58-27-50. Restrictions on purposes and amount of real estate investments. An insurer may invest in real estate only if used for the purposes or acquired in the manners and within the limits as follows:
(1) The land and the building thereon in which it has its principal office and such other real estate including regional home offices as shall be requisite for its convenient accommodation in the transaction of its business. Except with the consent of the director of the Division of Insurance, all such investments may not aggregate more than fifteen percent of the insurer's admitted assets;
(2) Real estate acquired in satisfaction of loans, mortgages, liens, judgments, decrees, or debts previously owing to the insurer in the course of its business;
(3) Real estate acquired in part payment of the consideration on the sale of other real estate owned by it, if such transaction does not increase the insurer's investment in real estate;
(4) Real estate acquired by gift or devise, or through merger, consolidation, or bulk reinsurance of another insurer under this title;
(5) The seller's interest in real property subject to an agreement of purchase or sale, but the sum invested in any such parcel of real estate may not exceed three-fourths of the market value of such parcel;
(6) Real estate, or any interest therein acquired or held by purchase, lease, or otherwise, other than real estate to be used primarily for agricultural, ranch, mining, development of oil or mineral resources, recreational, amusement, or club purposes, acquired as an investment for the production of income, or acquired to be improved or developed for investment purposes pursuant to an existing program therefor. The insurer may hold, improve, develop, maintain, manage, lease, sell, and convey real estate acquired by it under this section. No insurer may have at any one time invested in real estate under this subdivision an amount exceeding fifteen percent of its admitted assets, nor in any single parcel of real estate under this subdivision, an amount in excess of five percent of its admitted assets; or
(7) Additional real estate and equipment incident to real estate, if necessary or convenient for the purpose of enhancing the sale or other value of real estate previously acquired or held by the insurer under subdivision (2), (3), (4), or (6). Such real estate and equipment shall be included, together with the real estate for the enhancement of which it was acquired, for the purpose of applicable investment limits, and shall be subject to disposal at the same time and under the same conditions as applying to such enhanced real estate under §§ 58-27-70 to 58-27-72, inclusive.
Except with the director's consent, all real estate owned by the insurer under this section, except a seller's interest specified in subdivision (5) may not at any one time exceed twenty percent of the insurer's admitted assets.
Source: SL 1966, ch 111, ch 6, § 30; SL 1983, ch 376, § 4; SL 1997, ch 294, § 9.