Section 381.072

Title XXIV BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Chapter 381

Effective - 01 Jan 2008, see footnote   

  381.072.  Reserve requirements, reserve to cover all known claims — unearned premium reserve, amount, actuarial certification required, supplemental reserve, amount, deadline. — 1.  In determining the financial condition of a title insurer doing business under this chapter, the general provisions of the laws regulating the business of insurance requiring the establishment of reserves sufficient to cover all known and unknown liabilities, including allocated and unallocated loss adjustment expense, shall apply; except that, a title insurer shall establish and maintain:

  (1)  (a)  A known claim reserve in an amount estimated to be sufficient to cover all unpaid losses, claims, and allocated loss adjustment expenses arising under title insurance policies for which the title insurer may be liable, and for which the insurer has discovered or received notice by or on behalf of the insured or escrow or security depositor;

  (b)  Upon receiving notice from or on behalf of the insured of a title defect in or lien or adverse claim against the title of the insured that may result in a loss or cause expense to be incurred in the proper disposition of the claim, the title insurer shall determine the amount to be added to the reserve, which amount shall reflect a careful estimate of the loss or loss expense likely to result by reason of the claim;

  (c)  Reserves required under this section may be revised from time to time and shall be redetermined at least once each year;

  (2)  A statutory or unearned premium reserve established and maintained as follows:

  (a)  A domestic title insurer shall establish and maintain an unearned premium reserve computed in accordance with this section, and all sums attributed to such reserve shall at all times and for all purposes be considered and constitute unearned portions of the original premiums.  This reserve shall be reported as a liability of the title insurer in its financial statements;

  (b)  The unearned premium reserve shall be maintained by the title insurer for the protection of holders of title insurance policies.  Except as provided in this section, assets equal in value to the reserve are not subject to distribution among creditors or stockholders of the title insurer until all claims of policyholders or claims under reinsurance contracts have been paid in full, and all liability on the policies or reinsurance contracts has been paid in full and discharged or lawfully reinsured;

  (c)  The unearned premium reserve shall consist of:

  a.  The amount of the unearned premium reserve on January 1, 2008;

  b.  A sum equal to fifteen cents for each one thousand dollars of net retained liability under each title insurance policy, excluding mortgagee's policies simultaneously issued with owner's policies or owner's leasehold policies of the same or greater amount, on a single risk written on properties located in this state and issued after January 1, 2008; and

  c.  Unearned premium for closing protection letters;

  (d)  Amounts placed in the unearned premium reserve in any year in accordance with paragraph (c) of this subdivision shall be deducted in determining the net profit of the title insurer for that year;

  (e)  A title insurer shall release from the unearned premium reserve a sum equal to ten percent of the amount added to the reserve during a calendar year on July first of each of the five years following the year in which the sum was added, and shall release from the unearned premium reserve a sum equal to three and one-third percent of the amount added to the reserve during that year on each succeeding July first until the entire amount for that year has been released.  The amount of the unearned premium reserve or similar unearned premium reserve maintained before January 1, 2008, shall be released in accordance with the law in effect immediately before January 1, 2008;

  (f)  a.  Each domestic and foreign title insurer shall file annually with the audited financial report required under section 375.1032 an actuarial certificate made by a member in good standing of the American Academy of Actuaries, or by an actuary permitted to make such certificate by the commissioner, superintendent or director of the department of insurance of the state of incorporation of a foreign title insurer;

  b.  The actuarial certification shall conform to the annual statement instructions for title insurers adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and shall include the actuary's professional opinion of the insurer's reserves as of the date of the annual statement.  The reserves analyzed under this section shall include reserves for known claims, including adverse developments on known claims, and reserves for incurred but not reported claims;

  (g)  Each domestic and foreign title insurer shall establish a supplemental reserve in the amount by which the actuarially certified reserves exceed the total of the known claim reserve and statutory premium reserve as set forth in the title insurer's annual financial report, subject to this subdivision.

  2.  A foreign or alien title insurer licensed to transact title insurance business in this state shall maintain at least the same reserves on title insurance policies issued on properties located in this state as are required of domestic title insurers, unless the laws of the jurisdiction of domicile of the foreign or alien title insurer require a higher amount.

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(L. 2000 S.B. 894, A.L. 2007 S.B. 66)

Effective 1-01-08