Any person transacting life or disability insurance without a certificate of authority so to do issued by the commissioner shall not give, allow, or promise to give or allow any compensation for procuring new members. "Compensation", as used herein, is confined to a payment, percentage, bonus, or monetary credit given, promised, or allowed for the securing of new members which, directly or by any arrangement, understanding, or device, is based, in whole or in part, upon the number of new members or reinstatements procured, or the nominal or contingent value of their certificates or policies, or the net or gross amount of dues or premiums paid or payable by them or upon any other variable result or contingency.
Ca. Ins. Code § 10496