(a) Subject to the provisions of this chapter, any insurer admitted to transact any class of insurance in this state, other than title insurance, mortgage insurance, or mortgage guaranty insurance, may transact legal insurance if it has a minimum paid-in capital and surplus of not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000), provided that the paid-in capital shall not be less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), notwithstanding the paid-in capital and surplus requirements of Sections 700.01, 700.02, 10510, and 10511, respectively.

(b) Any insurer not admitted to transact any other class of insurance in this state may be admitted to transact legal insurance if it has the paid-in capital and surplus required by subdivision (a).

Terms Used In California Insurance Code 12125

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Mortgage: includes a trust deed, "mortgagor" includes a trustor under such trust deed, "mortgagee" includes a beneficiary under such trust deed, or a trustee exercising powers or performing duties granted to or imposed upon him thereunder, and "lien" in respect to real or personal property includes a charge or incumbrance arising out of a trust deed. See California Insurance Code 29
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Insurance Code 28

(c) As used in this section, “surplus” means the excess of admitted assets over the sum of (1) liabilities for losses reported, expenses, taxes, and all other indebtedness and reinsurance of outstanding risks as provided by law, and either (2) paid-in capital, in the case of an insurer issuing or having outstanding shares of capital stock, or (3) minimum paid-in capital required by this section, in the case of any other insurer.

(Added by renumbering Section 12120 (as amended by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1079) by Stats. 1995, Ch. 91, Sec. 99. Effective January 1, 1996.)