Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 33 > Chapter 11 > Part 1 - General Provisions

• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• Completed operations liability: means :

  (a)liability arising out of the installation, maintenance, or repair of any product at a site that is not owned or controlled by:

  (i)a person who performs that work; or

  (ii)a person who hires an independent contractor to perform that work; and

  (b)liability for activities that are completed or abandoned before the date of the occurrence giving rise to the liability. See Montana Code 33-11-102

• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Hazardous financial condition: means that, based on its present or reasonably anticipated financial condition, a risk retention group, although not yet financially impaired or insolvent, is unlikely to be able to:

  (a)meet obligations to policyholders with respect to known claims and reasonably anticipated claims; or

  (b)pay other obligations in the normal course of business. See Montana Code 33-11-102

• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Insurance: means primary insurance, excess insurance, reinsurance, surplus line insurance, and any other arrangement for shifting and distributing risk that is determined to be insurance under the laws of this state. See Montana Code 33-11-102
• 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.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liability: means legal liability for damages, including costs of defense, legal costs and fees, and other claims expenses, because of injuries to other persons, damage to their property, or other damage or loss to other persons resulting from or arising out of:

  (i)a business, whether profit or nonprofit, trade, product, service (including professional service), premises, or operation; or

  (ii)an activity of any state or local government or an agency or political subdivision of state or local government. See Montana Code 33-11-102

• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• personal risk liability: means liability for damages because of injury to any person, damage to property, or other loss or damage resulting from personal, familial, or household responsibilities or activities rather than from responsibilities or activities referred to in subsection (5)(a). See Montana Code 33-11-102
• Plan of operation or a feasibility study: means an analysis that presents the expected activities and results of a risk retention group, including at a minimum:

  (a)the coverages, deductibles, coverage limits, rates, and rating classification systems for each line of insurance the group intends to offer;

  (b)historical and expected loss experience of the proposed members and national experience of similar exposures to the extent this experience is reasonably available;

  (c)pro forma financial statements and projections;

  (d)appropriate opinions by a qualified independent casualty actuary, including a determination of minimum premium or participation levels required to commence operations and to prevent a hazardous financial condition;

  (e)identification of management, underwriting procedures, managerial oversight methods, and investment policies; and

  (f)other matters as may be prescribed by the commissioner for liability insurance companies authorized by the insurance laws of the state where the risk retention group is chartered. See Montana Code 33-11-102

• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• product liability: means liability for damages because of any personal injury, death, emotional harm, consequential economic damage, or property damage, including damages resulting from the loss of use of property, arising out of the manufacture, design, importation, distribution, packaging, labeling, lease, or sale of a product but does not include the liability of any person for those damages if the product involved was in the possession of that person when the incident giving rise to the claim occurred. See Montana Code 33-11-102
• Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Purchasing group: means a group that:

  (a)has as one of its purposes the purchase of liability insurance on a group basis;

  (b)purchases liability insurance only for its group members and only to cover their similar or related liability exposure, as described in subsection (7)(c);

  (c)is composed of members whose businesses or activities are similar or related with respect to the liability to which members are exposed by virtue of any related, similar, or common business, trade, product, service, premises, or operation; and

  (d)is domiciled in any state. See Montana Code 33-11-102

• Risk retention group: means a corporation or other limited liability association formed under the laws of any state, Bermuda, or the Cayman Islands:

  (a)whose primary activity consists of assuming and spreading all or any portion of the liability exposure of its group members;

  (b)that is organized for the primary purpose of conducting the activity described under subsection (8)(a);

  (c)(i) that is chartered and licensed as a liability insurance company and authorized to engage in the business of insurance under the laws of any state; or

  (ii)that, before January 1, 1985, was chartered or licensed and authorized to engage in the business of insurance under the laws of Bermuda or the Cayman Islands and, before that date, had certified to the insurance regulatory official of at least one state that it satisfied the capitalization requirements of that state. See Montana Code 33-11-102

• State: means any state of the United States or the District of Columbia. See Montana Code 33-11-102
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203