Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a) Except
as hereinafter provided and subject to section 425-a of the Insurance Law, any
person, firm, corporation or other entity may become an underwriting member.
However, no insurer licensed under the laws of this State, any other state,
territory or possession of the United States, or under the laws of a foreign
country, shall become an underwriting member of the exchange. Nothing contained
herein, however, shall prohibit any such insurer from owning the stock of a
corporation which is an underwriting member or of a corporation which is a
partner in an underwriting member of the exchange, subject to the applicable
provisions of the Insurance Law.
(b)
(1) No
rule, regulation or plan of operation of the Security Fund shall become
effective unless a copy of said rule, regulation or plan of operation has been
submitted to the superintendent at least 30 days prior thereto, or such shorter
period as he may permit, and he has not disapproved it within such
period.
(2) In the reporting of
data for the annual statement pursuant to section 26 of the Insurance Law,
underwriting members shall use statutory insurance accounting
principles.
(c) Whenever
the term insurer, insurance company or corporation appears in the Insurance
Law, it shall apply to an underwriting member. Any underwriting member shall be
deemed a domestic insurer as defined in subdivision 15, section 4 of the
Insurance Law for the purposes of the application of the provisions of the
Insurance Law and related statutes, and this Part.
(d)
(1) The
term insurance contract as defined in subdivision 1 of section 41 of the
Insurance Law shall be deemed to include an exchange contract as referred to in
section 1, article IX of the constitution. However, in no event shall the
exchange be a party to an exchange contract or have any liability
thereunder.
(2) The term doing an
insurance business as defined in subdivision 3 of section 41 of the Insurance
Law shall be deemed to include the making of, or proposing to make, an exchange
contract.
(e) Whenever
the terms license, licensee, or licensed appear in the Insurance Law in
reference to insurers, such terms shall be deemed to apply to an underwriting
member approved by the board pursuant to section 7, article VII of the
constitution.
(f) Notwithstanding
the exemptions from the Insurance Law granted hereinafter, any business
underwritten pursuant to subdivision 1 (a) (iii) of section 425-a of the
Insurance Law shall be subject to all applicable provisions of the Insurance
Law, except as provided under section 168-d thereof and Insurance Department
Regulation No. 86 (11 NYCRR Part 16).
(g) The prohibition contained in section
18-1.3(a)(5)(ii)
of this Subpart shall be applicable to any person, firm, corporation or other
entity who or which is a member, associate broker, underwriting manager or
subscriber of the exchange.
(h)
(1) An underwriting member authorized by the
exchange to write the kinds of insurance other than life and annuities shall be
deemed a casualty insurance company and a surety company within the meaning of
section 310, a fire insurance company and a marine insurance company within the
meaning of section 340, and an accident and health company within the meaning
of subdivision 2 of section 190 of the Insurance Law, as applicable, and shall
be known as a property and casualty syndicate. Except with respect to life
insurance and annuities, title insurance, mortgage guaranty insurance and life
of property insurance, such syndicate may reinsure risks of every kind or
description and may write any and all kinds of insurance on risks outside of
the United States, its territories or possessions.
(2) An underwriting member authorized to
write life insurance, annuities and accident and health insurance shall be
deemed a life insurance company within the meaning of subdivision 1 of section
190 of the Insurance Law and shall be known as a life syndicate.
(3) An underwriting member authorized to
write all the kinds of insurance specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
subdivision shall be known as a life and property and casualty
syndicate.
(4) An underwriting
member shall provide the initial paid-in capital and surplus and thereafter
maintain the minimum surplus to policyholders as required pursuant to section
6, article VII of the constitution. The surplus to policyholders of an
underwriting member which is a stock corporation authorized to transact
business as a property and casualty syndicate or or as a life syndicate shall
at all times include a paid-in capital of at least $500,000; if authorized to
transact business as a life and property and casualty syndicate,
$1,000,000.
(5) After satisfying
the requirements for minimum capital investments specified in section
18-1.3 of this Subpart, a life and
property and casualty syndicate shall invest its life department reserves and
liabilities only as provided in section 80(1)(a) of the Insurance
Law.
(i) The provisions
of subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 26, subdivisions 1 and 2(a) of section 28,
section 29, and article XVI of the Insurance Law shall apply to the exchange,
the Security Fund and to any other corporation established by the
exchange.
(j) Any request made
pursuant to section 27 of the Insurance Law shall be directed to the exchange
except where the superintendent deems a direct request to the member necessary,
in which case a copy of such request will be sent to the exchange.
(k)
(1)
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections
110, 113, and 115
of the Insurance Law, a person acting as an underwriting manager or deupty
thereof pursuant to the authority conferred by section 3, article IX of the
Constitution shall not be required to obtain a license to act as an insurance
agent.
(2)
(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of
subdivision 9 of section 46-a and subdivision 7 of section 85-a of the
Insurance Law, an insurer authorized in this State may act as an underwriting
manager of an underwriting member or underwriting members.
(ii) An insurer not authorized in this State
may become an underwriting manager of an underwriting member only upon such
underwriting member's application to the superintendent and his written
approval thereof.
(iii) No insurer
may act as an underwriting manager of an underwriting member unless so
designated by the exchange pursuant to section 3, article IX of the
Constitution.
(iv) Any insurer
approved by the exchange as an underwriting manager must maintain books and
records which separately account for such business.
