(a) As to insurance against loss or damage to property, except as provided in Section 27-36-4, and as to all general casualty insurance and surety insurance, every insurer shall maintain an unearned premium reserve on all policies in force.

Terms Used In Alabama Code 27-36-3

  • following: means next after. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • property: includes both real and personal property. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • year: means a calendar year; but, whenever the word "year" is used in reference to any appropriations for the payment of money out of the treasury, it shall mean fiscal year. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
(b) The commissioner may require that such reserves shall be equal to the unearned portions of the gross premiums in force after deducting applicable reinsurance in solvent insurers as computed on each respective risk from the policy’s date of issue. If the commissioner does not so require, the portions of the gross premium in force, less applicable reinsurance in solvent insurers, to be held as an unearned premium reserve, shall be computed according to the following table:

Term for Which Policy Was Written Reserved for Unearned Premium
1 year or less 1/2
2 years 1st year 3/4
2nd year 1/4
3 years 1st year 5/6
2nd year 1/2
3rd year 1/6
4 years 1st year 7/8
2nd year 5/8
3rd year 3/8
4th year 1/8
5 years 1st year 9/10
2nd year 7/10
3rd year 1/2
4th year 3/10
5th year 1/10
Over 5 years pro rata
(c) In lieu of computation according to the table in subsection (b) of this section, the insurer, at its option, may compute all of such reserves on a monthly or more frequent pro rata basis.
(d) After adopting a method for computing such reserve, an insurer shall not change methods without approval of the insurance supervisory official of its state of domicile.
(e) This section does not apply to title insurance.