(A) After consultation with the insurance companies authorized to issue automobile liability or physical damage policies, or both, in this state, the superintendent of insurance shall approve a reasonable plan, fair and equitable to the insurers and to their policyholders, for the apportionment among such companies of applicants for such policies and for motor-vehicle liability policies who are in good faith entitled to but are unable to procure such policies through ordinary methods. When any such plan has been approved by the superintendent, all such insurance companies shall subscribe and participate. Any applicant for such policy, any person insured under such plan of operation, and any insurance company affected, may appeal to the superintendent of insurance from any ruling or decision of the manager or committee designated in the plan to operate the assigned risk insurance plan. Any order or act of the superintendent under this section is subject to review as provided in sections119.01to119.13of the Revised Code, at the instance of any party in interest.
(B) The plan described in division (A) of this section may permit the assigned risk insurance plan to directly issue and process claims arising from such policies described in division (A) of this section to applicants of automobile insurance policies who are in good faith entitled to but are unable to procure such policies through ordinary methods.
(C) Every form of a policy, endorsement, rider, manual of classifications, rules, and rates, every rating plan, and every modification of any of them proposed to be used by the assigned risk insurance plan shall be filed, or the plan may satisfy its obligation to make such filings, as described in section3937.03of the Revised Code.
(D) Any automobile insurance policy issued by the assigned risk insurance plan under division (B) of this section:
(1) Shall be recognized as if issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in this state;
(2) Shall meet all requirements of proof of financial responsibility as described in division (K) of section4509.01of the Revised Code.
(E) Proof of financial responsibility provided by the assigned risk insurance plan to an automobile insurance policyholder that meets the requirements described in division (G)(1)(a) or (b) of section4509.101of the Revised Code shall be recognized as if issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in this state to demonstrate proof of financial responsibility under section4509.101of the Revised Code.
(F) The assigned risk insurance plan designated in division (A) of this section shall do both of the following:
(1) Make annual audited financial reports available to the superintendent of insurance promptly upon the completion of such audit;
(2) Upon reasonable notice, make available to the superintendent of insurance all books and records relating to the insurance transactions of the assigned risk insurance plan.
(G)(1) Except as provided in division (G)(2) of this section, records created, held by, or pertaining to the assigned risk insurance plan are not public records under section149.43of the Revised Code, are confidential, and are not subject to inspection or disclosure.
(2) Division (G)(1) of this section does not apply to the plan of operation and other information required to be filed under this section with the superintendent unless otherwise prohibited from release by law.
(H)(1) For the purposes of division (H) of this section, "insurance agent" has the same meaning as in section3905.01of the Revised Code.
(2) Provided that the assigned risk insurance plan establishes registration procedures for insurance agents under division (H)(3) of this section, the plan shall not accept an application for an automobile insurance policy issued under division (B) of this section unless that application is submitted through an insurance agent registered in accordance with those procedures.
(3) The plan may do all of the following:
(a) Establish procedures to register insurance agents;
(b) Establish separate registrations for commercial and personal insurance agents, or one registration for both;
(c) Empower the manager of the plan to make determinations on registration status, including by revoking an insurance agent's registration.
(4) If an insurance agent is denied registration with the plan, or the insurance agent's registration is revoked, the plan may notify the superintendent of the plan's decision. The plan and manager are immune from civil liability for any decision to deny or revoke registration and from any decision to report denials or revocations to the superintendent.
(5) All insurance agents submitting applications to the plan for automobile insurance coverage have an affirmative duty to ensure that all information included in the application and any supporting materials is true and accurate.
(6)(a) An insurance agent shall not submit an application to the plan for automobile insurance coverage unless the agent exercises due diligence in confirming that the person seeking insurance is unable to obtain coverage through an insurer authorized to do business in this state.
(b) For the purposes of this section, due diligence requires an insurance agent to contact at least five of the authorized insurers the agent represents or, if the agent does not represent five authorized insurers that customarily write automobile insurance coverage, as many of such insurers as the agent represents.
(c) An insurance agent may assume that insurance coverage cannot be procured for the applicant through ordinary methods after each insurer contacted under division (H)(6)(b) of this section declines to provide coverage.
(d) An insurance agent may assume that an authorized insurer declines to provide coverage to the applicant seeking insurance upon either of the following:
(i) Receiving notice from the insurer declining coverage;
(ii) Receiving no response from the insurer within ten days after the date the insurance agent initially makes contact with the insurer.
(e) The determination of whether an insurance agent has adequately complied with the due diligence requirements is at the discretion of the manager of the plan.
(f) An agent shall not submit an application on behalf of an applicant to the plan for any automobile insurance policy if any insurer admitted, authorized, or otherwise eligible to do business in this state has in any way communicated a willingness to insure the applicant, even if coverage provided by the plan costs less than other insurers.
(g) The manager of the plan may revoke the registration of an insurance agent who fails to comply with division (H)(6) of this section.
Last updated July 21, 2025 at 11:27 AM