§ 27-43-3 - Licensing – Authority. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 27-43-3

   § 27-43-3  Licensing – Authority.– (a) Any captive insurance company, when permitted by its articles ofassociation or charter, may apply to the commissioner for a license to do anyand all insurance; provided, that:

   (1) No subsidiary captive insurance company may insure anyrisks other than those of its parent and affiliated companies;

   (2) No association captive insurance company may insure anyrisks other than those of the member organizations of its association, andtheir affiliated companies;

   (3) No industrial insured captive insurance company mayinsure any risks other than those of the industrial insured that comprise theindustrial insured group, and their affiliated companies;

   (4) No captive insurance company may provide personal linesof insurance, or any component of personal lines insurance; and

   (5) No captive insurance company may accept or cedereinsurance, except as provided in § 27-43-7.

   (b) No captive insurance company shall do any insurancebusiness in this state unless:

   (1) It first obtains from the commissioner a licenseauthorizing it to do insurance business in this state;

   (2) Its board of directors holds at least one meeting eachyear in this state;

   (3) It maintains its principal place of business in thisstate; and

   (4) It appoints a resident registered agent to accept serviceof process and to act on its behalf in this state. Whenever the registeredagent cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the registered office of thecaptive insurance company, the commissioner shall be an agent of the captiveinsurance company upon whom any process, notice, or demand may be served.

   (c) Before receiving a license, a captive insurance companyshall file with the commissioner a certified copy of its charter and by-laws, astatement under oath of its president and secretary showing its financialcondition, and any other statements or documents required by the commissioner;

   (2) In addition to the information required by subdivision(1) of this subsection each applicant captive insurance company shall file withthe commissioner evidence of the following:

   (i) The amount and liquidity of its assets relative to therisks to be assumed;

   (ii) The adequacy of the expertise, experience, and characterof the person or persons who will manage it;

   (iii) The overall soundness of its plan of operation;

   (iv) The adequacy of the loss prevention programs of itsparent, member organizations, or industrial insured as applicable; and

   (v) Any other factors deemed relevant by the commissioner inascertaining whether the proposed captive insurance company will be able tomeet its policy obligations.

   (3) Information submitted pursuant to this section shall beand remain confidential, and may not be made public by the commissioner or anemployee or agent of the commissioner without the written consent of thecompany, except that:

   (i) The information may be discoverable by a party in a civilaction or contested case to which the captive insurance company that submittedthe information is a party, upon a showing by the party seeking to discover theinformation that:

   (A) The information sought is relevant to and necessary forthe furtherance of the action or case;

   (B) The information sought is unavailable from othernonconfidential sources; and

   (C) A subpoena issued by a judicial or administrative officerof competent jurisdiction has been submitted to the commissioner; provided,that the provisions of this subdivision do not apply to any industrial insuredcaptive insurance company insuring the risks of an industrial insured group asdefined in § 27-43-1(8)(ii); and

   (ii) The commissioner may, in his or her discretion, disclosethe information to a public officer having jurisdiction over the regulation ofinsurance in another state, provided that:

   (A) The public official agrees in writing to maintain theconfidentiality of the information; and

   (B) The laws of the state in which the public official servesrequires the information to be and to remain confidential.

   (d) The commissioner is authorized to retain legal, financialand examination services from outside the department, the reasonable cost ofwhich may be charged to the applicant. Each captive insurance company shall payto the commissioner a nonrefundable fee of one thousand dollars ($1,000) forexamining, investigating, and processing its application for license. Inaddition, it shall pay a license fee for the first year of registration and anannual fee for each year after this of five hundred dollars ($500).

   (e) If the commissioner is satisfied that the documents andstatements that the captive insurance company has filed comply with theprovisions of this chapter, the commissioner may grant a license authorizing itto do insurance business in this state in accordance with the provisions ofthis title.