§ 58-62-41. Assessments.
§58‑62‑41. Assessments.
(a) To provide thefunds necessary to carry out the powers and duties of the Association, theBoard shall assess the member insurers, separately for each account, at suchtime and for such amounts as the Board finds necessary. Assessments are due notless than 30 days after prior written notice to the member insurers and shallaccrue interest at the rate of one percent (1%) per month, or any part thereof,after the due date.
(b) There shall be twoclasses of assessments, as follows:
(1) Class A assessmentsshall be made for the purpose of meeting administrative and legal costs andother expenses and examinations conducted under the authority of G.S. 58‑62‑56(e).Class A assessments may be made whether or not they are related to a particulardelinquent insurer.
(2) Class B assessmentsshall be made to the extent necessary to carry out the powers and duties of theAssociation under G.S. 58‑62‑36 with regard to a delinquentinsurer.
(c) The amount of anyClass A assessment shall be determined by the Board and may or may not beprorated. If prorated, the Board may provide that it be credited against futureClass B assessments. If not prorated, the assessment shall not exceed onehundred fifty dollars ($150.00) per member insurer in any one calendar year.The amount of any Class B assessment shall be allocated for assessment purposesamong the accounts pursuant to an allocation formula, which may be based on thepremiums or reserves of the delinquent insurer or any other standard consideredby the Board in its sole discretion to be fair and reasonable under thecircumstances.
(d) Class B assessmentsagainst member insurers for each account and subaccount shall be in theproportion that the premiums received on business in this State by each assessedmember insurer or policies covered by each account for the three most recentcalendar years for which information is available preceding the year in whichthe insurer became delinquent, as the case may be, bears to the premiumsreceived on business in this State for those calendar years by all assessedmember insurers.
(e) Assessments forfunds to meet the requirements of the Association with respect to a delinquentinsurer shall not be made until necessary to implement the purposes of thisArticle. Classification of assessments under subsection (b) of this section andcomputation of assessments under this subsection shall be made with areasonable degree of accuracy, recognizing that exact determinations may notalways be possible.
(f) The Associationmay abate or defer, in whole or in part, the assessment of a member insurer if,in the Board's opinion, payment of the assessment would endanger the memberinsurer's ability to fulfill its contractual obligations. If an assessmentagainst a member insurer is abated, or deferred in whole or in part, the amountby which the assessment is abated or deferred may be assessed against the othermember insurers in a manner consistent with the basis for assessments set forthin this section.
(g) The total of allassessments upon a member insurer for the life and annuity account and for eachsubaccount thereunder shall not in any one calendar year exceed two percent(2%) and for the health account shall not in any one calendar year exceed twopercent (2%) of the insurer's average premiums received in this State on thepolicies and contracts covered by the account during the three calendar yearspreceding the year in which an insurer became a delinquent insurer. If themaximum assessment, together with the other assets of the Association in anyaccount, does not provide in any one year in either account an amountsufficient to carry out the Association's responsibilities, the necessaryadditional funds shall be assessed as soon thereafter as permitted by thisArticle.
(h) The Board mayprovide in the Plan a method of allocating funds among claims, whether relatingto one or more delinquent insurers, when the maximum assessment will beinsufficient to cover anticipated claims.
(i) If a one percent(1%) assessment for any subaccount of the life and annuity account in any oneyear does not provide an amount sufficient to carry out the Association'sresponsibilities, then under subsection (d) of this section, the Board shallassess all subaccounts of the life and annuity account for the necessaryadditional amount, subject to the maximum stated in subsection (g) of thissection.
(j) The Board may, byan equitable method as established in the Plan, refund to member insurers, inproportion to the contribution of each insurer to that account, the amount bywhich the assets of the account exceed the amount the Board finds is necessaryto carry out during the coming year the obligations of the Association withregard to that account, including assets accruing from assignment, subrogation,net realized gains, and income from investments. A reasonable amount may beretained in any account to provide funds for the continuing expenses of theAssociation and for future losses.
(k) It is proper forany member insurer, in determining its premium rates and policyowner dividendsas to any kind of insurance within the scope of this Article, to consider theamount reasonably necessary to meet its assessment obligations under thisArticle.
(l) The Associationshall issue to each insurer paying an assessment under this Article, other thana Class A assessment, a certificate of contribution, in a form prescribed bythe Commissioner, for the amount of the assessment so paid. All outstandingcertificates shall be of equal dignity and priority without reference toamounts or dates of issue. (1991, c. 681, s. 56; 1993, c. 452, ss. 61.1, 62;1995, c. 193, ss. 47, 48.)