(a)  This chapter shall not be construed to reduce the liability for unpaid assessments of the insureds of an impaired or insolvent insurer operating under a plan with assessment liability.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-14

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Association: means the Rhode Island life and health insurance guaranty association created under §?27-34. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Insolvent insurer: means a member insurer which after January 1, 1996, is placed under an order of liquidation by a court of competent jurisdiction with a finding of insolvency. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
  • 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.
  • Person: means any individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, governmental body or entity, or voluntary organization. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
  • Receivership court: means the court in the insolvent or impaired insurer's state having jurisdiction over the conservation, rehabilitation, or liquidation of the insurer. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5
  • State: means a state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or a United States possession, territory, or protectorate. See Rhode Island General Laws 27-34.3-5

(b)  Records shall be kept of all meetings of the board of directors to discuss the activities of the association in carrying out its powers and duties under § 27-34.3-8. The records of the association with respect to an impaired or insolvent insurer shall not be disclosed prior to 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 § 27-34.3-15.

(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 § 27-34.3-8(k). 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 covered policies bear to the reserves that should have been established for all policies of insurance written by the impaired or insolvent insurer.

(d)  As a creditor of the impaired or insolvent insurer as established in subsection (c) of this section and consistent with § 27-14.3-38, the association and other similar associations shall be entitled to receive a disbursement of assets out of the marshalled assets, from time to time as the assets become available to reimburse it, as a credit against contractual obligations under this chapter. If the liquidator has not, within one hundred twenty (120) days of a final determination of insolvency of an insurer by the receivership court, made an application to the court for the approval of a proposal to disperse assets out of marshalled assets to guaranty associations having obligations because of the insolvency, then the association shall be entitled to make application to the receivership court for approval of its own proposal to disburse these assets.

(e)(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 policy owners of the insolvent insurer, and any other party with a bona fide interest, in making an equitable distribution of the ownership rights of the insolvent insurer. In that determination, consideration shall be given to the welfare of the policy owners 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 with interest on the claims for funds expended in carrying out its powers and duties under § 27-34.3-8 with respect to the insurer have been fully recovered by the association.

(f)(1)  If an order for liquidation or rehabilitation of an insurer domiciled in this state has been entered, the receiver appointed under the 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 (5) years preceding the petition for liquidation or rehabilitation subject to the limitations of subsections (f)(2) — (f)(4) of this section.

(2)  No distribution 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 received. Any person who was an affiliate who controlled the insurer at the time the distributions were declared, shall be liable up to the amount of distributions which would have been received if they had been paid immediately. If two (2) or more persons are liable with respect to the same distributions, they shall be jointly and severally liable.

(4)  The maximum amount recoverable under this subsection (f) 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 subsection (f)(3) of this section is insolvent, all its affiliates that controlled it at the time the distribution was paid, shall be jointly and severally liable for any resulting deficiency in the amount recovered from the insolvent affiliate.

History of Section.
P.L. 1995, ch. 114, § 1; P.L. 2004, ch. 39, § 1; P.L. 2004, ch. 44, § 1; P.L. 2007, ch. 442, § 2; P.L. 2009, ch. 158, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 169, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 303, § 8; P.L. 2009, ch. 304, § 8.