10203.10
. (a) Life insurance conforming to all of the following
conditions is another form of group life insurance:
(1) Written under a policy issued and delivered in connection with
the payment of benefits against the risk of loss in the value of
redeemable securities of the insured investor issued by an investment
company or companies operating under the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended, and whose redeemable securities are registered
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. For the purposes of
this section, such benefits shall be referred to as group investment
return assurance.
(2) Covering the lives of every eligible member of a group of
persons who are or become investors in an investment company or
companies.
(3) The group numbers not less than 100 investors yearly.
(4) The amount of insurance on any one investor does not exceed
the amount of his investment, and does not exceed twenty thousand
dollars ($20,000) on any one life.
(5) The period of assurance for each investor shall not extend
over a period exceeding the life of such investor.
(6) The policy is issued upon the application of the investment
company or companies, and the premiums are paid by the investment
company, the investor, or jointly by the investment company and the
investor.
Such insurance may be issued with or without medical examination.
(7) The policy provides a benefit equal to the difference between
the amount paid for such redeemable securities and the value of such
redeemable securities at the earlier of either (A) the end of the
certificate period, or (B) the date of death of the insured.
(8) To protect the public and policyholders located in this state
from hazardous operation by domestic, foreign, or alien companies,
and to further the purpose and provision of this part, no domestic,
foreign, or alien insurance company shall undertake the issuance of
any policy providing for group investment return assurance until such
company has satisfied the commissioner that its condition or method
of operation in connection with the issuance of such policies shall
not be such as to render its operation hazardous to the public, or
its policyholders in this state, and, whether domestic, foreign, or
alien, that it meets the conditions prescribed in Section 717 for the
issuance of a certificate of authority. In the determination of the
qualification of a company requesting authority to issue policies
providing for group investment return assurance within this state,
the commissioner shall consider, in addition to the requirements of
Section 717, all of the following: (A) the history of the company,
(B) the character, responsibility, and general fitness of the
officers and directors of the company, (C) the regulation of a
foreign company by its state of domicile, (D) the adequacy of the
investment management which the company is providing, and (E) the
company's arrangements for the supervision of the marketing of such
policies. No company may provide group investment return assurance in
its policies unless it is an admitted insurer having and maintaining
a combined capital and surplus of at least two million dollars
($2,000,000).
(9) In addition to the requirements of paragraph (8), no admitted
insurer may provide group investment return assurance in its policies
unless it establishes a special contingency fund of not less than
one million dollars ($1,000,000). This fund shall be deemed to
constitute a reserve liability in addition to other reserves of such
insurer. In the event an insurer issues both group and individual
investment return assurance, such special contingency fund shall not
be less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) for both group and
individual assurance.
(b) The commissioner shall require the payment of two hundred
fifty dollars ($250) as a fee for the determination of qualification
required by this section. Upon completion of the determination of
qualification, and whether authorization to issue policies providing
group investment return benefits is granted or denied, the
commissioner shall require the payment of such additional amounts
from the requesting insurer as may be necessary to defray all
administrative costs in excess of two hundred fifty dollars ($250)
incurred by the commissioner in making such determination.
(c) On and after the effective date of this section, a group
investment return assurance policy, or certificate evidencing such
insurance, shall not be issued or delivered in this state until a
copy of the form thereof is filed with the commissioner, the fees
required by Section 12973.9 are paid, and the commissioner has given
written approval of such form.
(d) No certificate of group investment return assurance shall be
delivered or issued for delivery to any person in this state unless
each such certificate does all of the following:
(1) Includes a statement on the first page thereof, in boldface
type, that in the event that the value of the redeemable securities
covered by the contract exceeds the amount paid for such securities,
there shall be no benefit.
(2) Provides that the reserves for all group investment return
assurance policies shall be computed and maintained on a basis which
shall place an actuarially sound value on the liabilities under such
policies. To provide a basis for the determination of such
actuarially sound values, the commissioner, from time to time, shall
adopt rules requiring the use of appropriate tables of morbidity,
mortality, interest rates, and valuation methods for such reserves.
(e) In furtherance of the purpose of this section, the
commissioner may make reasonable rules and regulations therefor. Such
rules and regulations shall be adopted, amended or repealed in
accordance with the procedure provided in Chapter 4.5 (commencing
with Section 11371) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.