State RegulationsVA specificDifficulty 3/5
A viatical settlement broker in Virginia has no written agreement with a policyowner identifying whose interests the broker serves. A dispute arises over the broker's loyalty. How is the broker's agency status resolved?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why D is correct
Va. Code § 38.2-1865.1 resolves the question by presumption: in the absence of a written agreement making the broker the viator's agent, viatical settlement brokers are presumed to be agents of the viatical settlement providers. A policyowner who wants the broker on her side of the transaction must sign a written agency agreement before services begin. The rule allocates loyalty by default to the paying side of the deal, and the Commission and the Virginia Bureau of Insurance treat the presumption as settled Virginia law.
Why the other options are wrong
- A) The issuing insurer is not the default principal; the presumption runs to the viatical settlement provider.
- B) The statutory presumption favors the provider, not the viator, when no written agency agreement exists.
- C) The statute fixes the broker's agency status by presumption; it is not left undefined without a written agreement.
Memory hook
No paper naming you the viator's agent? The law sides with the provider.