1. A. The board of directors of the association shall consist of not less than seven nor more than eleven member insurers serving terms as established in the plan of operation. The insurer members of the board shall be selected by member insurers subject to the approval of the superintendent. In addition, two persons who are public representatives shall be appointed by the superintendent to the board. A public representative shall not be an officer, director or employee of an insurance company or a health maintenance organization or a person engaged in the business of insurance. Vacancies on the board shall be filled for the remaining period of the term by a majority vote of the remaining board members for member insurers, subject to approval of the superintendent, and by the superintendent for public representatives.
2. B. In approving insurer member selections, the superintendent shall consider among other things whether all member insurers are fairly represented.
3. C. Members of the board may be reimbursed from the assets of the association for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by them as members of the board, but the amount of that reimbursement shall not exceed the guidelines provided by the approved plan of operation.

History: Laws 1984, ch. 127, § 755; 1993, ch. 320, § 100; 2012, ch. 9, § 9; 2024, ch. 36, § 4.

ANNOTATIONS

The 2024 amendment, effective January 1, 2025, changed the authorized number of members of the board of directors of the life and health insurance guaranty association, and provided that a public representative of the board shall not be an officer, director or employee of a health maintenance organization; and in Subsection A, after "less than," changed "five" to "seven", after "more than" changed "nine" to "eleven" and after "shall not be an officer, director or employee of an insurance company" added "or a health maintenance organization".

Applicability. – Laws 2024, ch. 36, § 12 provided that Laws 2024, ch. 36 shall not apply to any member insurer that was insolvent or unable to fulfill the member insurer's contractual obligations prior to January 1, 2025.

The 2012 amendment, effective July 1, 2012, required the appointment of two public members of the board of directors, one of whom must be associated with an insurance company or engaged in the insurance business; in Subsection A, in the first sentence, after "nor more than nine", deleted "persons" and added "member insurers", in the second sentence, after "The", added "insurer", added the third and fourth sentences, in the fifth sentence, after "remaining board members", added "for member insurers", and after "approval of the superintendent", added the remainder of the sentence; and in Subsection B, after "In approving", added "insurer member".

The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, in Subsection A, made stylistic changes in the first sentence, and inserted "board" preceding "members" in the second sentence; and, in Subsection C, substituted "approved plan of operation" for "Per Diem and Mileage Act (10-8-1 to 10-8-7 NMSA 1978)".