§1152.  Qualification and regulation of dental service contractors

A.  No person shall act as or hold himself out to be a dental service contractor in this state unless that person has qualified and has been issued a certificate of authority as a domestic insurer or has been admitted to transact business in this state and issued a certificate of authority as a foreign or alien insurer under this Title.

B.  Except as provided in this Subpart, every dental service contractor operating in this state shall be regulated by the commissioner as a domestic or foreign health and accident insurer and shall meet all of the requirements established by this Title applicable to health and accident insurers, including all capital, surplus, and deposit requirements.  For purposes of regulation, a contract between a dental service contractor and a subscriber shall be considered a health and accident insurance policy, and the subscriber shall be considered a policyholder.  Any insurer not authorized to transact any health and accident insurance business in this state which seeks authority to act also as a dental service contractor, shall be required to satisfy the capital, surplus, and deposit requirements referred to above in addition to those required to transact the business of insurance, and no cash or its equivalence and no bond used by an insurer to meet the capital, surplus, or deposit requirements of this Title to transact insurance shall be considered by the commissioner in determining whether that insurer is also qualified to act as a dental service contractor.

Added by Acts 1981, No. 461, §1; Redesignated from R.S. 22:1511 by Acts 2008, No. 415, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009.