(a) Every state stock fire insurance company organized and incorporated under the laws of this state and operating under this chapter, before commencing business, must file or deposit with the commissioner of commerce and insurance the following:

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 56-23-101

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • 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.
  • insurance company: includes all corporations, associations, partnerships, or individuals engaged as principals in the business of insurance. See Tennessee Code 56-1-102
  • Person: means any association, aggregate of individuals, business, company, corporation, individual, joint-stock company, Lloyds-type organization, organization, partnership, receiver, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, trustee or society. See Tennessee Code 56-16-102
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • 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 Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) A properly certified copy of its charter;
(2) Satisfactory evidence that it possesses and maintains capital in the amount of not less than nine hundred fifty thousand dollars ($950,000);
(3) A duly executed instrument appointing agent for service of process, as required by § 56-2-103; and
(4) At least one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in cash or its equivalent, but the commissioner has the discretion to accept as the equivalent bonds of this state or bonds of the United States; all deposits required by this subdivision (a)(4) shall be subject to the same conditions as required in the case of stock or mutual life insurance companies.
(b) The commissioner shall not approve any charter or issue a certificate of authority to any company under this chapter until the commissioner has found that:

(1) The company has submitted a plan of operation; and
(2) The incorporators, directors and proposed officers are of known character and there is no good reason to believe that they are affiliated, directly or indirectly, through ownership, control, management, reinsurance transactions or other insurance or business relations with any person or persons known to have been involved in the improper manipulation of assets, accounts, reinsurance or any matter inimical to the business of insurance.
(c) The commissioner, if satisfied that all the foregoing conditions have been met, shall issue to the company a certificate of authority to do a property, casualty and surety insurance business, as defined in § 56-2-201, under this chapter.
(d) Subdivision (a)(2) does not apply to companies qualified and authorized as state mutual fire insurance companies under chapter 21 of this title prior to May 7, 1969, which thereafter convert to state stock fire insurance companies under chapter 21; provided, that any such company shall have immediately after its conversion, and shall maintain thereafter at all times, a combined capital and surplus, including both earned surplus and capital (contributed) surplus, of not less than three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000).