The Florida Senate

628.161  Initial qualifications; mutuals.--

(1)  When newly organized, a mutual insurer may be authorized to transact any of the kinds of insurance listed in the schedule contained in subsection (2).

(2)(a)  When applying for an initial certificate of authority, the mutual insurer must have unencumbered surplus as to policyholder funds in the amount set out below as minimum initial surplus as to policyholders:

1.  With respect to health insurance, $300,000.

2.  With respect to property insurance, $200,000.

3.  With respect to casualty insurance, $300,000.

4.  With respect to any combination of health, property, or casualty insurance, $400,000.

5.  With respect to life insurance, $2.5 million.

(b)  Thereafter, the mutual insurer must maintain the maintenance level surplus as to policyholders set out below:

1.  With respect to health insurance, $200,000.

2.  With respect to property insurance, $150,000.

3.  With respect to casualty insurance, $200,000.

4.  With respect to any combination of health, property, or casualty insurance, $250,000.

5.  With respect to life insurance, $1.5 million.

(3)  The mutual insurer shall make an initial deposit with the department and thereafter maintain such deposit in an amount equal to one-half the minimum initial surplus as required in paragraph (2)(a), except that with respect to life insurance, the deposit shall be in the amount of $200,000.

(4)  Unless a mutual insurer maintains the minimum surplus as to policyholders required by s. 624.408, the mutual insurer must be organized as an assessable mutual insurer subject to the requirements of part II of this chapter.

(5)  Deposits required by this section shall be made in compliance with part III of chapter 625. This deposit requirement is in lieu of the requirements of s. 624.411

(6)  A self-insured fund organized under s. 624.4621 and holding a certificate of authority as a self-insurer's fund on December 31, 1993, may become a mutual insurer under this part, pursuant to a plan of reorganization approved by the office. A plan of reorganization must be approved by the office if:

(a)  The self-insurer's fund has sufficient financial resources to satisfy all of its obligations under all policies and coverages afforded by the fund before the reorganization and has sufficient financial resources to satisfy all of its other liabilities;

(b)  The self-insurer's fund has a minimum of $5 million of surplus;

(c)  The self-insurer's fund submits a plan that demonstrates its ability to satisfy the requirements of this chapter pertaining to mutual insurers on an ongoing basis; and

(d)  The mutual insurer resulting from the reorganization of the self-insurer's fund retains ownership of all of the assets of the self-insurer's fund, retains all of the liabilities of the self-insurer's fund, and agrees to hold all fund members harmless from any assessment for liabilities of the self-insurer's fund before the date of reorganization.

Upon approval of the plan by the office, any contingent liability of the members or former members of the self-insurer's fund for assessment for losses of the self-insurer's fund is considered satisfied, and all liability for any such contingent assessment is extinguished as of the date the self-insurer's fund becomes an authorized mutual insurer and retains all of the assets and liabilities of the self-insurer's fund.

History.--s. 636, ch. 59-205; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 646, 665, 809(1st), ch. 82-243; ss. 69, 187, 188, ch. 91-108; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 107, ch. 93-415; s. 1265, ch. 2003-261.