.

Article Posted: 01.25.21
Last Updated: 11.17.21