Arizona Laws 20-629. Priority of distribution; definition
A. In a delinquency proceeding against an insurer domiciled in this state, the priority of distribution of claims from the general assets of the insurer shall be determined pursuant to this section. Every claim in each class shall be paid in full or adequate funds shall be reserved for the payment before the members of the next class may receive any payment. Subclasses may not be established within any class. The order of distribution is as follows:
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 20-629
- Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Court: means , unless the context otherwise requires, the judge of the superior court assigned to the delinquency proceeding. See Arizona Laws 20-611
- Delinquency proceeding: means any proceeding commenced against an insurer pursuant to this article for the purpose of liquidating, rehabilitating, reorganizing or conserving such insurer. See Arizona Laws 20-611
- Domiciliary state: means the state in which an insurer is incorporated or organized, or in the case of an insurer incorporated or organized in a foreign country, the state in which such insurer, having become authorized to do business in such state, has, at the commencement of delinquency proceedings, the largest amount of its assets held in trust and assets held on deposit for the benefit of its policyholders or policyholders and creditors in the United States, and any such insurer is deemed to be domiciled in such state. See Arizona Laws 20-611
- General assets: means all property, real, personal or otherwise, not specifically mortgaged, pledged, deposited or otherwise encumbered for the security or benefit of specified persons or a limited class or classes of persons, and as to such specifically encumbered property the term includes all such property or its proceeds in excess of the amount necessary to discharge the amount or amounts secured thereby. See Arizona Laws 20-611
- guaranteed investment contract: means any unallocated group contract, investment contract, funding agreement, guaranteed interest contract or other similar instrument by whatever name in which an insurance company agrees to guarantee a fixed or variable rate of interest or a future payment that is based on an index or any other similar criteria, that is payable at a predetermined date on monies that are deposited with the insurance company and that is not dependent on the continuance of human life. See Arizona Laws 20-208
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Insurer: means any person, firm, corporation, association or aggregation of persons doing an insurance business and subject to the insurance supervisory authority of, or to liquidation, rehabilitation, reorganization or conservation by the director or the equivalent insurance supervisory official of another state. See Arizona Laws 20-611
- 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.
- Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Receiver: means the director as receiver, liquidator, rehabilitator or conservator as the context may require. See Arizona Laws 20-611
- Reciprocal state: means any state other than this state in which in substance and effect the provisions of the uniform insurers liquidation act, as defined in section 20-631, are in force, including the provisions requiring that the director of insurance or equivalent insurance supervisory official be the receiver of a delinquent insurer. See Arizona Laws 20-611
- Secured claim: means any claim secured by mortgage, trust deed, pledge, deposit as security, escrow or otherwise, including federal, state or local tax liens that are perfected before the commencement of a delinquency proceeding but not including a special deposit claim or claims against general assets. See Arizona Laws 20-611
- State: means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia and the territories and possessions of the United States. See Arizona Laws 20-611
1. The costs and expenses of administration incurred in connection with the delinquency proceedings.
2. Claims of the Arizona property and casualty insurance guaranty fund established pursuant to section 20-662 and the life and disability insurance guaranty fund established pursuant to section 20-683 or a similar organization in another state to the extent the organization provides substantially similar protection with respect to the same kinds of insurance, including claims for unallocated loss adjustment expenses and general administrative costs and expenses.
3. Claims under insurance policies and contracts and guaranteed investment contracts except reinsurance, including claims under nonassessable policies for unearned premiums, claims under annuity contracts, third-party claims against insureds who are covered under liability insurance policies and, in a delinquency proceeding of a health care services organization that is domiciled in this state, claims of enrollees and enrollees’ beneficiaries and any claim of a provider for services that are provided pursuant to and covered by a health care plan.
4. Claims of the federal government, except those claims under paragraph 3 of this subsection and claims that are treated as secured claims.
5. Claims for compensation actually owing to employees of the insurer, other than its officers, for services rendered to the insurer. This priority is in lieu of any other similar priority authorized by law as to wages or compensation of employees.
6. Claims of any state or local government, except those claims under paragraph 3 of this subsection and claims that are treated as secured claims.
7. Claims of other general creditors that do not fall within any other priority under this section.
8. Claims that are filed after the date specified for filing proofs of claim pursuant to section 20-640.
9. Claims of surplus note or certificate of contribution holders or other similar obligations and for premium refunds on assessable policies.
10. Claims of shareholders, members or other owners in that capacity.
B. In a delinquency proceeding against an insurer domiciled in this state, the priority of claims against the general assets of the insurer shall be determined pursuant to this section regardless of where the claimant resides or where the assets are located.
C. In a delinquency proceeding against an insurer domiciled in a reciprocal state, claims owing to residents of this state shall be preferred if like claims are preferred by the laws of that state.
D. The owners of special deposit claims against an insurer for which a receiver is appointed in this or any other state shall be given priority against their several special deposits, including without limitation assets comprising the applicable separate account, in accordance with the provisions of the statutes governing the creation and maintenance of such deposits. If there is a deficiency in any such deposit so that the claims secured are not fully discharged, the claimants may share in the general assets, but such sharing shall be deferred until general creditors, all other persons who are entitled to priority under subsection A, paragraph 3 of this section, and also claimants against other special deposits who have received smaller percentages from their respective special deposits have been paid percentages of their claims equal to the percentage paid from the special deposit, subject to the applicable terms of any variable life contract, variable annuity contract or guaranteed investment contract that is supported by a separate account to the extent it is guaranteed by the general account. This subsection shall not be applied in a manner that would reduce the value of any general account guaranty.
E. The owner of a secured claim against an insurer for which a receiver has been appointed in this or any other state may surrender the owner’s security and file the owner’s claim as a general creditor, or the claim may be discharged by resort to the security, in which case the deficiency, if any, shall be treated as a claim against the general assets of the insurer on the same basis as claims of unsecured creditors. If the amount of the deficiency has been adjudicated in ancillary proceedings as provided in this article or if it has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction in proceedings in which the domiciliary receiver has had notice and opportunity to be heard, such amounts shall be conclusive. Otherwise the amount shall be determined in the delinquency proceeding in the domiciliary state.
F. For the purposes of this section, "health care plan" has the same meaning prescribed in section 20-1051.