(a) The director may appoint one or more special deputies who have all the powers and responsibilities of the rehabilitator granted under this section to assist the director or his designee as rehabilitator, and the director may employ any counsel, clerks, and assistants considered necessary. The compensation of the special deputy, counsel, clerks, and assistants and all expenses of taking possession of the insurer and of conducting the proceedings must be fixed by the director with the court’s approval and must be paid out of the funds or assets of the insurer. The persons appointed under this section shall serve at the director’s pleasure. In the event that the property of the insurer does not contain sufficient cash or liquid assets to defray the costs incurred, the director may advance the costs so incurred out of any appropriation for the maintenance of the insurance department. Any amounts so advanced for expenses of administration must be repaid to the director for the use of the insurance department out of the first available monies of the insurer.

(b) The rehabilitator may take any action he considers necessary or appropriate to reform and revitalize the insurer. He has all the powers of the directors, officers, and managers, whose authority is suspended, except as they are redelegated by the rehabilitator. He has full power to direct and manage, to hire and discharge employees subject to any contract rights they may have, and to deal with the property and business of the insurer.

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Terms Used In South Carolina Code 38-27-330

  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • 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.
  • 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
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • 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
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Person: means a corporation, agency, partnership, association, voluntary organization, individual, or another entity, organization, or aggregation of individuals. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20

(c) If it appears to the rehabilitator that there has been criminal or tortious conduct or breach of any contractual or fiduciary obligation detrimental to the insurer by any officer, manager, agent, broker, employee, or other person, he may pursue all appropriate legal remedies on behalf of the insurer.

(d) If the rehabilitator determines that reorganization, consolidation, conversion, reinsurance, merger, or other transformation of the insurer is appropriate, he shall prepare a plan to effect the changes. Upon application of the rehabilitator for approval of the plan, and after any notice and hearings the court may prescribe, the court may either approve or disapprove the proposed plan, or may modify it and approve it as modified. Any plan approved under this section must be, in the judgment of the court, fair and equitable to all parties concerned. If the plan is approved, the rehabilitator shall carry out the plan. In the case of a life insurer, the plan proposed may include the imposition of liens upon the policies of the company, if all rights of shareholders are first relinquished. A plan for a life insurer may also propose imposition of a moratorium upon loan and cash surrender rights under policies, for the period and to the extent necessary.

(e) The rehabilitator has the power under §§ 38-27-450 and 38-27-460 to avoid fraudulent transfers.

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