§ 44-320 — Domestic company; officers and directors; borrowing and sales to company prohibited; exception

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) through (6) of this section, no director or officer of any domestic insurance company shall directly or indirectly receive any money or valuable consideration for negotiating any loan for the company or for selling or aiding in the sale of any property to or by the company and no such director or officer shall directly or indirectly borrow money from, purchase any property from, or sell any property to the company.
(2)(a) Nothing in this section shall prevent any domestic insurance company from making a loan to an officer of the company for the purchase of a principal residence or acquiring the principal residence of an officer in connection with the relocation of the officer's place of employment at the request of the company either during the course of employment or upon initial employment of such officer. Any loan permitted under this subsection shall be secured by a first trust deed or first mortgage and shall not exceed seventy-five percent of the market value of the property. Any acquisition permitted under this subsection shall not exceed the market value of the property.
(b) For purposes of this subsection, market value shall mean the market value of real estate as determined by a real property appraiser credentialed by the Real Property Appraiser Board.
(c) Any loan or acquisition permitted under this subsection shall be subject to (i) the approval of the domestic insurance company's board of directors or a delegated committee of the company and (ii) prior written approval of the Director of Insurance based upon written application by the company including full and fair disclosure of the terms of the transaction. Approval of such transaction by the Director of Insurance shall be presumed unless notice of disapproval is received by the applicant within thirty days of the filing of the application. Approval of such transaction may be denied if the director finds that it is not in the best interest of the company or that the terms of the transaction are not fair and reasonable to the company.
(3) Nothing in this section shall prevent any director or officer of any domestic insurance company from purchasing from his or her company an insurance policy or annuity contract if (a) the purchase is in the ordinary course of the company's business and subject to all of the requirements normally imposed by the company in the sale of such policies and contracts and (b) no discount granted to the director or officer in connection with the purchase is greater than discounts provided to other employees of the company in connection with the sale of similar policies and contracts.
(4) Nothing in this section shall prevent any director or officer of any domestic insurance company from purchasing from his or her company surplus personal property having a total purchase price not in excess of ten thousand dollars in any calendar year if the personal property is sold to the director or officer at not less than its fair market value.
(5) Nothing in this section shall prevent any director or officer of any domestic insurance company from selling to his or her company property of any type or nature having a total purchase price not in excess of ten thousand dollars in any calendar year if the sale is in the ordinary course of business of the director's or officer's business and if the property is sold to the company at not more than its fair market value.
(6) Except as otherwise provided in this section, if any director or officer of any domestic insurance company desires to borrow money from, purchase any property from, or sell any property to the company in excess of ten thousand dollars in any calendar year, the company shall file an application with the Director of Insurance requesting written approval to engage in such transaction. The application shall set out the names of all of the parties interested in the transaction and the respective percentage of interest of each party, a brief description of the nature of the transaction, and a full disclosure of all consideration given or received by the company in connection with such transaction. The application shall be a public record open to public inspection from the date of filing. If the transaction is not approved or disapproved by the director within thirty days from the date of filing, the transaction shall be deemed disapproved. In determining whether to approve or disapprove such transaction, the director shall consider the following factors:
(a)(i) The fact that the transaction has been disclosed or made known to the board of directors of the company or a delegated committee of the company which must authorize approval or ratify the transaction by a vote or consent sufficient for the purpose without counting the vote or consent of any interested director or officer; and
(ii) If applicable, the fact of such transaction has been disclosed or made known to the shareholders entitled to vote and they authorize approval or ratify such transaction by vote or written consent; or
(b)(i) The transaction is fair and reasonable to the company; and
(ii) The transaction is of a nature normally engaged in by the company and the consideration is fair and reasonable.
(7) The Director of Insurance may proceed in a court of competent jurisdiction against a domestic insurance company to reverse or hold invalid a transaction made in violation of subsection (6) of this section unless the transaction was approved pursuant to such subsection.
(8) In addition to other remedies and penalties available under the law of this state, each violation of this section shall be an unfair trade practice in the business of insurance subject to the Unfair Insurance Trade Practices Act.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1913, c. 154, § 43, p. 417; R.S.1913, § 3179; Laws 1919, c. 190, tit. V, art. IV, § 14, p. 595; C.S.1922, § 7779; C.S.1929, § 44-314; R.S.1943, § 44-320; Laws 1953, c. 149, § 1(1), p. 477; Laws 1988, LB 713, § 1; Laws 1991, LB 234, § 1; Laws 1991, LB 237, § 59; Laws 2006, LB 778, § 4. Cross References: Unfair Insurance Trade Practices Act, see section 44-1521.