230-RICR-20-45-3
A. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-1.1-1(b), the Superintendent shall allow credit for reinsurance ceded by a domestic insurer to an assuming insurer that is accredited as a reinsurer in this State as of the date on which statutory financial statement credit for reinsurance is claimed. An accredited reinsurer must:
A. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-1.1-1(d) the Superintendent shall allow credit for reinsurance ceded by a domestic insurer to an assuming insurer that as of any date on which statutory financial statement credit for reinsurance is claimed:
B. The following requirements apply to the following categories of assuming insurer:
3. The trust fund for a group including incorporated and individual unincorporated underwriters shall consist of:
4. The incorporated members of the group shall not be engaged in any business other than underwriting as a member of the group and shall be subject to the same level of regulation and solvency control by the group’s domiciliary regulator as are the unincorporated members. The group shall, within ninety (90) days after its financial statements are due to be filed with the group’s domiciliary regulator, provide to the Superintendent:
5. The trust fund for a group of incorporated insurers under common administration, whose members possess aggregate policyholders surplus of ten billion dollars ($10,000,000,000.00) (calculated and reported in substantially the same manner as prescribed by the annual statement instructions and Accounting Practices and Procedures Manual of the NAIC) and which has continuously transacted an insurance business outside the United States for at least three (3) years immediately prior to making application for accreditation, shall:
C. Credit for reinsurance shall not be granted unless the form of the trust and any amendments to the trust have been approved by either the Superintendent of the State where the trust is domiciled or the Superintendent of another State who, pursuant to the terms of the trust instrument, has accepted responsibility for regulatory oversight of the trust. The form of the trust and any trust amendments also shall be filed with the Superintendent of every state in which the ceding insurer beneficiaries of the trust are domiciled. The trust instrument shall provide that:
D. Notwithstanding any other provisions in the trust instrument, if the trust fund is inadequate because it contains an amount less than the amount required § 3.7 of this Part or if the grantor of the trust has been declared insolvent or placed into receivership, rehabilitation, liquidation or similar proceedings under the laws of its State or country of domicile, the trustee shall comply with an order of the Superintendent with regulatory oversight over the trust or with an order of a court of competent jurisdiction directing the trustee to transfer to the Superintendent with regulatory oversight over the trust or other designated receiver all of the assets of the trust fund.
E. For purposes of § 3.7 of this Part, the term “liabilities” shall mean the assuming insurer’s gross liabilities attributable to reinsurance ceded by U.S. domiciled insurers excluding liabilities that are otherwise secured by acceptable means, and, shall include:
1. For business ceded by domestic insurers authorized to write accident and health, and property and casualty insurance:
2. For business ceded by domestic insurers authorized to write life, health and annuity insurance:
F. Assets deposited in trusts established pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-1.1-1 and § 3.7 of this Part shall be valued according to their current fair market value and shall consist only of cash in U.S. dollars, certificates of deposit issued by a U.S. financial institution as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-1.1-3(a), clean, irrevocable, unconditional and “evergreen” letters of credit issued or confirmed by a qualified U.S. financial institution, as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-1.1-3(a), and investments of the type specified in § 3.7(F) of this Part, but investments in or issued by an entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with either the grantor or beneficiary of the trust shall not exceed five percent (5%) of total investments. No more than twenty percent (20%) of the total of the investments in the trust may be foreign investments authorized under §§ 3.7(F)(1)(e), (3), (6)(b) or (7) of this Part, and no more than ten percent (10%) of the total of the investments in the trust may be securities denominated in foreign currencies. For purposes of applying the preceding sentence, a depository receipt denominated in U.S. dollars and representing rights conferred by a foreign security shall be classified as a foreign investment denominated in a foreign currency. The assets of a trust established to satisfy the requirements of R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-1.1-1 shall be invested only as follows:
1. Government obligations that are not in default as to principal or interest, that are valid and legally authorized and that are issued, assumed or guaranteed by:
2. Obligations that are issued in the United States, or that are dollar denominated and issued in a non-U.S. market, by a solvent U.S. institution (other than an insurance company) or that are assumed or guaranteed by a solvent U.S. institution (other than an insurance company) and that are not in default as to principal or interest if the obligations:
4. An investment made pursuant to the provisions §§ 3.7(F)(1), (2) or (3) of this Part shall be subject to the following additional limitations:
5. As used in this Regulation:
a. “Mortgage-related security” means an obligation that is rated AA or higher (or the equivalent) by a securities rating agency recognized by the Securities Valuation Office of the NAIC and that either:
(1) Represents ownership of one (1) or more promissory notes or certificates of interest or participation in the notes (including any rights designed to assure servicing of, or the receipt or timeliness of receipt by the holders of the notes, certificates, or participation of amounts payable under, the notes, certificates of participation), that:
6. Equity Interests
a. Investments in common shares or partnership interests of a solvent U.S. institution are permissible if:
b. Investments in common shares of a solvent institution organized under the laws of a country that is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, if:
8. Investment Companies
a. Securities of an investment company registered pursuant to the Investment Company Act of 1940, 15 U.S.C. § 80a, are permissible investments if the investment company:
b. Investments made by a trust in investment companies under § 3.7(F)(8)(b) of this Part shall not exceed the following limitations:
9. Letters of Credit
A. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-1.1-1(f), the Superintendent shall allow credit for reinsurance ceded by a domestic insurer to an assuming insurer that has been certified as a reinsurer in this state at all times for which statutory financial statement credit for reinsurance is claimed under § 3.8 of this Part. The credit allowed shall be based upon the security held by or on behalf of the ceding insurer in accordance with a rating assigned to the certified reinsurer by the Superintendent. The security shall be in a form consistent with the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-1.1-1(f) and §§ 3.12, 3.13 or 3.14 of this Part. The amount of security required in order for full credit to be allowed shall correspond with the following requirements:
1.
| Ratings | Security Required |
| Secure – 1 | 0% |
| Secure – 2 | 10% |
| Secure – 3 | 20% |
| Secure – 4 | 50% |
| Secure – 5 | 75% |
| Vulnerable – 6 | 100% |
4. In order to facilitate the prompt payment of claims, a certified reinsurer shall not be required to post security for catastrophe recoverables for a period of one (1) year from the date of the first (1st) instance of a liability reserve entry by the ceding company as a result of a loss from a catastrophic occurrence as recognized by the Superintendent. The one (1) year deferral period is contingent upon the certified reinsurer continuing to pay claims in a timely manner. Reinsurance recoverables for only the following lines of business as reported on the NAIC annual financial statement related specifically to the catastrophic occurrence will be included in the deferral:
B. Certification Procedure
3. In order to be eligible for certification, the assuming insurer shall meet the following requirements:
c. The assuming insurer must maintain financial strength ratings from two (2) or more rating agencies deemed acceptable by the Superintendent. These ratings shall be based on interactive communication between the rating agency and the assuming insurer and shall not be based solely on publicly available information. These financial strength ratings will be one (1) factor used by the Superintendent in determining the rating that is assigned to the assuming insurer. Acceptable rating agencies include the following:
4. Each certified reinsurer shall be rated on a legal entity basis, with due consideration being given to the group rating where appropriate, except that an association including incorporated and individual unincorporated underwriters that has been approved to do business as a single certified reinsurer may be evaluated on the basis of its group rating. Factors that may be considered as part of the evaluation process include, but are not limited to, the following:
a. The certified reinsurer’s financial strength rating from an acceptable rating agency. The maximum rating that a certified reinsurer may be assigned will correspond to its financial strength rating as outlined in the table below. The Superintendent shall use the lowest financial strength rating received from an approved rating agency in establishing the maximum rating of a certified reinsurer. A failure to obtain or maintain at least two (2) financial strength ratings from acceptable rating agencies will result in loss of eligibility for certification:
| Ratings | Best | S&P | Moody’s | Fitch |
| Secure – 1 | A++ | AAA | Aaa | AAA |
| Secure – 2 | A+ | AA+, AA, AA- | Aa1, Aa2, Aa3 | AA+, AA, AA- |
| Secure – 3 | A | A+, A | A1, A2 | A+, A |
| Secure – 4 | A- | A- | A3 | A- |
| Secure – 5 | B++, B+ | BBB+, BBB, BBB- | Baa1, Baa2, Baa3 | BBB+, BBB, BBB- |
| Vulnerable – 6 | B, B-C++, C+, C, C-, D, E, F | BB+, BB, BB-, B+, B, B-, CCC, CC, C, D, R | Ba1, Ba2, Ba3, B1, B2, B3, Caa, Ca, C | BB+, BB, BB-, B+, B, B-, CCC+, CC, CCC-, DD |
5. Based on the analysis conducted under § 3.8(B)(4)(e) of this Part of a certified reinsurer’s reputation for prompt payment of claims, the Superintendent may make appropriate adjustments in the security the certified reinsurer is required to post to protect its liabilities to U.S. ceding insurers, provided that the Superintendent shall, at a minimum, increase the security the certified reinsurer is required to post by one (1) rating level under § 3.8(B)(4)(a) of this Part if the Superintendent finds that:
7. The certified reinsurer must agree to meet applicable information filing requirements as determined by the Superintendent, both with respect to an initial application for certification and on an ongoing basis. All information submitted by certified reinsurers which are not otherwise public information subject to disclosure shall be exempted from disclosure under R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2 and shall be withheld from public disclosure. The applicable information filing requirements are, as follows:
8. Change in Rating or Revocation of Certification
C. Qualified Jurisdictions
2. In order to determine whether the domiciliary jurisdiction of a non-U.S. assuming insurer is eligible to be recognized as a qualified jurisdiction, the Superintendent shall evaluate the reinsurance supervisory system of the non-U.S. jurisdiction, both initially and on an ongoing basis, and consider the rights, benefits and the extent of reciprocal recognition afforded by the non-U.S. jurisdiction to reinsurers licensed and domiciled in the U.S. The Superintendent shall determine the appropriate approach for evaluating the qualifications of such jurisdictions, and create and publish a list of jurisdictions whose reinsurers may be approved by the Superintendent as eligible for certification. A qualified jurisdiction must agree to share information and cooperate with the Superintendent with respect to all certified reinsurers domiciled within that jurisdiction. Additional factors to be considered in determining whether to recognize a qualified jurisdiction, in the discretion of the Superintendent, include but are not limited to the following:
D. Recognition of Certification Issued by an NAIC Accredited Jurisdiction.
B. A “Reciprocal Jurisdiction” is a jurisdiction, as designated by the Superintendent pursuant to § 3.9(D) of this Part, that meets one (1) of the following:
3. A qualified jurisdiction, as determined by the Superintendent pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-1.1-1(e)(3) and § 3.8(C) of this Part, which is not otherwise described in §§ 3.9(B)(1) and (2) of this Part and which the Superintendent determines meets all of the following additional requirements:
C. Credit shall be allowed when the reinsurance is ceded from an insurer domiciled in this State to an assuming insurer meeting each of the conditions set forth below.
2. The assuming insurer must have and maintain on an ongoing basis minimum capital and surplus, or its equivalent, calculated on at least an annual basis as of the preceding December 31 or at the annual date otherwise statutorily reported to the Reciprocal Jurisdiction, and confirmed as set forth in § 3.9(C)(7) of this Part according to the methodology of its domiciliary jurisdiction, in the following amounts:
b. If the assuming insurer is an association, including incorporated and individual unincorporated underwriters:
3. The assuming insurer must have and maintain on an ongoing basis a minimum solvency or capital ratio, as applicable, as follows:
4. The assuming insurer must agree to and provide adequate assurance, in the form of a properly executed Form RJ-1 promulgated by the Department in a Bulletin issued for that purpose), of its agreement to the following:
b. The assuming insurer must consent in writing to the jurisdiction of the courts of this State and to the appointment of the Superintendent as agent for service of process.
5. The assuming insurer or its legal successor must provide, if requested by the Superintendent, on behalf of itself and any legal predecessors, the following documentation to the Superintendent:
6. The assuming insurer must maintain a practice of prompt payment of claims under reinsurance agreements. The lack of prompt payment will be evidenced if any of the following criteria is met:
D. The Superintendent shall timely create and publish a list of Reciprocal Jurisdictions.
E. The Superintendent shall timely create and publish a list of assuming insurers that have satisfied the conditions set forth in § 3.9 of this Part and to which cessions shall be granted credit in accordance with § 3.9 of this Part.
F. If the Superintendent determines that an assuming insurer no longer meets one (1) or more of the requirements under § 3.9 of this Part, the Superintendent may revoke or suspend the eligibility of the assuming insurer for recognition under § 3.9 of this Part.
G. Before denying statement credit or imposing a requirement to post security with respect to § 3.9(F) of this Part or adopting any similar requirement that will have substantially the same regulatory impact as security, the Superintendent shall:
A. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-1.1-2, the Superintendent shall allow a reduction from liability for reinsurance ceded by a domestic insurer to an assuming insurer not meeting the requirements of R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-1.1-1 in an amount not exceeding the liabilities carried by the ceding insurer. The reduction shall be in the amount of funds held by or on behalf of the ceding insurer, including funds held in trust for the exclusive benefit of the ceding insurer, under a reinsurance contract with such assuming insurer as security for the payment of obligations under the reinsurance contract. The security shall be held in the United States subject to withdrawal solely by, and under the exclusive control of, the ceding insurer or, in the case of a trust, held in a qualified United States financial institution as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-1.1-3(b). This security may be in the form of any of the following:
A. As used in § 3.12 of this Part:
3. "Obligations," as used in § 3.12(B)(11) of this Part, means:
B. Required Conditions
4. The trust agreement shall provide that:
6. The trust agreement shall require the trustee to:
11. Notwithstanding other provisions of this Regulation, when a trust agreement is established in conjunction with a reinsurance agreement covering risks other than life, annuities and accident and health, where it is customary practice to provide a trust agreement for a specific purpose, the trust agreement may provide that the ceding insurer shall undertake to use and apply amounts drawn upon the trust account, without diminution because of the insolvency of the ceding insurer or the assuming insurer only for the following purposes:
12. Notwithstanding other provisions of this regulation, when a trust agreement is established to meet the requirements of § 3.11 of this Part in conjunction with a reinsurance agreement covering life, annuities or accident and health risks, where it is customary to provide a trust agreement for a specific purpose, the trust agreement may provide that the ceding insurer shall undertake to use and apply amounts drawn upon the trust account, without diminution because of the insolvency of the ceding insurer or the assuming insurer, only for the following purposes:
a. To pay or reimburse the ceding insurer for:
C. Permitted Conditions
D. Additional conditions applicable to reinsurance agreements.
1. A reinsurance agreement may contain provisions that:
d. Stipulate that the assuming insurer and the ceding insurer agree that the assets in the trust account, established pursuant to the provisions of the reinsurance agreement, may be withdrawn by the ceding insurer at any time, notwithstanding any other provisions in the reinsurance agreement, and shall be utilized and applied by the ceding insurer or its successors in interest by operation of law, including without limitation any liquidator, rehabilitator, receiver or conservator of such company, without diminution because of insolvency on the part of the ceding insurer or the assuming insurer, only for the following purposes:
(1) To pay or reimburse the ceding insurer for:
2. The reinsurance agreement also may contain provisions that:
a. Give the assuming insurer the right to seek approval from the ceding insurer, which shall not be unreasonably or arbitrarily withheld, to withdraw from the trust account all or any part of the trust assets and transfer those assets to the assuming insurer, provided:
c. Permit the award by any arbitration panel or court of competent jurisdiction of:
G. If the letter of credit is issued by a financial institution authorized to issue letters of credit, other than a qualified United States financial institution as described in § 3.13(A) of this Part, then the following additional requirements shall be met:
H. Reinsurance Agreement Provisions
1. The reinsurance agreement in conjunction with which the letter of credit is obtained may contain provisions that:
b. Stipulate that the assuming insurer and ceding insurer agree that the letter of credit provided by the assuming insurer pursuant to the provisions of the reinsurance agreement may be drawn upon at any time, notwithstanding any other provisions in the agreement, and shall be utilized by the ceding insurer or its successors in interest only for one (1) or more of the following reasons:
(1) To reimburse the ceding insurer for:
2. Nothing contained in § 3.13(H)(1) of this Part shall preclude the ceding insurer and assuming insurer from providing for:
A. Credit will not be granted, nor an asset or reduction from liability allowed, to a ceding insurer for reinsurance effected with assuming insurers meeting the requirements of §§ 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9 or 3.11 of this Part or otherwise in compliance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-1.1-1 after the adoption of this Regulation unless the reinsurance agreement: