California Insurance Code 11737 – (a) The commissioner may disapprove a rate if the insurer fails …
(a) The commissioner may disapprove a rate if the insurer fails to comply with the filing requirements under Section 11735.
(b) The commissioner may disapprove rates if the commissioner determines that premiums charged, in the aggregate, resulting from the use of the rates or the rates as modified by any supplementary rate information, would be inadequate to cover an insurer’s losses and expenses, unfairly discriminatory, or tend to create a monopoly in the market pursuant to Section 11732, 11732.5, or 11733.
Terms Used In California Insurance Code 11737
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Commissioner: means the Insurance Commissioner of this State. See California Insurance Code 20
- Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
- Expenses: means that portion of any rate attributable to acquisition, field supervision, collection expenses, general expenses, taxes, licenses, and fees. See California Insurance Code 11730
- Experience rating: means a rating procedure utilizing past insurance experience of the individual policyholder to forecast future losses by measuring the policyholder's loss experience against the loss experience of policyholders in the same classification to produce a prospective premium credit, debit, or unity modification. See California Insurance Code 11730
- Market: means the interaction between buyers and sellers of workers' compensation insurance within this state pursuant to the provisions of this article. See California Insurance Code 11730
- Person: means any person, association, organization, partnership, business trust, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Insurance Code 19
- Pure premium rate: means that portion of the rate which represents the loss cost per unit of exposure, including loss adjustment expense. See California Insurance Code 11730
- Rate: means the cost of insurance per exposure base unit, prior to any application of individual risk variations based on loss or expenses considerations and does not include minimum premiums. See California Insurance Code 11730
- Rating organization: means an entity licensed by the commissioner pursuant to Section 11751. See California Insurance Code 11730
- State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Insurance Code 28
- Supplementary rate information: means any manual or plan of rates, classification system, rating schedule, minimum premium, policy fee, rating rule, rating plan, and any other similar information needed to determine the applicable premium for an insured. See California Insurance Code 11730
(c) The commissioner shall disapprove rates if the commissioner determines that premiums charged, in the aggregate, resulting from the use of the rates or the rates as modified by any supplementary rate information would, if continued in use, tend to impair or threaten the solvency of an insurer. In determining whether the premium charged in the aggregate would, if continued in use, tend to impair or threaten the solvency of the insurer, the commissioner shall consider the insurer’s experience in other states.
(d) If the commissioner intends to disapprove rates pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b), the commissioner shall serve notice on the insurer of the intent to disapprove and shall schedule a hearing to commence within 60 days of the date of the notice.
(e) If the commissioner disapproves rates pursuant to subdivision (c), the commissioner shall immediately serve notice on the insurer of the disapproval. An insurer whose rates have been disapproved pursuant to that subdivision may, within 20 days of the date of the notice of disapproval, request a hearing, and the commissioner shall hold a hearing within 60 days of the date of the notice of disapproval.
(f) Every insurer or rating organization shall provide within this state reasonable means whereby any person aggrieved by the application of its filings may be heard by the insurer or rating organization on written request to review the manner in which the rating system has been applied in connection with the insurance afforded or offered. If the insurer or rating organization fails to grant or reject the request within 30 days, the applicant may proceed in the same manner as if the application had been rejected. Any party affected by the action of the insurer or rating organization on the request may appeal, within 30 days after written notice of the action, to the commissioner who, after a hearing held within 60 days from the date on which the party requests the appeal, or longer upon agreement of the parties and not less than 10 days’ written notice to the appellant and to the insurer or rating organization, may affirm, modify, or reverse that action. If the commissioner has information on the subject from which the appeal is taken and believes that a reasonable basis for the appeal does not exist or that the appeal is not made in good faith, the commissioner may deny the appeal without a hearing. The denial shall be in writing, set forth the basis for the denial, and be served on all parties.
(g) If the commissioner disapproves a rate, the commissioner shall issue an order specifying in what respects the rate fails to meet the requirements of this article and stating when, within a reasonable period thereafter, that rate shall be discontinued for any policy issued or renewed after a date specified in the order. The order shall be issued within 20 days after the notice prescribed in subdivision (e) is served. If a hearing is held pursuant to subdivision (d) or (e), the order shall be issued, instead, within 30 days after the close of the hearing. The order may include a provision for premium adjustment for the period after the effective date of the order for policies in effect on that date.
(h) Whenever an insurer has no legally effective rates as a result of the commissioner’s disapproval of rates or other act, the commissioner shall specify interim rates for the insurer that protect the interests of all parties and may order that a specified portion of the premiums be placed in an escrow account approved by the commissioner. When new rates become legally effective, the commissioner shall order the escrowed funds or any overcharge in the interim rates to be distributed appropriately, except that refunds of less than ten dollars ($10) per policyholder shall not be required. However, if the commissioner has disapproved rates pursuant to subdivision (c), the commissioner shall order the insurer in the interim to use, at a minimum, the approved advisory pure premium rates pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 11750, as modified by the uniform experience rating plan established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 11734, without any deviations on account of any supplementary rate information and reflecting the actual expenses of the insurer, until the time that a final determination of rates is adjudicated and ordered through a hearing.
(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an insurer may increase rates on policies with inception dates prior to January 1, 2003, in an amount no greater than the pure premium rate increase approved by the commissioner reflecting the cost of the change in benefit levels authorized by the act adding this subdivision.
(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 6) by Stats. 2002, Ch. 873, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2003.)