§554.  Minimum standards

A.  Applicability of Section.  (1)  The provisions of this Section shall apply if, in any calendar year, the aggregate amount of gross written premium on business placed with a controlled insurer by a controlling producer is equal to or greater than five percent of the admitted assets of the controlled insurer, as reported in the quarterly statement of the controlled insurer filed as of September thirtieth of the prior year.

(2)  Notwithstanding Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the provisions of this Section shall not apply if:

(a)  The controlling producer places insurance only with the controlled insurer, or only with the controlled insurer and a member or members of the holding company system of the controlled insurer, or the controlled insurer's parent, affiliate, or subsidiary and receives no compensation based upon the amount of premiums written in connection with such insurance.

(b)  The controlling producer accepts insurance placements only from nonaffiliated producers, and not directly from insureds.

(c)  The controlled insurer, except for insurance business written through a residual market facility, accepts insurance business only from a controlling producer, a producer controlled by the controlled insurer, or a producer that is a subsidiary of the controlled insurer.

B.  Required contract provisions.  A controlled insurer shall not accept business from a controlling producer and a controlling producer shall not place business with a controlled insurer, unless there is a written contract between the controlling producer and the insurer specifying the responsibilities of each party, which contract has been approved by the board of directors of the insurer and contains the following minimum provisions:

(1)  The controlled insurer may terminate the contract for cause, upon written notice to the controlling producer.  The controlled insurer shall suspend the authority of the controlling producer to write business during the pendency of any dispute regarding the cause for the termination.

(2)  The controlling producer shall render accounts to the controlled insurer detailing all material transactions, including information necessary to support all commissions, charges, and other fees received by, or owing to, the controlling producer.

(3)  The controlling producer shall remit all funds due under the terms of the contract to the controlled insurer on at least a monthly basis.  The due date shall be fixed so that premiums or installments collected shall be remitted no later than ninety days after the effective date of any policy placed with the controlled insurer under this contract.

(4)  All funds collected for the controlled insurer's account shall be held by the controlling producer in a fiduciary capacity, in one or more appropriately identified bank accounts in banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System, in accordance with the applicable provisions of this Code.  However, the funds of a controlling producer not required to be licensed in this state shall be maintained in compliance with the requirements of the domiciliary jurisdiction of the controlling producer.

(5)  The controlling producer shall maintain separately identifiable records of business written for the controlled insurer.

(6)  The contract shall not be assigned in whole or in part by the controlling producer.

(7)  The controlled insurer shall provide the controlling producer with its underwriting standards, rules and procedures, manuals setting forth the rates to be charged, and the conditions for the acceptance or rejection of risks.  The controlling producer shall adhere to the standards, rules, procedures, rates, and conditions, which shall be the same as those applicable to comparable business placed with the controlled insurer by a producer other than the controlling producer.

(8)  The contract shall specify the rates and terms of the commissions, charges, and other fees of the controlling producer and the purposes for those charges or fees.  The rates of the commissions, charges, and other fees, shall be no greater than those applicable to comparable business placed with the controlled insurer by producers other than controlling producers.  For purposes of this Paragraph and Paragraph (7) of this Subsection, comparable business shall include the same lines of insurance, same kinds of insurance, same kinds of risks, similar policy limits, and similar quality of business.

(9)  If the contract provides that the controlling producer, on insurance business placed with the insurer, is to be compensated contingent upon the profits of the insurer on that business, then such compensation shall not be determined and paid until at least five years after the premiums on liability insurance are earned and at least one year after the premiums are earned on any other insurance.  In no event shall the commissions be paid until the adequacy of the reserves of the controlled insurer on remaining claims has been independently verified pursuant to Subsection C of this Section.

(10)  The contract shall specify a limit on the writings of the controlling producer in relation to the surplus and total writings of the controlled insurer.  The insurer may establish a different limit for each line or subline of business.  The controlled insurer shall notify the controlling producer when the applicable limit is approached and shall not accept business from the controlling producer if the limit is reached.  The controlling producer shall not place business with the controlled insurer if he has been notified by the controlled insurer that the limit has been reached.

(11)  The controlling producer may negotiate, but shall not bind reinsurance on behalf of the controlled insurer on business the controlling producer places with the controlled insurer, except that the controlling producer may bind facultative reinsurance contracts pursuant to obligatory facultative agreements if the contract with the controlled insurer contains underwriting guidelines including, for both reinsurance assumed and ceded, a list of reinsurers with which such automatic agreements are in effect, the coverages and amounts or percentages that may be reinsured and commission schedules.

C.  Audit committee.  Every controlled insurer shall have an audit committee of the board of directors composed of independent directors.  The audit committee shall annually meet with management, the independent certified public accountants of the insurer, and an independent casualty actuary or other independent loss reserve specialist acceptable to the commissioner of insurance to review the adequacy of the loss reserves of the insurer.

D.  Reporting requirements.  (1)  In addition to any other required loss reserve certification, the controlled insurer shall annually, on April first of each year, file with the commissioner an opinion of an independent casualty actuary, or such other independent loss reserve specialist approved by the commissioner, reporting loss ratios for each line of business written and attesting to the adequacy of loss reserves established for losses incurred and outstanding as of year-end, including losses incurred but not reported, on business placed by the controlling producer.

(2)  The controlled insurer shall annually report to the commissioner the amount of commissions paid to the controlling producer, the percentage such amount represents of the net premiums written and comparable amounts and percentage paid to noncontrolling producers for placements of the same kinds of insurance.

E.  Repealed by Acts 2009, No. 503, §1.

Acts 1992, No. 811, §1; Redesignated from R.S. 22:1210.4 by Acts 2008, No. 415, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2009, No. 503, §§1, 2.

NOTE:  Former R.S. 22:554 redesignated as R.S. 22:294 by Acts 2008, No. 415, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009.