South Carolina Code 38-31-20. Definitions
(1) "Account" means any one of the four accounts created by § 38-31-40.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Affiliate: means a person who directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with an insolvent insurer on December thirty-first of the year next preceding the date the insurer becomes an insolvent insurer. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Affiliate of the insolvent insurer: means a person who directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with an insolvent insurer on December thirty-first of the year next preceding the date the insurer becomes an insolvent insurer. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Association: means the South Carolina Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association created under § 38-31-40. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Casualty insurance: means each insurance against legal liability of the insured for bodily injury to or death of another person, including workers' compensation insurance, and for damages to or loss or destruction of the property of another person; medical payments insurance when written in conjunction with insurance covering liability for the deaths or bodily injuries of another person; guaranteeing the fidelity of a person holding a position of public or private trust; loss of or damage to property caused by burglary, theft, larceny, robbery, fraud, or unlawful taking or secretion of property owned by or entrusted to the insured; loss of or damage to property of the insured resulting from the explosion of or damage to a fired or unfired boiler or other pressure vessel, engine, turbine, compressor, pump, wheel, or an apparatus generating, transmitting, or using electric power, and machinery or equipment connected with any of them; loss resulting from nonpayment of debts owed to merchants or another person extending credit. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Claimant: means any insured making a first party claim or any person instituting a liability claim. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Control: means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods or nonmanagement services, or otherwise, unless the power is the result of an official position with or corporate office held by the person. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Director: means the person who is appointed by the Governor upon the advice and consent of the Senate and who is responsible for the operation and management of the department. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
- Insolvent insurer: means an insurer (a) licensed to transact insurance in this State either at the time the policy was issued or when the insured event occurred and (b) determined to be insolvent by a court of competent jurisdiction in the insurer's state of domicile or of this State and which the director or his designee has found fails to meet its obligation to policyholders in this State. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- insurance: includes annuities. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Insured: means any named insured, any additional insured, any vendor, lessor, or any other party identified as an insured under the policy. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Insurer: includes a corporation, fraternal organization, burial association, other association, partnership, society, order, individual, or aggregation of individuals engaging or proposing or attempting to engage as principals in any kind of insurance or surety business, including the exchanging of reciprocal or interinsurance contracts between individuals, partnerships, and corporations. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- License: means a document issued by the state's director or his designee authorizing a person to act as an insurance producer for the lines of authority specified in the document. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Member insurer: means any person who (a) writes any kind of insurance to which this chapter applies under § 38-31-30, including the exchange of reciprocal or interinsurance contracts, and (b) is licensed to transact insurance in this State. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, voluntary organization, or governmental entity. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Policy: means a contract of insurance. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Premium: means payment given in consideration of a contract of insurance. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
(2) "Affiliate" means a person who directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with an insolvent insurer on December thirty-first of the year next preceding the date the insurer becomes an insolvent insurer.
(3) "Affiliate of the insolvent insurer" means a person who directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with an insolvent insurer on December thirty-first of the year next preceding the date the insurer becomes an insolvent insurer.
(4) "Association" means the South Carolina Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association created under § 38-31-40.
(5) "Association similar to the association" means any guaranty association, security fund, or other insolvency mechanism which affords protection similar to that of the association. The term also includes any property/casualty insolvency mechanism which obtains assessments or other contributions from insurers on a pre-insolvency basis.
(6) "Claimant" means any insured making a first party claim or any person instituting a liability claim. However, no person who is an affiliate of the insolvent insurer may be a claimant.
(7) "Control" means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods or nonmanagement services, or otherwise, unless the power is the result of an official position with or corporate office held by the person. Control is presumed to exist if any person directly or indirectly owns, controls, holds with the power to vote, or holds proxies representing ten percent or more of the voting securities of any other person. This presumption may be rebutted by a showing that control does not exist in fact.
(8) "Covered claim" means an unpaid claim, including one of unearned premiums, which arises out of and is within the coverage and is subject to the applicable limits of an insurance policy to which this chapter applies issued by an insurer, if the insurer is an insolvent insurer and (a) the claimant or insured is a resident of this State at the time of the insured event, if for entities other than an individual, the residence of a claimant or insured is the state in which its principal place of business is located at the time of the insured event or (b) the claim is for first-party benefits for damage to property permanently located in this State. ‘Covered claim’ does not include:
(a) any amount awarded as extra-contractual damages unless awarded against the association;
(b) any amount sought as a return of premium under any retrospective rating plan;
(c) any amount due any reinsurer, insurer, insurance pool, or underwriting association as subrogation recoveries, reinsurance recoveries, contribution, indemnification, or otherwise. No such claim for any amount due any reinsurer, insurer, insurance pool, or underwriting association may be asserted against a claimant or a person insured under a policy issued by an insolvent insurer other than to the extent such a claim exceeds the association obligation limitations set forth in § 38-31-60;
(d) any first party claim by an insured whose net worth exceeds ten million dollars on December thirty-first of the year next preceding the date the insurer becomes an insolvent insurer; provided that an insured’s net worth on such date must be deemed to include the aggregate net worth of the insured and all of its subsidiaries as calculated on a consolidated basis;
(e) any first party claims by an insured which is an affiliate of the insolvent insurer;
(f) any fee or other amount relating to goods or services sought by or on behalf of any attorney or other provider of goods or services retained by the insolvent insurer or an insured prior to the date it was determined to be insolvent;
(g) any fee or other amount sought by or on behalf of any attorney or other provider of goods or services retained by any insured or claimant in connection with the assertion or prosecution of any claim, covered or otherwise, against the association; or
(h) any claims for interest.
(9) "Insolvent insurer" means an insurer (a) licensed to transact insurance in this State either at the time the policy was issued or when the insured event occurred and (b) determined to be insolvent by a court of competent jurisdiction in the insurer’s state of domicile or of this State and which the director or his designee has found fails to meet its obligation to policyholders in this State.
(10) "Insured" means any named insured, any additional insured, any vendor, lessor, or any other party identified as an insured under the policy.
(11) "Member insurer" means any person who (a) writes any kind of insurance to which this chapter applies under § 38-31-30, including the exchange of reciprocal or interinsurance contracts, and (b) is licensed to transact insurance in this State. An insurer shall cease to be a member insurer effective on the day following the termination or expiration of its license to transact the kinds of insurance to which this chapter applies; however, the insurer shall remain liable as a member insurer for any and all obligations, including obligations for assessments levied prior to the termination or expiration of the insurer’s license and assessments levied after the termination or expiration, which relate to any insurer which became an insolvent insurer prior to the termination or expiration of such insurer’s license.
(12) "Net direct written premiums" means direct gross premiums written in this State on insurance policies to which this chapter applies, less return premiums on the policies and dividends paid or credited to policyholders on the direct business. It does not include premiums on contracts between insurers or reinsurers.
(13) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, voluntary organization, or governmental entity.