§ 133 — Books, records, accounts and vouchers

(1) Every domestic company shall keep its books, records, documents, accounts and vouchers in such manner that its financial condition, affairs and operations can be ascertained and so that its financial statements filed with the Director can be readily verified and its compliance with the law determined and may cause any or all such books, records, documents, accounts and vouchers to be photographed or reproduced on film. Any such photographs, microphotographs, optical imaging, or film reproductions of any original books, records, documents, accounts and vouchers shall for all purposes be considered the same as the originals thereof and a transcript, exemplification or certified copy of any such photograph, microphotograph, optical imaging, or film reproduction shall for all purposes be deemed to be a transcript, exemplification or certified copy of the original. Any original so reproduced may thereafter be disposed of or destroyed if provision is made for preserving and examining such reproductions. (2) All such original books, records, documents, accounts and vouchers, or such reproductions thereof, of the home office of any domestic company or of any principal United States office of a foreign or alien company located in this State shall be preserved and kept available in this State for the purpose of examination and until authority to destroy or otherwise dispose of such records is secured from the Director. Such original records may, however, be kept and maintained outside this State if, according to a plan adopted by the company's board of directors and approved by the Director, it maintains suitable records in lieu thereof. Every domestic company shall keep its securities within the State of Illinois except where: (a) on deposit with other states of the United States of America, or political subdivision thereof; or (b) on deposit with foreign countries where the company is licensed to transact an insurance business; or (c) where requisite for the normal transaction of the company's business and approved by the Director. (3) Any domestic company may maintain with a corporation, qualified to administer trusts in this State under the Corporate Fiduciary Act and that has an office in this State at which the account is maintained, for its securities, a limited agency, custodial or depository account, or other type of account for the safekeeping of those securities, collecting the income from those securities and providing supportive accounting services relating to such safekeeping and collection, provided, the domestic company maintains full investment discretion over those securities. Such a corporation in safekeeping such securities shall have all the powers, rights, duties and responsibilities as it has for holding securities in its fiduciary accounts under the Securities in Fiduciary Accounts Act. (4) Any director, officer, agent or employee of any company who destroys any such books, records or documents without the authority of the Director in violation of this section or who fails to keep the books, records, documents, accounts and vouchers required by this section shall be guilty of a business offense and shall be fined not more than $5000.00.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 88-364; 89-437, eff. 12-15-95.)