The kinds of insurance that may be authorized in this State, subject to the other provisions of Articles 1 through 64 of this Chapter, are set forth in this section. Except to the extent an insurer participates in a risk sharing plan under Article 42 of this Chapter, nothing in this section requires any insurer to insure every kind of risk that it is authorized to insure. Except to the extent an insurer participates in a risk sharing plan under Article 42 of this Chapter, no insurer may transact any other business than that specified in its charter and articles of association or incorporation. The power to do any kind of insurance against loss of or damage to property includes the power to insure all lawful interests in the property and to insure against loss of use and occupancy and rents and profits resulting therefrom; but no kind of insurance includes life insurance or insurance against legal liability for personal injury or death unless specified in this section. In addition to any power to engage in any other kind of business than an insurance business that is specifically conferred by the provisions of Articles 1 through 64 of this Chapter, any insurer authorized to do business in this State may engage in such other kinds of business to the extent necessarily or properly incidental to the kinds of insurance business that it is authorized to do in this State. Each of the following indicates the scope of the kind of insurance business specified:

(1) “Life insurance”, meaning every insurance upon the lives of human beings and every insurance appertaining thereto. The business of life insurance includes the granting of endowment benefits; additional benefits in the event of death by accident or accidental means; additional benefits operating to safeguard the contract from lapse, or to provide a special surrender value, in the event of total and permanent disability of the insured, including industrial sick benefit; and optional modes of settlement of proceeds.

Ask an insurance law question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(2) “Annuities”, meaning all agreements to make periodical payments, whether in fixed or variable dollar amounts, or both, at specified intervals.

(3) “Accident and health insurance”, meaning:

a. Insurance against death or personal injury by accident or by any specified kinds of accident and insurance against sickness, ailment or bodily injury except as specified in paragraph b following; and

b. “Noncancelable disability insurance,” meaning insurance against disability resulting from sickness, ailment or bodily injury (but not including insurance solely against accidental injury), under any contract that does not give the insurer the option to cancel or otherwise terminate the contract at or after one year from its effective date or renewal date.

(4) “Fire insurance”, meaning insurance against loss of or damage to any property resulting from fire, including loss or damage incident to the extinguishment of a fire or to the salvaging of property in connection therewith.

(5) “Miscellaneous property insurance”, meaning loss of or damage to property resulting from:

a. Lightning, smoke or smudge, windstorm, tornado, cyclone, earthquake, volcanic eruption, rain, hail, frost and freeze, weather or climatic conditions, excess or deficiency of moisture, flood, the rising of the waters of the ocean or its tributaries, or

b. Insects, or blights, or from disease of such property other than animals, or

c. Electrical disturbance causing or concomitant with a fire or an explosion in public service or public utility property, or

d. Bombardment, invasion, insurrection, riot, civil war or commotion, military or usurped power, any order of a civil authority made to prevent the spread of a conflagration, epidemic or catastrophe, vandalism or malicious mischief, strike or lockout, or explosion; but not including any kind of insurance specified in subdivision (9), except insurance against loss or damage to property resulting from:

1. Explosion of pressure vessels (except steam boilers of more than 15 pounds pressure) in buildings designed and used solely for residential purposes by not more than four families,

2. Explosion of any kind originating outside of the insured building or outside of the building containing the property insured,

3. Explosion of pressure vessels that do not contain steam or that are not operated with steam coils or steam jackets,

4. Electrical disturbance causing or concomitant with an explosion in public service or public utility property.

(6) “Water damage insurance,” meaning insurance against loss or damage by water or other fluid or substance to any property resulting from the breakage or leakage of sprinklers, pumps, or other apparatus erected for extinguishing fires or of water pipes or other conduits or containers; or resulting from casual water entering through leaks or openings in buildings or by seepage through building walls; but not including loss or damage resulting from flood or the rising of the waters of the ocean or its tributaries; and including insurance against accidental injury of such sprinklers, pumps, fire apparatus, conduits, or containers.

(7) “Burglary and theft insurance,” meaning:

a. Insurance against loss of or damage to any property resulting from burglary, theft, larceny, robbery, forgery, fraud, vandalism, malicious mischief, confiscation, or wrongful conversion, disposal or concealment by any person or persons, or from any attempt at any of the foregoing, and

b. Insurance against loss of or damage to moneys, coins, bullion, securities, notes, drafts, acceptances, or any other valuable papers or documents, resulting from any cause, except while in the custody or possession of and being transported by any carrier for hire or in the mail.

(8) “Glass insurance,” meaning insurance against loss of or damage to glass and its appurtenances resulting from any cause.

(9) “Boiler and machinery insurance,” meaning insurance against loss of or damage to any property of the insured, resulting from the explosion of or injury to:

a. Any boiler, heater or other fired pressure vessel;

b. Any unfired pressure vessel;

c. Pipes or containers connected with any of said boilers or vessels;

d. Any engine, turbine, compressor, pump or wheel;

e. Any apparatus generating, transmitting or using electricity;

f. Any other machinery or apparatus connected with or operated by any of the previously named boilers, vessels or machines;

and including the incidental power to make inspections of and to issue certificates of inspection upon, any such boilers, apparatus, and machinery, whether insured or otherwise.

(10) “Elevator insurance,” meaning insurance against loss of or damage to any property of the insured, resulting from the ownership, maintenance or use of elevators, except loss or damage by fire.

(11) “Animal insurance,” meaning insurance against loss of or damage to any domesticated or wild animal resulting from any cause.

(12) “Collision insurance,” meaning insurance against loss of or damage to any property of the insured resulting from collision of any other object with the property, but not including collision to or by elevators or to or by vessels, craft, piers or other instrumentalities of ocean or inland navigation.

(13) “Personal injury liability insurance,” meaning insurance against legal liability of the insured, and against loss, damage, or expense incident to a claim of such liability; including personal excess liability or personal “umbrella” insurance; and including an obligation of the insurer to pay medical, hospital, surgical, or funeral benefits; and in the case of motor vehicle liability insurance including also disability and death benefits to injured persons, irrespective of legal liability of the insured, arising out of the death or injury of any person, or arising out of injury to the economic interests of any person as a result of negligence in rendering expert, fiduciary, or professional service; but not including any kind of insurance specified in subdivision (15) of this section.

(14) “Property damage liability insurance,” meaning insurance against legal liability of the insured, and against loss, damage or expense incident to a claim of such liability, arising out of the loss or destruction of, or damage to, the property of any other person, but not including any kind of insurance specified in subdivision (13) or (15).

(15) “Workers’ compensation and employer’s liability insurance,” meaning insurance against the legal liability, whether imposed by common law or by statute or assumed by contract, of any employer for the death or disablement of, or injury to, the employer’s employee.

(16) “Fidelity and surety insurance,” meaning:

a. Guaranteeing the fidelity of persons holding positions of public or private trust;

b. Becoming surety on, or guaranteeing the performance of, any lawful contract except the following:

1. A contract of indebtedness secured by title to, or mortgage upon, or interest in, real or personal property;

2. Any insurance contract except reinsurance;

c. Becoming surety on, or guaranteeing the performance of, bonds and undertakings required or permitted in all judicial proceedings or otherwise by law allowed, including surety bonds accepted by states and municipal authorities in lieu of deposits as security for the performance of insurance contracts;

d. Guaranteeing contracts of indebtedness secured by any title to, or interest in, real property, only to the extent required for the purpose of refunding, extending, refinancing, liquidating or salvaging obligations heretofore lawfully made and guaranteed;

e. Indemnifying banks, bankers, brokers, financial or moneyed corporations or associations against loss resulting from any cause of bills of exchange, notes, bonds, securities, evidences of debts, deeds, mortgages, warehouse receipts, or other valuable papers, documents, money, precious metals and articles made therefrom, jewelry, watches, necklaces, bracelets, gems, precious and semiprecious stones, including any loss while the same are being transported in armored motor vehicles, or by messenger; but not including any other risks of transportation or navigation; also against loss or damage to such an insured’s premises, or to the insured’s furnishings, fixtures, equipment, safes and vaults therein, caused by burglary, robbery, theft, vandalism or malicious mischief, or any attempt thereat.

(17) “Credit insurance,” meaning indemnifying merchants or other persons extending credit against loss or damage resulting from the nonpayment of debts owed to them; and including the incidental power to acquire and dispose of debts so insured, and to collect any debts owed to the insurer or to any person so insured by the insurer; and also including insurance where the debt is secured by either (a) a junior lien on real estate or (b) a first lien on real estate as long as (i) the purpose of the debt being insured is not for the purchase of the real estate and the insurance is limited to twenty-five percent (25%) of the insurer’s aggregate insured risk outstanding, before reinsurance ceded or assumed or (ii) the insurance is not included within the definition of mortgage guaranty insurance.

(18) “Title insurance,” meaning insuring the owners of real property and chattels real and other persons lawfully interested therein against loss by reason of defective titles and encumbrances thereon and insuring the correctness of searches for all instruments, liens or charges affecting the title to that property, including the power to procure and furnish information relative thereto, and other incidental powers that are specifically granted in Articles 1 through 64 of this Chapter.

(19) “Motor vehicle or aircraft insurance,” meaning insurance against loss of or damage resulting from any cause to motor vehicles or aircraft and their equipment, and against legal liability of the insured for loss or damage to another’s property resulting from the ownership, maintenance or use of motor vehicles or aircraft and against loss, damage or expense incident to a claim of such liability. This subdivision does not apply to commercial aircraft as defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 58-1-5.

(20) “Marine insurance,” meaning insurance against any and all kinds of loss or damage to:

a. Vessels, craft, aircraft, cars, automobiles and vehicles of every kind, as well as all goods, freights, cargoes, merchandise, effects, disbursements, profits, moneys, bullion, precious stones, securities, choses in action, evidences of debt, valuable papers, bottomry and respondentia interests and all other kinds of property and interests therein, in respect to, appertaining to or in connection with any and all risks or perils of navigation, transit, or transportation, including war risks, on or under any seas or other waters, on land or in the air, or while being assembled, packed, crated, baled, compressed or similarly prepared for shipment or while awaiting the same or during any delays, storage, transshipment, or reshipment incident thereto, including marine builder’s risks and all personal property floater risks, and

b. Person or to property in connection with or appertaining to a marine, inland marine, transit or transportation insurance, including liability for loss of or damage to either, arising out of or in connection with the construction, repair, operation, maintenance or use of the subject matter of the insurance (but not including life insurance or surety bonds nor insurance against loss because of bodily injury to the person arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of automobiles), and

c. Precious stones, jewels, jewelry, gold, silver and other precious metals, whether used in business or trade or otherwise and whether the same be in course of transportation or otherwise, and

d. Bridges, tunnels and other instrumentalities of transportation and communication (excluding buildings, their furniture and furnishings, fixed contents and supplies held in storage) unless fire, tornado, sprinkler leakage, hail, explosion, earthquake, riot and/or civil commotion are the only hazards to be covered; piers, wharves, docks and slips, excluding the risks of fire, tornado, sprinkler leakage, hail, explosion, earthquake, riot and/or civil commotion; other aids to navigation and transportation, including dry docks and marine railways against all risks.

(21) “Marine protection and indemnity insurance,” meaning insurance against, or against legal liability of the insured for, loss, damage or expense arising out of, or incident to, the ownership, operation, chartering, maintenance, use, repair or construction of any vessel, craft or instrumentality in use in ocean or inland waterways, including liability of the insured for personal injury, illness or death or for loss of or damage to the property of another person.

(22) “Miscellaneous insurance,” meaning insurance against any other casualty authorized by the charter of the company, not included in this section, which is a proper subject of insurance.

(23) “Mortgage guaranty insurance,” meaning insurance against financial loss by reason of nonpayment of principal, interest, or other sums agreed to be paid under the terms of any note or bond or other evidence of indebtedness which constitutes, or is equivalent to, a first lien or charge on the real estate, provided the improvement on the real estate is a residential building or a condominium unit or buildings designed for occupancy by not more than four families. (1899, c. 54, ss. 24, 26; 1903, c. 438, s. 1; Rev., s. 4726; 1911, c. 111, s. 1; C.S., s. 6327; 1945, c. 386; 1947, c. 721; 1953, c. 992; 1967, c. 624, s. 1; 1969, c. 616, s. 1; 1979, c. 714, s. 2; 1986, Ex. Sess., c. 7, ss. 2, 3; 1987, c. 731, s. 1, c. 864, ss. 39, 40; 1991, c. 644, s. 7; 1999-219, s. 5.1; 2001-236, s. 3; 2001-423, s. 3; 2007-127, ss. 1-3; 2008-124, s. 2.3.)