§ 58-44-5 — Written contract required--Provisions.

A controlled insurer may not accept business from a controlling broker and a controlling broker may not place business with a controlled insurer unless there is a written contract between the parties specifying the responsibilities of each party, and the contract has been approved by the board of directors of the insurer and the director of insurance and contains the following minimum provisions: (1) The controlled insurer may terminate the contract for cause, upon written notice to the controlling broker. The controlled insurer shall suspend the authority of the controlling broker to write business during the pendency of any dispute regarding the cause for the termination; (2) The controlling broker shall provide accounts to the controlled insurer detailing all material transactions, including information necessary to support all commissions, charges and other fees received by, or owing to, the controlling broker; (3) The controlling broker shall remit all funds due under the terms of the contract to the controlled insurer on at least a monthly basis. The due date shall be fixed so that premiums or installments collected shall be remitted no later than ninety days after the effective date of any policy placed with the controlled insurer under this contract; (4) All funds collected for the controlled insurer's account shall be held by the controlling broker in a fiduciary capacity, in one or more appropriately identified bank accounts in banks that are members of the federal reserve system, in accordance with the provisions of the insurance law as applicable. However, funds of a controlling broker not required to be licensed in this state shall be maintained in compliance with the requirements of the controlling broker's domiciliary jurisdiction; (5) The controlling broker shall maintain separately identifiable records of business written for the controlled insurer; (6) The contract may not be assigned in whole or in part by the controlling broker; (7) The controlled insurer shall provide the controlling broker with its underwriting standards, rules and procedures, manuals setting forth the rates to be charged, and the conditions for the acceptance or rejection of risks. The controlling broker shall adhere to the standards, rules, procedures, rates, and conditions. The standards, rules, procedures, rates, and conditions shall be the same as those applicable to comparable business placed with the controlled insurer by a broker other than the controlling broker; (8) The rates and terms of the controlling broker's commissions, charges, or other fees and the purposes for those charges or fees. The rates of the commissions, charges, and other fees may be no greater than those applicable to comparable business placed with the controlled insurer by brokers other than controlling brokers. For purposes of this subdivision and subdivision (7) of this section, examples of "comparable business" include the same lines of insurance, same kinds of insurance, same kinds of risks, similar policy limits, and similar quality of business; (9) If the contract provides that the controlling broker, on insurance business placed with the insurer, is to be compensated contingent upon the insurer's profits on that business, then the compensation may not be determined and paid until at least five years after the premiums on liability insurance are earned and at least one year after the premiums are earned on any other insurance. In no event may the commissions be paid until the adequacy of the controlled insurer's reserves on remaining claims has been independently verified pursuant to § 58-44-6 ; (10) A limit on the controlling broker's writings in relation to the controlled insurer's surplus and total writings. The insurer may establish a different limit for each line or subline of business. The controlled insurer shall notify the controlling broker when the applicable limit is approached and may not accept business from the controlling broker if the limit is reached. The controlling broker may not place business with the controlled insurer if it has been notified by the controlled insurer that the limit has been reached; and (11) The controlling broker may negotiate but may not bind reinsurance on behalf of the controlled insurer on business the controlling broker places with the controlled insurer. However, the controlling broker may bind facultative reinsurance contracts pursuant to obligatory facultative agreements if the contract with the controlled insurer contains underwriting guidelines including, for both reinsurance assumed and ceded, a list of reinsurers with which automatic agreements are in effect, the coverages and amounts or percentages that may be reinsured and commission schedules.

Legislative History

SL 1992, ch 358, § 5.