§ 107 — Definitions of terms of general use in this chapter

§ 107. Definitions of terms of general use in this chapter. (a) In\nthis chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:\n (1) "Accident and health insurance company", means any corporation\nhaving power to do the kinds of insurance business specified in item (i)\nof paragraph three of subsection (a) of section one thousand one hundred\nthirteen of this chapter or items (i) and (ii) of such paragraph,\nprovided such company does not have power to do any other kind or kinds\nof insurance business.\n (2) "Accredited reinsurer" means an assuming insurer not authorized to\ndo an insurance business in this state but which (i) presents\nsatisfactory evidence to the superintendent that it meets the applicable\nstandards of solvency required in this state, (ii) is in compliance with\nthe conditions prescribed by regulation under which a ceding insurer may\nbe allowed credit for reinsurance recoverable from an insurer not\nauthorized in this state, and (iii) has received a certificate of\nrecognition as an accredited reinsurer issued by the superintendent\npursuant to such regulation; provided that no insurer shall be an\naccredited reinsurer with respect to any kind of insurance not provided\nfor in such certificate.\n (3) "Admitted assets" means assets of an insurer which conform to the\nrequirements of section one thousand three hundred one of this chapter.\n (4) "Affiliate" means a corporation a majority of whose shares is\nowned or controlled by shareholders, directors or officers of another\ncorporation, who own or control a majority of the shares of the other\ncorporation.\n (5) "Alien insurer" means any insurer incorporated or organized under\nthe laws of any foreign nation, or of any province or territory not\nincluded under the definition of foreign insurer.\n (6) "American institution" means an institution created or existing\nunder the laws of the United States of America or of any state, district\nor territory thereof.\n (7) "Articles of association", when used in reference to an\nunincorporated association, means the basic instrument prescribing the\npowers, purposes and organization of the association.\n (8) "Assuming insurer" means an insurer which, under a contract of\nreinsurance, incurs to another insurer, called the ceding insurer, an\nobligation the performance of which is contingent upon the ceding\ninsurer's incurring liability or loss under its contract or contracts of\ninsurance, guaranty or suretyship made with third persons.\n (9) "At last year-end" means the end of the next preceding calendar\nyear.\n (10) "Authorized insurer" means an insurer authorized as such to do an\ninsurance business in this state in compliance with this chapter, by\nreason of a license so to do issued and in force pursuant to the laws of\nthis state or of a corporate charter granted and in force pursuant to\nthe laws of this state, but not including any insurer herein exempted\nfrom compliance with the requirement that it obtain a license to do\nbusiness.\n (11) "Board of directors" means the body having power and\nresponsibility for management and control of a corporation and the\nadvisory committee or similar body having such power in reference to a\nreciprocal insurer or Lloyds underwriters.\n (12) "Capital", when used in reference to a stock insurance company,\nmeans the aggregate par value of all classes of shares of capital stock\nissued and outstanding.\n (13) "Ceding insurer" means the insurer to which an assuming insurer\nis obligated.\n (14) "Charter" means the basic instrument, by whatever name called,\nprescribing the powers, purposes and organization of a corporation.\n (15) "Company" means a corporation.\n (16) "Control". Except for the purposes of article fifteen of this\nchapter, "control", including the terms "controlling", "controlled by"\nand "under common control with", means the possession, direct or\nindirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the\nmanagement and policies of an institution, whether through the ownership\nof voting securities, by contract or otherwise.\n (17) "Department" means the department of financial services of this\nstate.\n (18) "Deputy" means a deputy superintendent of financial services of\nthis state.\n (19) "Domestic insurer" means any authorized insurer incorporated or\norganized under any law of this state.\n (20) "Firm" means a partnership, limited or unlimited, general or\nspecial.\n (21) "Foreign insurer" means any insurer incorporated or organized\nunder the laws of any state, as herein defined, other than this state.\n (22) "Fraternal benefit society" has the meaning ascribed to it by\nsubsection (a) of section four thousand five hundred one of this\nchapter.\n (23) "Independent insurance agent" has the meaning ascribed to it by\nsection two thousand one hundred one of this chapter.\n (24) "Institution" means a corporation, a joint-stock company, an\nassociation, a trust, a business partnership, a business joint venture\nor any similar entity.\n (25) "Insurance agent" has the meaning ascribed to it by section two\nthousand one hundred one of this chapter.\n (26) "Insurance broker" has the meaning ascribed to it by section two\nthousand one hundred one of this chapter.\n (27) "Insurance contract" has the meaning ascribed to it by section\none thousand one hundred one of this chapter.\n (28) "Life insurance company" means any corporation having power to do\neither one or both of the kinds of insurance business specified in\nparagraphs one and two of subsection (a) of section one thousand one\nhundred thirteen of this chapter.\n (29) "Lloyds underwriters" means any aggregation of individuals, who\nunder a common name engage in the business of insurance for profit\nthrough an attorney-in-fact having authority to obligate the\nunderwriters severally, within such limits as may be lawfully specified\nin the power of attorney, on contracts of insurance made or issued by\nsuch attorney-in-fact, in the name of such aggregation of individuals,\nto and with any person or persons insured.\n (30) "Minimum surplus" means the minimum amount by which the admitted\nassets of an insurer without capital stock must exceed its liabilities\nin order to be permitted to do business in this state.\n (31) "Minor" or "infant" means a person who has not attained the age\nof eighteen years.\n (32) "Mortgage" includes a deed of trust.\n (33) "Obligations" includes bonds, debentures, notes and other\nevidences of indebtedness (whether or not liability for payment extends\nbeyond the security therefor) as well as participation interests in any\nof the foregoing.\n (34) "Officer" means any person charged with active management and\ncontrol, in an executive capacity, of the affairs of a corporation,\nincluding the president, vice-president, secretary, assistant secretary,\ntreasurer, assistant treasurer, general counsel, actuary, comptroller\nand any other person appointed or elected by the board of directors to\nexercise similar powers, and including the manager, attorney-in-fact, or\nother person appointed or elected by the board of directors to exercise\nsimilar powers, of a United States branch of an alien insurer, and the\nattorney-in-fact of a reciprocal insurer or Lloyds underwriters, and in\ncase such manager or attorney-in-fact is a corporation, including the\nofficers of such corporation.\n (35) "Parent corporation" has the meaning assigned to it in the\ndefinition of subsidiary.\n (36) "Property/casualty insurance company" means any company having\npower to write any one or more of the basic kinds of insurance specified\nin subsection (a) of section four thousand one hundred one of this\nchapter.\n (37) "Reciprocal insurer" means any aggregation of persons, firms or\ncorporations or, in the alternative, New York counties, towns, cities,\nvillages, district corporations (as defined in paragraph three of\nsection 2.00 of the local finance law), or school districts and boards\nof cooperative educational services, called "subscribers" in article\nsixty-one of this chapter, who or which under a common name engage in\nthe business of inter-insurance or exchanging contracts of insurance on\nthe reciprocal plan through an attorney-in-fact having authority to\nobligate the subscribers severally, within such limits as may lawfully\nbe specified in the subscriber's agreement, on contracts of insurance\nmade with any subscriber as a policyholder through such attorney-in-fact\nacting on behalf of all other subscribers. Such term includes any\nreciprocal or inter-insurance exchange, by whatever name known, and any\nreference thereto as an insurer shall be deemed to mean any such\naggregation of inter-insurers operating through an attorney-in-fact\nindividually and collectively as an insurance organization for the\nbenefit of its policyholders.\n (38) "Renewal license" means a license which becomes effective\nimmediately following the expiration of a license previously issued and\nin force, and which differs from such previous license only as to the\ndate of expiration.\n (39) "State" means any state of the United States, the commonwealth of\nPuerto Rico and the District of Columbia.\n (40) "Subsidiary" means an institution controlled, directly or\nindirectly, by another institution or by a retirement system. "Parent\ncorporation" means an institution or a retirement system that, directly\nor indirectly, controls another institution. For the purposes of the\ndefinitions in this subsection:\n (A) an institution is conclusively presumed to be controlled by an\ninstitution or retirement system that, directly or indirectly, with\npower to vote, owns, controls or holds a majority of the outstanding\nvoting securities of such institution;\n (B) no presumption, either of control or of absence of control, arises\nif such ownership, control or holding of voting securities is less than\na majority but more than five percent;\n (C) absence of control is presumed if such ownership, control or\nholding of voting securities is five percent or less; and\n (D) in determining control, voting securities held in separate\naccounts of an institution or retirement system shall be deemed to be\nowned by the institution or retirement system, but voting securities in\nan investment advisory account that are not owned by an institution but\nare held in an account as to which the institution is an investment\nadviser shall not be deemed to be controlled or held by such\ninstitution.\n (41) "Superintendent" means the superintendent of financial services\nof this state.\n (42) "Surplus to policyholders" means the excess of total admitted\nassets over the liabilities of an insurer, which is the sum of all\ncapital and surplus accounts minus any impairment thereof.\n (43) "United States". Except for the purposes of article fourteen of\nthis chapter, when used to signify place, means only the states of the\nUnited States, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of\nColumbia.\n (44) "United States branch" means, as the context may require, the\nbusiness unit through which business is transacted within the United\nStates by an alien insurer, or the assets and liabilities of such\ninsurer within the United States pertaining to such business or the\nmanagement powers pertaining to such business and to such assets and\nliabilities or any combination of these three.\n (45) "Voting securities" means securities of any class or any\nownership interest having voting power for the election of directors,\ntrustees or management of an institution, other than securities having\nsuch power only by reason of the happening of a contingency.\n (46) "Doing an insurance business" has the meaning ascribed to it by\nsection one thousand one hundred one of this chapter.\n (47) "Commercial risk insurance" means insurance not subject to\nsection three thousand four hundred twenty-five of this chapter issued\nor issued for delivery in this state, on a risk located in this state,\ninsuring any of the following contingencies:\n (A) loss of or damage to real property;\n (B) loss of or damage to personal property;\n (C) losses or liabilities arising out of the ownership, operation or\nuse of a motor vehicle;\n (D) liabilities of persons acting as officers or directors; or\n (E) other liabilities, including product liability, for loss of,\ndamage to, or injury to persons or property.\n (48) "Product liability" means liability of the insured for damages\nfor personal injury, death or property damage, where liability is based\nupon negligence, implied warranty or strict liability, arising out of a\ndesign, inspection, testing or manufacturing defect, or any other defect\nin a product, or is based upon any failure to warn, or to properly\ninstruct in the use of a product or for any liability for any damage\narising out of the handling or use of any product manufactured, sold,\nhandled or distributed by the insured or work completed by or on behalf\nof the insured.\n (49) "Professional liability insurance" means insurance covering\nliability arising out of the practice of any profession for which a\nlicense is required by a governmental authority of this state or, with\nrespect to treatment of patients, arising out of the operation of a duly\ncertified hospital.\n (50) "Public entity insurance" means commercial risk insurance issued\nto a public entity.\n (51) "Public entity" means:\n (A) the state of New York;\n (B) a county, city, town, village or any other political subdivision\nor civil department or division of the state;\n (C) a school district, board of cooperative educational services or\nany other governmental entity or combination or association of\ngovernmental entities operating a public school, college, community\ncollege or university;\n (D) a fire district, fire company, volunteer fire department, or any\nother entity that contracts with a municipality or other political\nsubdivision to provide fire protection;\n (E) a public library, as defined in section two hundred fifty-three of\nthe education law, authorized to operate in this state;\n (F) a public corporation, including a municipal corporation, district\ncorporation or public benefit corporation;\n (G) an improvement district, special district or other district\nauthorized by the village law, town law, county law or any other law;\n (H) a public corporation, public authority, commission, agency,\nmunicipal or other public housing authority, or project organized\npursuant to article two of the private housing finance law; or\n (I) any other governmental instrumentality or unit in the state of New\nYork.\n (52) "Gap amount" means:\n (A) in the case of a lease of personal property, the difference, if\nany, between:\n (i) the amount owed by the lessee, under the early termination\nprovision of the lease, as of the date of a total loss of the leased\nproperty caused by its theft or physical damage, or the amount which\nwould have been owed by the lessee had the lessor not waived such\nobligations; and\n (ii) the sum of: (I) any unpaid rental payments and other unpaid\ncharges, arising from the failure of the lessee to fulfill the lessee's\nobligations under the lease, that had accrued prior to the date of the\nloss; and (II) the actual cash value of the personal property as of the\ndate of the loss. If the lessee is required under the lease agreement to\nmaintain a physical damage insurance policy on the personal property\nwhich is the subject of the lease agreement, and that policy is in\neffect on the date of the loss, then "actual cash value" shall have the\nsame meaning as under the physical damage insurance policy.\n (B) In the case of a loan or other credit transaction on the purchase\nof personal property, the difference, if any, between:\n (i) the amount owed by the debtor under the loan or other credit\ntransaction as of the date of a total loss of the personal property\nwhich is the subject of the loan or other credit transaction agreement\ncaused by its theft or physical damage, or the amount that would have\nbeen owed by the debtor had the creditor not waived such obligation; and\n (ii) the sum of: (I) any unpaid payments and other unpaid charges,\narising from the failure of the debtor to fulfill the obligations under\nthe loan or other credit transaction agreement, that had accrued prior\nto the date of the loss; and (II) the actual cash value of the personal\nproperty as of the date of the loss. If the debtor is required under the\nloan or other credit transaction agreement to maintain a physical damage\ninsurance policy on the personal property which is the subject of the\nloan or other credit transaction agreement, and that policy is in effect\non the date of the loss, then "actual cash value" shall have the same\nmeaning as under the physical damage insurance policy.\n (53) "Nonprofit property/casualty insurance company" means an insurer\norganized pursuant to section six thousand seven hundred three of this\nchapter and that is subject to the provisions of article sixty-seven of\nthis chapter.\n (54) "Title insurance agent" shall be deemed to have the same meaning\nas paragraph one of subsection (y) of section two thousand one hundred\none of this chapter.\n (55) "Medically fragile child" means an individual who is under\ntwenty-one years of age and has a chronic debilitating condition or\nconditions, who may or may not be hospitalized or institutionalized, and\nmeets one or more of the following criteria: (1) is technologically\ndependent for life or health sustaining functions; (2) requires a\ncomplex medication regimen or medical interventions to maintain or to\nimprove their health status; or (3) is in need of ongoing assessment or\nintervention to prevent serious deterioration of their health status or\nmedical complications that place their life, health or development at\nrisk. Chronic debilitating conditions include bronchopulmonary\ndysplasia, cerebral palsy, congenital heart disease, microcephaly,\npulmonary hypertension, and muscular dystrophy. The term "medically\nfragile child" shall also include traumatic brain injury, the nature of\nwhich typically require care in a specialty care center for medically\nfragile children, even though the child does not have a chronic\ndebilitating condition or also meet one of the three conditions of this\nsubsection. Notwithstanding the definitions set forth in this\nsubsection, any patient which has received prior approval from an\ninsurer for admission to a specialty care facility for medically fragile\nchildren shall be considered a medically fragile child at least until\ndischarge from that facility occurs.\n (b) Whenever the terms "include", "including" or terms of similar\nimport appear in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise,\nsuch terms shall not be construed to imply the exclusion of any person,\nclass or thing not specifically included.\n (c) A reference in this chapter to any other law or statute of this\nstate, or of any other jurisdiction, means such law or statute as\namended to the effective date of this chapter and, unless the context\notherwise requires, as amended thereafter.\n