Delaware Code Title 18 Sec. 1931 – Minimum financial eligibility standards for surplus line insurers
(a) The Commissioner may consider a surplus lines insurer to be eligible if the nonadmitted insurer:
(1) If a United States domestic insurer has capital and surplus or its equivalent under the laws of its domiciliary jurisdiction which equals the greater of:
a. 1. The minimum capital and surplus requirements under the law of this State; or
2. Fifteen million dollars.
b. The requirements of this paragraph (a)(1) may be satisfied by an insurer possessing less than the minimum capital and surplus upon an affirmative finding of acceptability by the Commissioner. The finding must be based upon such factors as quality of management, capital and surplus of any parent company, company underwriting profit and investment income trends, market availability, and company record and reputation within the industry. The Commissioner may not make an affirmative finding of acceptability when the nonadmitted insurer’s capital and surplus is less than $4,500,000; or
(2) The insurer is listed on the Quarterly Listing of Alien Insurers maintained by the International Insurers Department of the NAIC if the insurer is not domiciled in the United States or its territories.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 18 Sec. 1931
- dollars: means lawful money of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- 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.
- 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.
- NAIC: means the National Association of Insurance Commissioners or any successor entity. See Delaware Code Title 18 Sec. 1904
- state: includes any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. See Delaware Code Title 18 Sec. 1904
- surplus lines insurer: means a nonadmitted insurer eligible under the law of the home state to accept business from a surplus lines licensee; for purposes of this chapter "surplus lines insurer" shall also mean an insurer that is permitted to write surplus lines insurance under the laws of the state where such insurer is domiciled. See Delaware Code Title 18 Sec. 1904
- United States: includes its territories and possessions and the District of Columbia. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) This section shall not be deemed to require the Commissioner to determine the actual financial condition or claims practices of any nonadmitted insurer; and the status of eligibility shall indicate only that the insurer appears to be sound financially and to have satisfactory claims practices, and that the Commissioner has no credible evidence to the contrary.