§ 59A-8A-2 — Definitions

As used in the Standard Valuation Law: A. "accident and health insurance" means a policy that reflects morbidity risk and provides protection against economic loss resulting from an accident, a sickness or a medical condition and includes policies identified by the valuation manual as accident and health insurance; B. "appointed actuary" means a qualified actuary who is appointed pursuant to the valuation manual to prepare the actuarial opinion required by Section 59A-8A-5 NMSA 1978; C. "company" means an entity that has written, issued or reinsured life insurance contracts, accident and health insurance contracts or deposit-type contracts in New Mexico and has at least one contract for a life insurance, accident and health insurance or deposit-type policy in force or on claim or an entity that has written, issued or reinsured life insurance contracts, accident and health insurance contracts or deposit- type contracts in any state and is required to hold a certificate of authority to write life insurance, accident and health insurance or deposit-type contracts in New Mexico; D. "deposit-type contract" means a contract that does not reflect mortality or morbidity risks and includes contracts identified by the valuation manual as deposit-type contracts; E. "life insurance" means a policy that reflects mortality risk and includes annuity policies, pure endowment policies and policies identified by the valuation manual as life insurance; F. "operative date of the valuation manual" means the January 1 of the first calendar year following the first July 1 after which the following have occurred: (1) the valuation manual has been adopted by the national association of insurance commissioners by an affirmative vote of at least forty-two members or three- fourths of the members voting, whichever is greater; (2) the Standard Valuation Law of the national association of insurance commissioners, as amended in 2009, or legislation including substantially similar terms and provisions, has been enacted by states that collectively represent more than seventy-five percent of written direct premiums, as reported in the life, accident and health annual statements, the health annual statements and the fraternal annual statements submitted for 2008; and (3) the Standard Valuation Law of the national association of insurance commissioners, as amended in 2009, or legislation including substantially similar terms and provisions, has been enacted by at least forty-two of the following fifty-five jurisdictions: (a) the fifty states of the United States; (b) American Samoa; (c) the Virgin Islands of the United States; (d) the District of Columbia; (e) Guam; and (f) Puerto Rico; G. "policyholder behavior" means an action that a policyholder, a contract holder or a person who has the right to elect options, such as a certificate holder, may take pursuant to a policy or contract that is subject to the Standard Valuation Law and, if allowed pursuant to the policy or contract, includes lapses, withdrawals, transfers, deposits, premium payments, loans and annuitization and benefit elections, but excludes events of mortality or morbidity that result in benefits prescribed in their essential aspects by the terms of the policy or contract; H. "principle-based valuation" means a reserve valuation that uses one or more methods or one or more assumptions determined by the insurer and that is required to comply with Section 59A-8A-9 NMSA 1978; I. "qualified actuary" means, on or after the operative date of the valuation manual, an individual who, according to the applicable qualification standards of the American academy of actuaries, is qualified to sign the applicable statement of actuarial opinion and who meets the applicable requirements indicated by the valuation manual; J. "tail risk" means a risk that occurs either when the frequency of low-probability events is higher than expected under a normal probability distribution or when events of very significant magnitude are observed; and K. "valuation manual" means the most recent version of the manual of valuation instructions adopted by the national association of insurance commissioners.

Legislative History

1978 Comp., § 59A-8A-2, enacted by Laws 2014, ch. 59, § 16.