§ 56-7-101 — Contract of insurance - Definition - Restrictions and limitations - Exceptions

(a) A contract of insurance is an agreement by which one party, for a consideration, promises to pay money or its equivalent, or to do some act of value to the assured, upon the destruction or injury, loss or damage of something in which the other party has an insurable interest; and it is unlawful for any company to make any contract of insurance upon or concerning any property or interests or lives in this state, or with any resident of this state, or for any person, as insurance agent or insurance broker, to make, negotiate, solicit, or in any manner aid in the transaction of the insurance, unless and except as authorized under this title; but nothing contained in this chapter and chapters 1-4 and 6 of this title, with the exception of the Easy to Read Life and Health Insurance Policy Act, compiled in part 16 of this chapter, shall affect the rights and powers of corporations engaged in the transaction of life and casualty insurance upon the assessment plan. (b) (1) Agreements made by a religious, charitable, or nonprofit corporation or association to accept donations of whole blood in return for a promise by the organization to furnish to the donor and the donor's immediate family, upon the happening of any illness or injury, benefits not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) in value, payable either in cash or blood, shall not be deemed to be a contract of insurance within the meaning of this title. (2) Agreements made by colleges or universities operating accredited medical schools, or by hospitals or clinics operated by or affiliated with the college or university under which the college or university, hospital, or clinic binds itself to indemnify physicians, nurses, other professional employees or faculty, or medical, nursing or allied health students of the college or university for the legal liability of the physician, nurse, or other professional health care employee, or student for loss, damage, or expense incident to a claim arising out of the death or injury of any person as the result of negligence or health care liability in rendering professional service by the employee or student shall not be deemed to be contracts of insurance within the meaning of this title. The college or university making the agreements shall be required to establish and maintain a distinct reserve fund with which basic health care liability coverage will be provided in an amount at least equivalent to the existing basic Joint Underwriting Association aggregate annual level of coverage. (3) (A) A contract entered into between a tax preparation service company and a taxpayer providing for the tax preparation service company to pay the additional tax liability, penalties, or interest imposed by a taxing authority on the taxpayer as a result of an error of the tax preparation service is not a contract of insurance; provided, that the tax preparation service has secured coverage under a contractual liability insurance policy on a form approved by the commissioner and issued by an insurance company licensed in this state or a surety bond on a form approved by the commissioner and issued by an insurance company licensed in this state for a penal sum in an amount to be determined by the commissioner, which amount must be not less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), but not more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), with respect to the statewide operations of the tax preparation service and its franchisees engaged in the tax preparation business. In the alternative, the commissioner may accept a deposit of cash or securities in an amount not less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), but not more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000). The contractual liability insurance policy, bond, or deposit is subject to suit by this state and by a person who has a cause of action arising from a contract subject to this subdivision (b)(3). (B) The commissioner may promulgate rules and regulations necessary or appropriate to carry out subdivision (b)(3)(A), in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.

Legislative History

Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 640,s 1, eff. 7/1/2024. Acts 1895, ch. 160, § 2; 1899, ch. 31, § 1; Shan., § 3275; Code 1932, § 6085; Acts 1957, ch. 248, § 1; impl. am. Acts 1975, ch. 68, § 1; 1976, ch. 769, § 3; 1979, ch. 269, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 56-1101; Acts 1981, ch. 415, § 14; 2005, ch. 274, §§ 1, 2; 2012 , ch. 798, § 19.