§ 56-45-102 — Chapter definitions

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of commerce and insurance or the commissioner, director or superintendent of insurance in any other state; (2) "Completed operations liability" means liability arising out of the installation, maintenance, or repair of any product at a site that is not owned or controlled by: (A) Any person who performs that work; or (B) Any person who hires an independent contractor to perform that work, but includes liability for activities that are completed or abandoned before the date of the occurrence giving rise to the liability; (3) "Domicile", for purposes of determining the state in which a purchasing group is domiciled, means: (A) For a corporation, the state in which the purchasing group is incorporated; and (B) For an unincorporated entity, the state of its principal place of business; (4) "Hazardous financial condition" means that, based on its present or reasonably anticipated financial condition, a risk retention group, although not yet financially impaired or insolvent, is unlikely to be able to: (A) Meet obligations to policyholders with respect to known claims and reasonably anticipated claims; or (B) Pay other obligations in the normal course of business; (5) "Insurance" means primary insurance, excess insurance, reinsurance, surplus lines insurance and any other arrangement for shifting and distributing risk that is determined to be insurance under the laws of this state; (6) "Liability": (A) Means legal liability for damages, including costs of defense, legal costs and fees, and other claims expenses, because of injuries to other persons, damage to their property, or other damage or loss to other persons resulting from or arising out of: (i) Any business, whether profit or nonprofit, trade, product, services, including professional services, premises or operations; or (ii) Any activity of any state or local government, or any agency or political subdivision of state or local government; and (B) Does not include personal risk liability and an employer's liability with respect to its employees other than legal liability under the federal Employers' Liability Act ( 45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq.); (7) "Personal risk liability" means liability for damages because of injury to any person, damage to property, or other loss or damage resulting from any personal, familial or household responsibilities or activities, rather than from responsibilities or activities referred to in subdivision (6); (8) "Plan of operation or a feasibility study" means an analysis that presents the expected activities and results of a risk retention group including, at a minimum: (A) Information sufficient to verify that its members are engaged in businesses or activities similar or related with respect to the liability to which the members are exposed by virtue of any related, similar or common business, trade, product, services, premises or operations; (B) For each state in which it intends to operate, the coverages, deductibles, coverage limits, rates, and rating classification systems for each line of insurance the group intends to offer; (C) Historical and expected loss experience of the proposed members and national experience of similar exposures to the extent that this experience is reasonably available; (D) Pro forma financial statements and projections; (E) Appropriate opinions by a qualified, independent casualty actuary, including a determination of minimum premium or participation levels required to commence operations and to prevent a hazardous financial condition; (F) Identification of management, underwriting and claims procedures, marketing methods, managerial oversight methods, investment policies or reinsurance agreements; (G) Identification of each state in which the risk retention group has obtained, or sought to obtain, a charter and license, and a description of its status in each such state; and (H) Other matters that may be prescribed by the commissioner of the state in which the risk retention group is chartered for liability insurance companies authorized by the insurance laws of that state; (9) "Product liability" means liability for damages because of any personal injury, death, emotional harm, consequential economic damage, or property damage, including damages resulting from the loss of use of property, arising out of the manufacture, design, importation, distribution, packaging, labeling, lease or sale of a product, but does not include the liability of any person for those damages if the product involved was in the possession of the person when the incident giving rise to the claim occurred; (10) "Purchasing group" means any group that: (A) Has as one (1) of its purposes the purchase of liability insurance on a group basis; (B) Purchases the insurance only for its group members and only to cover the group member's similar or related liability exposure, as described in subdivision (10)(C); (C) Is composed of members whose businesses or activities are similar or related with respect to the liability to which members are exposed by virtue of any related, similar, or common business, trade, product, services, premises, or operations; and (D) Is domiciled in any state; (11) "Risk retention group" means any corporation or other limited liability association: (A) Whose primary activity consists of assuming and spreading all, or any portion, of the liability exposure of its group members; (B) That is organized for the primary purpose of conducting the activity described under subdivision (11)(A); (C) That: (i) Is chartered and licensed as a liability insurance company and authorized to engage in the business of insurance under the laws of any state; or (ii) Before January l, 1985, was chartered or licensed and authorized to engage in the business of insurance under the laws of Bermuda or the Cayman Islands and, before that date, had certified to the insurance commissioner of at least one (1) state that it satisfied the capitalization requirements of that state, except that the group shall be considered to be a risk retention group only if it has been engaged in business continuously since such date, and only for the purpose of continuing to provide insurance to cover product liability or completed operations liability, as the terms were defined in the Product Liability Risk Retention Act of 1981 ( 15 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq.), before the date of the enactment of the Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986 ( 15 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq.); (D) That does not exclude any person from membership in the group solely to provide for members of the group a competitive advantage over such a person; (E) That has: (i) As its owners only persons who comprise the membership of the risk retention group and who are provided insurance by the group; or (ii) As its sole owner an organization that has as: (a) Its members only persons who comprise the membership of the risk retention group; and (b) Its owners only persons who comprise the membership of the risk retention group and who are provided insurance by the group; (F) Whose members are engaged in businesses or activities similar or related with respect to the liability of which the members are exposed by virtue of any related, similar or common business trade, product, services, premises or operations; (G) Whose activities do not include the provision of insurance other than: (i) Liability insurance for assuming and spreading all or any portion of the liability of its group members; and (ii) Reinsurance with respect to the liability of any other risk retention group, or any members of the other group, that is engaged in businesses or activities so that the group or member meets the requirement described in subdivision (11)(F) from membership in the risk retention group that provides the reinsurance; and (H) The name of which includes the phrase "Risk Retention Group"; and (12) "State" means any state of the United States or the District of Columbia.

Legislative History

Acts 1991, ch. 142, § 6.