(a) (1) In order to provide protection to the workers of this state in the event that the insurers issuing workers’ compensation insurance to employers fail to pay compensable workers’ compensation claims when due, except in the case of the State Compensation Insurance Fund, every insurer desiring admission to transact workers’ compensation insurance, or workers’ compensation reinsurance business, or desiring to reinsure the injury, disablement, or death portions of policies of workers’ compensation insurance under the class of disability insurance shall, as a prerequisite to admission, or ability to reinsure the injury, disablement, or death portion of policies of workers’ compensation insurance under the class of disability insurance, deposit cash instruments or approved interest-bearing securities or approved stocks readily convertible into cash, investment certificates, or share accounts issued by a savings and loan association doing business in this state and insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, certificates of deposit, or savings deposits in a bank licensed to do business in this state, or approved letters of credit that perform in material respects as any other security allowable as a form of deposit for purposes of a workers’ compensation deposit and that meet the standard set forth in Section 922.5, or approved securities registered with a qualified depository located in a reciprocal state as defined in Section 1104.9, with that deposit to be in an amount and subject to any exceptions as set forth in this article. The deposit shall be made from time to time as demanded by the commissioner and may be made with the Treasurer, or a bank or savings and loan association authorized to engage in the trust business pursuant to Division 1 (commencing with Section 99) or Division 2 (commencing with Section 5000) of the Financial Code, or a trust company. A deposit of securities registered with a qualified depository located in a reciprocal state as defined in Section 1104.9 may only be made in a bank or savings and loan association authorized to engage in the trust business pursuant to Division 1 (commencing with Section 99) or Division 2 (commencing with Section 5000) of the Financial Code, or a trust company, licensed to do business and located in this state that is either domiciled in and has a principal place of business in this state, or is a national bank association with a trust office located in this state, that is a qualified custodian as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1104.9, and that maintains deposits of at least seven hundred fifty million dollars ($750,000,000). The deposit shall be made subject to the approval of the commissioner under those rules and regulations that he or she shall promulgate. The deposit shall be maintained at a deposit value specified by the commissioner, but in any event no less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), nor less than the reserves required of the insurer to be maintained under any of the provisions of Article 1 (commencing with Section 11550) of Chapter 1, relating to loss reserves on workers’ compensation business of the insurer in this state, nor less than the sum of the amounts specified in subdivision (a) of Section 11693, whichever is greater. The deposit shall be for the purpose of paying compensable workers’ compensation claims under policies issued by the insurer or reinsured by the admitted reinsurer and expenses as provided in Section 11698.02, in the event the insurer or reinsurer fails to pay those claims when they come due. If the insurer providing the deposit is domiciled in a state where a state statute, regulation, or court decision provides that, with respect to covered claims within the deductible amount that are paid by a guarantee association after the entry of an order of liquidation under large deductible workers’ compensation policies, any part of the reimbursement proceeds, other than the reasonable expenses of the receiver related to treatment of deductible policy arrangements of insurance companies in liquidation, owed by insureds on those deductible amounts, whether paid directly or through a draw of collateral, are general assets of the estate, then the amount of the insurer’s deposit pursuant to this article shall be calculated based on the gross amount of that insurer’s liabilities for loss and loss adjustment expenses under those policies without regard to the deductible, and those reserves shall not be reduced by any collateral or reimbursement obligations insureds were required to provide under those policies.
(2) This section does not require that the deposit be calculated based on gross amounts of liabilities described above if the domiciliary state does not have an existing statute, regulation, or court decision providing that the reimbursement proceeds described above are general assets of the estate.
(b) Each insurer or reinsurer desiring to have the ability to reinsure the injury, disablement, or death portions of policies of workers’ compensation under the class of disability insurance shall provide prior notice to the commissioner, in the manner and form prescribed by the commissioner of its intent to reinsure that insurance. In the event of late notice, a late filing fee shall be imposed on the reinsurer pursuant to Section 924 for failure to notify the commissioner of its intent to reinsure workers’ compensation insurance.
(c) If the deposit required by this section is not made with the Treasurer, then the depositor shall execute a trust agreement in a form approved by the commissioner between the insurer, the institution in which the deposit is made or, where applicable, the qualified custodian of the deposit, and the commissioner, that grants to the commissioner the authority to withdraw the deposit as set forth in Sections 11691.2, 11696, 11698, and 11698.3. The insurer shall also execute and deliver in duplicate to the commissioner a power of attorney in favor of the commissioner for the purposes specified herein, supported by a resolution of the depositor’s board of directors. The power of attorney and director’s resolution shall be on forms approved by the commissioner, shall provide that the power of attorney cannot be revoked or withdrawn without the consent of the commissioner, and shall be acknowledged as required by law.
(d) (1) The commissioner shall require payment, in advance, of a fee of two hundred eighty-three dollars ($283) for the initial filing of a trust agreement with a bank, savings and loan association, or trust company on deposits made pursuant to subdivision (a); for each amendment, supplement, or other change to the deposit agreement; for receiving and processing deposit schedules pursuant to this section; and for each withdrawal, substitution, or any other change in the deposit.
(2) The commissioner shall require payment, in advance, of a fee of four hundred twenty-four dollars ($424) for the initial filing of each letter of credit utilized pursuant to subdivision (a). In addition, the commissioner shall require payment, in advance, of a fee of two hundred eighty-three dollars ($283) annually for each amendment of a letter of credit.
(e) Any workers’ compensation insurer that deposits cash or cash equivalents pursuant to this section shall be entitled to a prompt refund of those deposits in excess of the amount determined by the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (a). The commissioner shall cause to be refunded any deposits determined by the commissioner to be in excess of the amount required by subdivision (a) within 30 days of that determination. In the alternative, an insurer may use any excess deposit funds to offset a demand by the commissioner to increase its deposit due to the failure of a reinsurer to make a deposit pursuant to this section.
(f) (1) An admitted insurer reinsuring business covered in this article (hereafter referred to as reinsurer) shall identify to the commissioner, in a form prescribed by the commissioner, amounts deposited for credit in the name of each ceding insurer.
(2) All reinsurance agreements covering claims and obligations under business covered by this article, and allowable for purposes of granting a ceding carrier a deposit credit, shall include a provision granting the commissioner, in the event of a delinquency proceeding, receivership, or insolvency of a ceding insurer, any sums from a reinsurer’s deposit that are necessary for the commissioner to pay those reinsured claims and obligations, or to ensure their payment by the California Insurance Guarantee Association, deemed by the commissioner due under the reinsurance agreement, upon failure of the reinsurer for any reason to make payments under the policy of reinsurance. The commissioner shall give 30 days’ notice prior to drawing upon these funds of an intent to do so. Notwithstanding the commissioner’s right to draw on these funds, the reinsurer shall otherwise retain its right to determine the validity of those claims and obligations and to contest their payment under the reinsurance agreement. Prior to a reinsurer’s deposit being drawn upon, in whole or in part, by the department, the department shall provide a reinsurer with an explanation of procedures that a reinsurer may use to explain to the department why the use of the reinsurer’s deposit may not be appropriate under the reinsurance agreement.
(3) A reinsurer entering into a contract identified in paragraph (2), beginning on or after January 1, 2005, may not cede claims or obligations assumed from a ceding insurer unless the deposit securing the ceded claims or obligations is governed by paragraph (2) or, upon approval of the commissioner, would secure the ceded claims or obligations in all material respects and in the same manner as a deposit identified in paragraph (2) above.
(4) All sums received from the reinsurer by the commissioner for those claims paid by the California Insurance Guarantee Association shall be held separate and apart from and not included in the general assets of the insolvent insurer, and shall be transferred to the California Insurance Guarantee Association upon receipt by the commissioner. In the event of a final judgment or settlement adverse to the drawing of funds by the commissioner pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3), the California Insurance Guarantee Association shall repay funds it obtained to pay covered claims and shall, if necessary, either levy a surcharge as needed or seek legislative approval to levy the surcharge if the California Insurance Guarantee Association is already levying the maximum surcharge permissible under law.
(g) If a reinsurer has not maintained deposits as required by subdivision (a) in amounts equal to the amounts of deposit credits claimed by its ceding insurers, the commissioner, after notifying the reinsurer and its ceding insurers of the deposit shortfall and allowing 15 days from the date of the notice for the deposit shortfall to be corrected, may disallow all or a portion of the reserve credits claimed by the ceding insurers. A ceding insurer disallowed a reserve credit pursuant to this provision shall immediately make the deposit required by this section.
(h) For interest-bearing securities that are debt securities and include principal payment features prior to maturity that are utilized pursuant to subdivision (a), all principal payments received shall be retained as part of the deposit.
(i) Withdrawal of any amount of the deposit required under subdivision (a) that results in a reduction of the required amount of the deposit may only occur with the prior written consent of the commissioner.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 534, Sec. 70. (AB 1699) Effective January 1, 2018.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018