South Carolina Code 38-31-80. Powers and duties of director
(1) notify the association of the existence of an insolvent insurer not later than three days after he receives notice of the determination of the insolvency;
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 38-31-80
- Account: means any one of the four accounts created by § 38-31-40. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Association: means the South Carolina Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association created under § 38-31-40. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Covered claim: means an unpaid claim, including one of unearned premiums, which arises out of and is within the coverage and is subject to the applicable limits of an insurance policy to which this chapter applies issued by an insurer, if the insurer is an insolvent insurer and (a) the claimant or insured is a resident of this State at the time of the insured event, if for entities other than an individual, the residence of a claimant or insured is the state in which its principal place of business is located at the time of the insured event or (b) the claim is for first-party benefits for damage to property permanently located in this State. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Department: means the Department of Insurance of South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Director: means the person who is appointed by the Governor upon the advice and consent of the Senate and who is responsible for the operation and management of the department. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Insolvent insurer: means an insurer (a) licensed to transact insurance in this State either at the time the policy was issued or when the insured event occurred and (b) determined to be insolvent by a court of competent jurisdiction in the insurer's state of domicile or of this State and which the director or his designee has found fails to meet its obligation to policyholders in this State. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- insurance: includes annuities. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Insurer: includes a corporation, fraternal organization, burial association, other association, partnership, society, order, individual, or aggregation of individuals engaging or proposing or attempting to engage as principals in any kind of insurance or surety business, including the exchanging of reciprocal or interinsurance contracts between individuals, partnerships, and corporations. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Member insurer: means any person who (a) writes any kind of insurance to which this chapter applies under § 38-31-30, including the exchange of reciprocal or interinsurance contracts, and (b) is licensed to transact insurance in this State. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Net direct written premiums: means direct gross premiums written in this State on insurance policies to which this chapter applies, less return premiums on the policies and dividends paid or credited to policyholders on the direct business. See South Carolina Code 38-31-20
- Premium: means payment given in consideration of a contract of insurance. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
(2) upon request of the board of directors, provide the association with a statement of the net direct written premiums of each member insurer.
(B) The director or his designee may:
(1) require that the association notify the insureds of the insolvent insurer and other interested parties of the determination of insolvency and of their rights under this chapter. The notification must be by mail at their last known address, where available, but if sufficient information for notification by mail is not available, notice by publication in a newspaper of general circulation is sufficient;
(2) suspend or revoke, after notice and hearing, the certificate of authority to transact insurance in this State of a member insurer who fails to pay an assessment when due or fails to comply with the plan of operation. As an alternative, the director or his designee may impose the penalties provided in § 38-2-10;
(3) revoke the designation of a servicing facility if he finds claims are being handled unsatisfactorily;
(4) upon request of the board of directors, notwithstanding the limitation on assessments contained in § 38-31-60(c)(iii), increase the maximum assessment in a year in an account in order for that assessment to provide an amount sufficient to make all necessary payments by the association from that account. However, no member insurer may be assessed in a year on an account under this provision an amount greater than two percent of the member insurer’s net direct written premiums for the calendar year preceding the insolvency on the kinds of insurance in the account;
(5) after determining that an insurance emergency or catastrophe exists in this State pursuant to Insurance Department Regulation 69-1(2), direct the association to pay the first one hundred dollars of each unearned premium claim and the first two hundred fifty dollars of each covered claim, notwithstanding the provisions of § 38-31-60(a).