§ 26-42-107 — Assessments

(a) For the purpose of providing the funds necessary to
carry out the powers and duties of the association, the board of
directors shall assess the member insurers separately for each
account and at a time and for amounts as the board finds
necessary. Assessments are due not less than thirty (30) days
after prior written notice to the member insurers and shall
accrue interest at the rate set by 28 U.S.C. § 1961 on and after
the due date.
(b) There shall be two (2) assessments as follows:
(i) Class A assessments shall be authorized and
called to pay administrative and legal costs and other expenses
and examinations conducted under the authority of W.S.
26-42-110(e). Class A assessments may be authorized and called
whether or not related to a particular impaired or insolvent
insurer;
(ii) Class B assessments shall be authorized and
called as necessary to carry out the powers and duties of the
association under W.S. 26-42-106 with regard to an impaired or
an insolvent insurer.
(c) The amount of any Class A assessment shall be
determined at the discretion of the board of directors and those
assessments may be authorized and called on a non pro rata
basis. The amount of any Class B assessment shall be allocated
for assessment purposes among the accounts pursuant to an
allocation formula which may be based on the premiums or
reserves of the impaired or insolvent insurer or any other
standard deemed by the board in its sole discretion as fair and
reasonable under the circumstances.
(d) Class B assessments against member insurers for each
account shall be in the proportion that the premiums received on
business in this state by each assessed member insurer or
policies or contracts covered by each account for the three (3)
most recent calendar years for which information is available
preceding the year in which the insurer became insolvent, or in
the case of an assessment with respect to an impaired insurer,
the three (3) most recent calendar years for which information
is available preceding the year in which the insurer became
impaired, bears to the premiums received on business in this
state for the calendar years by all assessed member insurers.
The amount of the Class B assessment for long term care
insurance written by the impaired or insolvent insurer shall be
allocated according to a methodology included in the plan of
operation and approved by the commissioner. The methodology
shall provide for fifty percent (50%) of the assessment to be
allocated to accident and health member insurers and fifty
percent (50%) to be allocated to life and annuity member
insurers.
(e) Assessments for funds to meet the requirements of the
association with respect to an impaired or insolvent insurer
shall not be made until necessary to implement the purposes of
this act. Classification of assessments under subsection (b) of
this section and computation of assessments under subsections
(c) and (d) of this section shall be made with a reasonable
degree of accuracy, recognizing that exact determinations may
not always be possible. The association shall notify each
member insurer of its anticipated pro-rata share of an
authorized assessment not yet called within one hundred eighty
(180) days after the assessment is authorized.
(f) The association may abate or defer, in whole or in
part, the assessment of a member insurer if, in the opinion of
the board, payment of the assessment would endanger the ability
of the member insurer to fulfill its contractual obligations.
In the event an assessment against a member insurer is abated or
deferred in whole or in part, the amount by which the assessment
is abated or deferred may be assessed against the other member
insurers in a manner consistent with the basis for assessments
set forth in this section. Once the conditions that caused a
deferral have been removed or rectified, the member insurer
shall pay all assessments that were deferred pursuant to a
repayment plan approved by the association.
(g) The total of all assessments imposed upon a member
insurer for each account are subject to the following:
(i) Subject to paragraph (ii) of this subsection, the
total of all assessments authorized by the association with
respect to a member insurer for each account shall not in any
one (1) calendar year exceed two percent (2%) of the insurer's
average premiums received in this state on the policies and
contracts covered by the account during the three (3) calendar
years preceding the year in which the member insurer became an
impaired or insolvent insurer;
(ii) If two (2) or more assessments are authorized in
one (1) calendar year with respect to member insurers that
become impaired or insolvent in different calendar years, the
average annual premiums for purposes of the aggregate assessment
percentage limitation referenced in paragraph (i) of this
subsection shall be equal and limited to the higher of the three
(3) year average annual premiums for the applicable subaccount
or account as calculated pursuant to this subsection;
(iii) If the maximum assessment including the other
assets of the association in any account does not provide in any
one (1) year in either account an amount sufficient to carry out
the responsibilities of the association, the necessary
additional funds shall be assessed as soon thereafter as
permitted by this act;
(iv) The board may provide in the plan of operation
provided by W.S. 26-42-108 a method of allocating funds among
claims, whether relating to one (1) or more impaired or
insolvent insurers when the maximum assessment will be
insufficient to cover anticipated claims.
(h) The board may refund to member insurers the amount by
which the assets of the account exceed the amount the board
finds is necessary to carry out during the coming year the
obligations of the association with regard to the account,
including assets accruing from assignment, subrogation, net
realized gains and income from investments. The board shall use
an equitable method to make the refunds and the refunds shall be
in proportion to the contribution of each member insurer to the
account. A reasonable amount may be retained in any account to
provide funds for the continuing expenses of the association and
for future losses.
(j) Any member insurer may, in determining its premium
rates and policy owner dividends as to any kind of insurance or
health maintenance organization business within the scope of
this act, consider the amount reasonably necessary to meet its
assessment obligations under this act.
(k) The association shall issue to each member insurer
paying an assessment under this act, other than a Class A
assessment, a certificate of contribution in a form prescribed
by the commissioner for the amount of the assessment paid. All
outstanding certificates shall be of equal dignity and priority
without reference to amounts or dates of issue. A certificate of
contribution may be shown by the member insurer in its financial
statement as an asset in a form and for an amount, if any, and a
period of time as approved by the commissioner.
(m) A member insurer that wishes to protest all or part of
an assessment shall pay when due the full amount of the
assessment as set forth in the notice provided by the
association. The payment shall be available to meet association
obligations during the pendency of the protest or any subsequent
appeal. Payment shall be accompanied by a statement in writing
that the payment is made under protest and setting forth a brief
statement of the grounds for the protest. Within sixty (60) days
following the payment of an assessment under protest by a member
insurer, the association shall notify the member insurer in
writing of its determination with respect to the protest unless
the association notifies the member insurer that additional time
is required to resolve the issues raised by the protest. Within
thirty (30) days after a final decision has been made, the
association shall notify the protesting member insurer in
writing of that final decision. Within sixty (60) days of
receipt of notice of the final decision, the protesting member
insurer may appeal that final action to the commissioner. In the
alternative to rendering a final decision with respect to a
protest based on a question regarding the assessment base, the
association may refer protests to the commissioner for a final
decision, with or without a recommendation from the association.
If the protest or appeal on the assessment is upheld, the amount
paid in error or excess shall be returned to the member insurer.
Interest on a refund due a protesting member insurer shall be
paid at the rate actually earned by the association.
(n) The association may request information of member
insurers in order to aid in the exercise of its power under this
section and member insurers shall promptly comply with a
request.