Section 27-44-14

Liability of unpaid assessments; records of negotiations and meetings; association deemed creditor of impaired or insolvent insurer; judicial distribution of ownership rights of insolvent insurer; recovery by receiver of certain distributions from controlling affiliates.

(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to reduce the liability for unpaid assessments of the insureds on an impaired or insolvent insurer operating under a plan with assessment liability.

(b) Records shall be kept of all negotiations and meetings in which the association or its representatives are involved to discuss the activities of the association in carrying out its powers and duties under Section 27-44-8. Records of such negotiations or meetings shall be made public only upon the termination of a liquidation, rehabilitation, or conservation proceeding involving the impaired or insolvent insurer, upon the termination of the impairment or insolvency of the insurer, or upon the order of a court of competent jurisdiction. Nothing in this subsection shall limit the duty of the association to render a report of its activities under Section 27-44-15.

(c) For the purpose of carrying out its obligations under this chapter, the association shall be deemed to be a creditor of the impaired or insolvent insurer to the extent of assets attributable to covered policies reduced by any amounts to which the association is entitled as subrogee pursuant to section 27-44-8(8). Assets of the impaired or insolvent insurer attributable to covered policies shall be used to continue all covered policies and pay all contractual obligations of the impaired or insolvent insurer as required by this chapter. Assets attributable to covered policies, as used in this subsection, are that proportion of the assets which the reserves that should have been established for such policies bear to the reserves that should have been established for all policies of insurance written by the impaired or insolvent insurer.

(d)(1) Prior to the termination of any liquidation, rehabilitation, or conservation proceeding, the court may take into consideration the contributions of the respective parties, including the association, the shareholders and policyowners of the insolvent insurer, and any other party with a bona fide interest, in making an equitable distribution of the ownership rights of such insolvent insurer. In such a determination consideration shall be given to the welfare of the policyholders of the continuing or successor insurer.

(2) No distribution to stockholders, if any, of an impaired or insolvent insurer shall be made until and unless the total amount of valid claims of the association for funds expended in carrying out its powers and duties under Section 27-44-8 with respect to such insurer have been fully recovered by the association.

(e)(1) If an order for liquidation or rehabilitation of an insurer domiciled in this state has been entered, the receiver appointed under such order shall have a right to recover on behalf of the insurer, from any affiliate that controlled it, the amount of distributions, other than stock dividends paid by the insurer on its capital stock, made at any time during the five years preceding the petition for liquidation or rehabilitation subject to the limitations of subdivisions (2) to (4) of this subsection.

(2) No such dividend shall be recoverable if the insurer shows that when paid the distribution was lawful and reasonable, and that the insurer did not know and could not reasonably have known that the distribution might adversely affect the ability of the insurer to fulfill its contractual obligations.

(3) Any person who was an affiliate that controlled the insurer at the time the distributions were paid shall be liable up to the amount of distributions he received. Any person who was an affiliate that controlled the insurer at the time the distributions were declared, shall be liable up to the amount of distributions he would have received if they had been paid immediately. If two persons are liable with respect to the same distributions, they shall be jointly and severally liable.

(4) The maximum amount recoverable under this subsection shall be the amount needed in excess of all other available assets of the insolvent insurer to pay the contractual obligations of the insolvent insurer.

(5) If any person liable under subdivision (3) of this subsection is insolvent, all its affiliates that controlled it at the time the dividend was paid, shall be jointly and severally liable for any resulting deficiency in the amount recovered from the insolvent affiliate.

(Acts 1982, No. 82-561, p. 922, §14.)