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The Florida Senate

2017 Florida Statutes

Title XXXVII INSURANCE
Chapter 631 INSURER INSOLVENCY; GUARANTY OF PAYMENT Entire Chapter
SECTION 011
Definitions.
F.S. 631.011
631.011 Definitions.—For the purpose of this part, the term:
(1) “Affiliate” means any entity which exercises control over or is controlled by the insurer, directly or indirectly through:
(a) Equity ownership of voting securities;
(b) Common managerial control; or
(c) Collusive participation by the management of the insurer and affiliate in the management of the insurer or the affiliate.
(2) “Ancillary state” means, any state other than a domiciliary state.
(3) “Assets,” as used in this section, means only allowed assets as defined in chapter 625.
(4) “Bona fide holder for value” means a person who, while not possessing information that would lead a reasonable person similarly situated to believe that the insurer is insolvent or is experiencing an impairment of capital or an impairment of surplus and while unaware of the imminence or pendency of any receivership proceeding against the insurer, has, in the exercise of reasonable business judgment, exchanged his or her own funds, assets, or property for funds, assets, or property of the insurer having an equivalent market value.
(5) “Court” refers to the circuit court in which the receivership proceeding is pending.
(6) “Delinquency proceeding” means any proceeding commenced against an insurer pursuant to this chapter for the purpose of liquidating, rehabilitating, reorganizing, or conserving such insurer.
(7) “Domiciliary state” means the state in which an insurer is incorporated or organized or, in the case of an insurer incorporated or organized in a foreign country, the state in which such insurer, having become authorized to do business in such state, has, at the commencement of a delinquency proceeding, the largest amount of its assets held in trust and assets held on deposit for the benefit of its policyholders or policyholders and creditors in the United States; and any such insurer is deemed to be domiciled in such state.
(8) “Fair consideration” means that consideration which is given for property or assets of an insurer when, in exchange for the funds, assets, or property and in good faith, property is conveyed, services are rendered, or an enforceable obligation not invalidated by the receivership proceedings is created having a value to the insurer of not less than the value of the funds, assets, or property given in exchange.
(9) “Foreign country” means territory not in any state.
(10) “General assets” means all property, real, personal, or otherwise, not specifically mortgaged, pledged, deposited, or otherwise encumbered for the security or benefit of specified persons or a limited class or classes of persons, and as to such specifically encumbered property the term includes all such property or its proceeds in excess of the amount necessary to discharge the sum or sums secured thereby. Assets held in trust and assets held on deposit for the security or benefit of all policyholders or all policyholders and creditors in the United States shall be deemed general assets.
(11) “Good faith,” as used in ss. 631.262 and 631.263, means honesty in fact, including, but not limited to, the exercise of reasonable business judgment, in the conduct or transaction concerned, together with the absence of information that would lead a reasonable person in the same position to know that the insurer is insolvent or is experiencing an impairment of capital or an impairment of surplus and together with the absence of knowledge regarding the imminence or pendency of any receivership proceeding against the insurer.
(12) “Impairment of capital” means that the minimum surplus required to be maintained in s. 624.408 has been dissipated and the insurer is not possessed of assets at least equal to all its liabilities together with its total issued and outstanding capital stock, if a stock insurer, or the minimum surplus or net trust fund required by s. 624.407, if a mutual, reciprocal, or business trust insurer.
(13) “Impairment of surplus” means that the surplus of a stock insurer, the additional surplus of a mutual or reciprocal insurer, or the additional net trust fund of a business trust insurer does not comply with the requirements of s. 624.408.
(14) “Insolvency” means that all the assets of the insurer, if made immediately available, would not be sufficient to discharge all its liabilities or that the insurer is unable to pay its debts as they become due in the usual course of business. When the context of any provision of this code so indicates, insolvency also includes and is defined as “impairment of surplus,” as defined in subsection (13), and “impairment of capital,” as defined in subsection (12).
(15) “Insurer,” in addition to persons so defined under s. 624.03, also includes persons purporting to be insurers or organizing, or holding themselves out as organizing, in this state for the purpose of becoming insurers and all insurers who have policyholders resident in this state.
(16) “Liabilities,” as used in subsections (12) and (14), means all liabilities, including those specifically required in s. 625.041.
(17) “Property” includes:
(a) All right, title, and interest of the insolvent entity, whether legal or equitable, tangible or intangible, or choate or inchoate, and includes choses in action, contract rights, and any other interest recognized under the laws of this state.
(b) Entitlements that existed prior to the entry of an order of conservation, rehabilitation, or liquidation and entitlements that may arise by operation of the provisions of this part or other provisions of law allowing the department to avoid prior transfers or assert other rights in its capacity as receiver.
(c) All records and data that are otherwise the property of the insolvent insurer, in whatever form maintained, including, but not limited to, claims and claim files, application files, litigation files, premium records, rate books, underwriting manuals, personnel records, or financial records, or similar records within the possession, custody, or control of a managing general agent, third-party administrator, management company, accountant, attorney, affiliate, or other person.
(18) “Receiver” means a receiver, liquidator, rehabilitator, reorganizer, or conservator, as the context may require.
(19) “Receivership” means the placement of an insurer under the control of a receiver pursuant to a delinquency proceeding under this part.
(20) “Reciprocal state” means any state other than this state in which in substance and effect the provisions of the Insurers Rehabilitation and Liquidation Act are in force, including the provisions requiring that the commissioner of insurance or equivalent insurance supervisory official be the receiver of a delinquent insurer.
(21) “Secured claim” means any claim secured by mortgage, trust deed, pledge, deposit as security, escrow, or otherwise but does not include a special deposit claim, a claim against general assets, or a claim based on mere possession. The term also includes a claim which more than 4 months before the commencement of a delinquency proceeding in the state of the insurer’s domicile has become a lien upon specific assets by reason of judicial process.
(22) “Special deposit claim” means any claim secured by a deposit made pursuant to statute for the security or benefit of a limited class or classes of persons, but not including any general assets.
(23) “State” is as defined in s. 624.08.
History.—s. 717, ch. 59-205; ss. 13, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 2, ch. 70-27; s. 1, ch. 70-439; s. 809(1st), ch. 82-243; s. 2, ch. 83-38; s. 1, ch. 87-350; s. 5, ch. 89-360; ss. 82, 187, 188, ch. 91-108; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 26, ch. 93-410; s. 4, ch. 2002-25.