AB 2734 — Insurance: omnibus.

Summary

(1) Existing law requires every surplus line broker whose annual tax for the preceding calendar year was $5,000 or more to make monthly installment payments on account of the annual tax on business done during the calendar year, and authorizes the Insurance Commissioner to relieve a surplus line broker of his or her obligations to make monthly payments if the broker establishes to the commissioner's satisfaction that he or she has ceased to transact business in the state, or his or her annual tax for the current year will be less than $5,000. This bill would raise the threshold for making monthly installment payments to $20,000 or more in annual tax for the preceding calendar year, and would authorize the commissioner to relieve a surplus line broker of his or her obligations to make monthly payments if his or her annual tax for the current year would be less than $20,000. (2) Existing law exempts nonprofit cooperative assessment associations, whose membership and insurance are restricted to members of a labor union, from provisions relating to the supervision or regulation of insurance with respect to the provision of job protection benefits to their members. Existing law also prohibits these associations from being a member of the California Insurance Guarantee Association for the purpose of providing insolvency insurance to each member. This bill would provide that the job protection benefits may include accidental death benefits. The bill would prohibit these associations from being a member of any insurance guaranty association in this state and would require each policy issued in this state pursuant to these provisions to contain a specified notice. (3) Existing law prohibits, among other things, an admitted insurer that is licensed to issue and is issuing motor vehicle liability policies from failing or refusing to accept an application for that insurance, failing or refusing to issue that insurance to the applicant, or from issuing or canceling that insurance under conditions less favorable to the insured than in other comparable cases because of specified reasons, including, but not limited to, discrimination between persons within the same geographic area. Existing law prohibits the admitted motor vehicle liability insurer from using specified characteristics, including, but not limited to, location within a geographic area, in and of itself, as a condition or risk for which a higher rate, premium, or charge is required of the insured for that insurance. Existing law also requires an admitted insurer, licensed to issue and issuing motor vehicle liability policies, motor vehicle physical damage policies, or both, to submit annually to the commissioner a record of loss experience, as specified, for the geographic area, as defined, including statistical data by ZIP Code area. An insurer may satisfy its obligation to report statistical data by providing its loss experience data and statewide expense ratio and combined ratio on its assigned-risk business to a rating or advisory organization for submission to the commissioner. This data is required to be made public by the commissioner annually after examination. This bill would instead require an insured to submit the record of loss experience for the geographic area biennially. The bill would also require statewide summary data to be submitted to the commissioner annually. The bill would also require that the reported data be made available to the public biennially. (4) Existing law requires insurers transacting insurance in this state whose annual tax for the preceding calendar year was $5,000 or more to make prepayments of the annual tax for the current calendar year, except as provided. The commissioner is authorized to relieve an insurer of its obligations to make prepayments if the insurer establishes to the commissioner's satisfaction that the insurer has ceased to transact business in the state, or the insurer's annual tax for the current year will be less than $5,000. This bill would raise the threshold for making tax prepayments to $20,000 or more in annual tax for the preceding calendar year, and would authorize the commissioner to relieve an insurer of its obligations to make prepayments if the insurer's annual tax for the current year would be less than $20,000. (5) Existing law requires every insurer doing business in this state to make and file with the Insurance Commissioner financial statements exhibiting its condition and affairs as of the previous year. Existing law requires credit for reinsurance be allowed for a domestic ceding insurer as either an asset or a deduction from liability on account of reinsurance ceded only when the reinsurer meets specified requirements, including, but not limited to, when the reinsurance is ceded to an assuming insurer that maintains a trust fund in a qualified United States financial institution, as defined, for the payment of the valid claims of its United States ceding insurers, their assigns, and successors in interest. Existing law requires that at any time after the assuming insurer has permanently discontinued underwriting new business secured by the trust for at least 3 full years, the commissioner may authorize a reduction in the required trusteed surplus, as provided, and the minimum required trusteed surplus may not be reduced to an amount less than 50% of the assuming insurer's liabilities attributable to reinsurance ceded by United States ceding insurers covered by the trust. This bill would authorize the trusteed surplus to be reduced to not less than 30% of the assuming insurer's liabilities attributable to reinsurance ceded by United States ceding insurers covered by the trust if the commissioner expressly finds that appropriate circumstances justify a lower level of minimum required trusteed surplus. Existing law requires that credit be allowed for a domestic insurer when the reinsurance is ceded to an assuming insurer that has been certified by the commissioner as a reinsurer in this state and secures its obligations in accordance with certain requirements. The commissioner is required to post a notice on the department's Internet Web site promptly upon receipt of any application for certification, including instructions on how members of the public may respond to the application, and the commissioner is prohibited from taking final action on the application until at least 90 days after posting the required notice. This bill would reduce the period during which the commissioner is prohibited from taking final action on the application to 30 days after posting the required notice. (6) Existing law, except as provided, prohibits an autonomous vehicle, as defined, from being operated on public roads until the manufacturer submits an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles, and that application is approved by the department. The application is required to contain, at a minimum, specified certifications, including, but not limited to, a certification that the manufacturer will maintain a surety bond or proof of self-insurance in an amount of $5,000,000. This bill would provide that the $5,000,000 in coverage may also be in the form of an instrument of insurance.

Bill Text

• Chaptered 09/16/14 - Chaptered Current pdf September 16, 2014
• Enrolled 08/26/14 - Enrolled pdf August 26, 2014
• Amended 08/18/14 - Amended Senate pdf August 18, 2014
• Amended 06/16/14 - Amended Senate pdf June 16, 2014
• Amended 03/18/14 - Amended Assembly pdf March 18, 2014
• Introduced 02/25/14 - Introduced pdf February 25, 2014
• AB2734 View text html

Action History

1. September 16, 2014

   Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 362, Statutes of 2014.

2. September 16, 2014

   Approved by the Governor.

3. September 05, 2014

   Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3:30 p.m.

4. August 22, 2014

   Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 76. Noes 0. Page 6358.).

5. August 22, 2014

   Assembly Rule 77 suspended. (Page 6347.)

6. August 21, 2014

   In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 23 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.

7. August 21, 2014

   Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 35. Noes 0. Page 4707.).

8. August 19, 2014

   Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

9. August 18, 2014

   Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

10. August 07, 2014

    Ordered to third reading.

11. August 07, 2014

    From consent calendar.

12. August 05, 2014

    Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.

13. August 04, 2014

    From committee: Be placed on second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to consent calendar.

14. June 26, 2014

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: to consent calendar. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (June 25). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

15. June 16, 2014

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on INS.

16. May 22, 2014

    Referred to Com. on INS.

17. May 15, 2014

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

18. May 15, 2014

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 4969.)

19. May 08, 2014

    Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.

20. May 07, 2014

    From committee: Do pass. To consent calendar. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (May 7).

21. April 29, 2014

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: to consent calendar. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

22. April 02, 2014

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on REV. & TAX. with recommendation: to consent calendar. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (April 2). Re-referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.

23. March 19, 2014

    Re-referred to Com. on INS.

24. March 18, 2014

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on INS. Read second time and amended.

25. March 17, 2014

    Referred to Coms. on INS. and REV. & TAX.

26. February 26, 2014

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 28.

27. February 25, 2014

    Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

• Committee on Insurance · Primary

Votes

Subjects