N.J. Admin. Code § 11:1-10.4 - General eligibility requirements

(a) In order for a foreign or alien company engaged in the business of property and casualty insurance to be admitted to transact the business of insurance in the State of New Jersey, the requirements in this section shall be satisfied in addition to any other requirements in this subchapter or any other provision of law.

1. The insurer shall satisfy the Commissioner that it is not in a hazardous financial condition.

2. The insurer shall satisfy the Commissioner that its financial condition is not such as would render its operations hazardous to the policyholders, stockholders or the general public. In determining whether a hazardous financial condition exists, the factors set forth in 11:2-27.3 shall be considered. A hazardous financial condition shall be deemed to exist when those factors indicate, either singly or in combination of two or more, that the operations of any insurer transacting the business of insurance in any jurisdiction is considered by the Commissioner to be hazardous to the policyholders, stockholders or the general public.

3. The insurer shall satisfy the following capital and surplus licensure requirements:

i. An applicant shall satisfy, at a minimum, the statutorily-prescribed minimum capital and surplus requirements for all lines of insurance that it is authorized to write pursuant to the Certificate of Authority issued by its state or country of domicile, whether or not the applicant desires to transact any of those lines of insurance in the State of New Jersey. The Department shall make an adjustment of surplus regarding all applicant companies as follows:

(1) There shall be deducted from unassigned funds special deposits not held for the protection of all policyholders; and

(2) All applicants shall include in their Annual Statement a provision for unauthorized reinsurance for unearned premiums and losses in connection with the reinsurance in all companies not authorized to transact business in New Jersey. An amount in these items slightly larger than that required for New Jersey shall be acceptable where the liability is based on the calculation for some other state. These penalties may be adjusted for subsequent legal action on license status in the State of New Jersey or in other jurisdictions.

ii. Requirements for an application to meet the minimum capital and surplus amounts for all lines of insurance that it is authorized to write pursuant to the Certificate of Authority issued by its state or country of domicile may be modified by the Commissioner if the applicant:

(1) Does not transact one or more of the kinds of insurance contained in the Certificate of Authority issued by its state or county of domicile; and

(2) Submits a resolution by its board of directors stating that it will refrain from transacting the kind(s) of insurance permitted by the Certificate of Authority issued by its state, districts, territories, commonwealth, possessions or country of domicile.

4. The applicant shall have its application deferred if any one of the following conditions exist:

i. An applicant company which has failed four or more Insurance Regulatory Information System (IRIS) tests shall have its application deferred until it has demonstrated to the Commissioner and its state, districts, territories, commonwealth, possessions or country of domicile that these IRIS test results are not indicative of a financial condition that may be hazardous to the general public, policyholders, claimants, creditors and stockholders; or

ii. An applicant company which has failed to file with the NAIC an Annual Statement for the prior year shall have its application deferred until it has filed with the NAIC such Annual Statement.

5. The insurer shall satisfy the following seasoning requirements:

i. Subject to the provisions of this subchapter, no applicant shall be considered for a Certificate of Authority to transact the business of insurance in the State of New Jersey unless the Commissioner has been furnished with evidence that the applicant, under its present control, has been authorized by its/their state(s), district(s), territory(ies), commonwealth(s), possession(s) or country(ies) of domicile, to engage in the kind(s) of insurance business for which the applicant seeks a Certificate of Authority, and has in fact been actively engaged in such business for a period of at least three years prior to the date of the application for the New Jersey Certificate of Authority.

ii. An applicant insurer qualified under (a)5i above shall demonstrate that:

(1) During either any two of the last three years or the most recent year, it generated a net income from operations, after Federal taxes, as reported in the Underwriting and Investment Exhibit in the Annual Statement; and

(2) Surplus has not decreased due to operations over the three-year period in question; and

iii. The Commissioner may, upon the request of an applicant, on a case-by-case basis, waive the three-year seasoning requirement required by (a)5i and ii above. In determining whether a reduction or waiver is appropriate in a particular case, the Commissioner shall consider whether the requirements of this section have been satisfied, and, in addition, whether any one of the applicable requirements provided in (a)5iii(1) through (6) below have been satisfied. These requirements include:

(1) Whether the applicant is a wholly-owned subsidiary of an insurer which has been authorized to transact the business of insurance in the State of New Jersey for at least three years. The Commissioner shall be satisfied as to the financial condition and methods of operation of the authorized insurer who shall effectively guaranty, by a resolution passed by its board of directors, the minimum capital and surplus requirements required by statute of the applicant during the first three years of its operation in this State; or

(2) Whether the applicant is a wholly-owned subsidiary of an insurer which has been authorized to transact the business of insurance in the State of New Jersey for at least one year, and secured admission into New Jersey by having been in operation for at least three years pursuant to (a)5i and ii above. The Commissioner shall be satisfied as to the financial condition and methods of operation of the authorized insurer, which shall effectively guaranty, by a resolution passed by its board of directors, the minimum capital and surplus requirements required by statute of the applicant during the first three years of its operation in this State. The insurer parent shall also be required to have one of the top three ratings, or, in the case of Dun and Bradstreet, an evaluation acceptable to the Department, from at least two of the following: Standard and Poor's; Dun and Bradstreet; Moody's and A.M. Best; or

(3) Whether the applicant is the continuing corporation resulting from a merger or consolidation of insurers, at least one of which has been authorized in its state or country of domicile to transact the kind(s) of insurance business for which the applicant seeks a New Jersey Certificate of Authority and has been actively engaged in such insurance business for at least three years and is currently in good standing; or

(4) Whether the applicant obtains a surety bond or bonds issued by an insurance company or insurance companies approved by the Commissioner and authorized in the State of New Jersey, in an amount to be determined by the Commissioner, with a minimum requirement of $ 5,000,000 and issued for a period of time as shall be determined by the Commissioner, but which shall not exceed three years. The Commissioner shall exercise his or her discretion in setting an amount for a surety bond upon consideration of factors such as, but not limited to, the volume to be written and the type of risk, and any other factors which the Commissioner, in his or her discretion, shall consider to be appropriate. This bond shall be prepared in such a way as to meet the requirements of the Department concerning the protection of New Jersey policyholders, claimants and creditors of the applicant insurance company; or

(5) Whether the applicant demonstrates to the Commissioner that a line or lines of insurance in this State for which the applicant is seeking authority is underserved in this State at the time the request for waiver is made. For purposes of this provision "line of insurance" shall be construed to mean a sub-line of business or category of business within the line, and shall not be construed to mean an entire line of business. Any applicant seeking a waiver of the three-year seasoning requirement set forth in (a)5i and ii above pursuant to this provision shall submit a written request for such waiver which shall include the following:

(A) Such information and documentation as may be necessary to demonstrate to the Commissioner that there is no reasonable or adequate market among authorized insurers for the type of insurance coverage involved. In making this showing, the applicant shall demonstrate that there is, in fact, a market for the type of coverage involved in the request, that it is presently underserved, and that the applicant will serve that market. A showing that the coverage is presently listed on the Exportable List promulgated by the Commissioner pursuant to N.J.S.A. 17:22-6.4 3 and N.J.A.C. 11:1-34 shall be deemed to demonstrate that the coverage is presently underserved in this State;

(B) Documentation that the applicant possesses the requisite underwriting, managerial and financial capability and expertise to write the particular business involved in the request, to the extent the original application for admission does not so demonstrate; and

(C) A certification that the applicant acknowledges that if the request is granted and the applicant is admitted to transact business under such waiver, the applicant's authority to transact business shall be limited only to the type of coverage involved in the request, and that the applicant may not write any other business so long as it does not satisfy the seasoning requirements set forth (a)5i and ii above or any waiver therefrom set forth in (a)5iii (1) through (5) above. This shall not be construed to limit the ability of the applicant to request that the Commissioner remove the restriction upon a showing that it satisfies the seasoning requirements pursuant to (a)5i and ii above, or waiver therefrom set forth in (a)5iii(1) through (5) above, and that it is otherwise qualified to write such business pursuant to law, including, but not limited to, this subchapter; or

(6) Whether the Commissioner finds that admission of the applicant would assist the Commissioner in helping to prevent or ameliorate disruptions in the property/casualty insurance market. In making this determination, the Commissioner may consider relevant factors in support of such a finding, including, but not limited to, the financial strength of the applicant as evidenced by such factors as its level of capitalization, RBC score, and whether the applicant is part of a holding company system the members of which have been successfully engaged in the business of insurance, excessive marketplace volatility, inadequate competition, trends in restrictions in underwriting guidelines or acceptance criteria, or limitations or restrictions in coverage by companies admitted to transact the relevant line(s) of insurance.

6. The insurer shall procure a New Jersey Certificate of Authority by establishing compliance with the applicable requirements of 17:17-1 et seq. and shall successfully complete an admissions process which shall include a detailed review by the Commissioner of the business affairs and financial condition of the applicant as provided by this subchapter.

(b) An applicant company intending to make a formal application for admission shall first submit a letter of intent which shall consist of the preliminary information set forth in 11:1-10.5.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 11:1-10.4

Amended by R.1995 d.347, effective 7/3/1995.
See: 27 N.J.R. 1737(a), 27 N.J.R. 2582(b).
Added (a)5iii(6).
Amended by R.2001 d.75, effective 3/5/2001.
See: 32 N.J.R. 4184(a), 33 N.J.R. 794(a).
Amended by R.2001 d.99, effective 3/19/2001.
See: 32 N.J.R. 4194(a), 33 N.J.R. 1004(a).
Rewrote (a).
Amended by R.2003 d.209, effective 5/19/2003.
See: 35 N.J.R. 66(a), 35 N.J.R. 2182(a).
In (a), deleted 5ii(3); in 5iii(2), substituted "three" for "two".
Amended by R.2012 d.126, effective 7/2/2012.
See: 44 N.J.R. 959(a), 44 N.J.R. 1900(a).
In (a)5i, substituted "three" for "five"; in (a)5ii(1), substituted "either any two of the last three years or the most recent year" for "any three of the last five years, including therein either of the two most current years of business operations"; in (a)5ii(2), substituted "three-" for "five"; in the introductory paragraph of (a)5iii, substituted "case-by-case basis, waive the three-year" for "case by case basis, waive, in the case of (a)5iii(1), (2), (3), (5) and (6) below, or reduce, in the case of (a)5iii(4) below, the five year"; in (a)5iii(1), substituted "three" for "five" twice; in (a)5iii(2), substituted "three years" for "five years" twice; in (a)5iii(3), substituted "three" for "five"; deleted former (a)5iii(4); recodified former (a)5iii(5) and (a)5iii(6) as (a)5iii(4) and (a)5iii(5); rewrote (a)5iii(4); in the introductory paragraph of (a)5iii(5), substituted "three-" for "five"; in (a)5iii(5)(C), substituted "; or" for a period at the end; and added new (a)5iii(6).