H. B. 4468
(By Delegate Beane)
[Introduced
February 13, 2002
; referred to the
Committee on Banking and Insurance then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section thirty-two, article five,
chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the
definition of principal office or place of business.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirty-two, article five, chapter thirty-three of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURES OF DOMESTIC STOCK AND
MUTUAL INSURERS.
§33-5-32. Principal place of business of domestic insurers.
Any domestic insurer which moves its principal office or place
of business outside the state of West Virginia after the first day of June, one thousand nine hundred sixty-nine, shall not thereafter
be licensed as a domestic insurer in this state.
For purposes of this article, "principal office or place of
business" means the single state in which the direction, control
and coordination of the operations of the insurer as a whole are
primarily exercised, with consideration being given to, but not
limited to:
(1) The state in which the primary executive and
administrative headquarters of the insurer is located;
(2) The state in which the principal office of the chief
executive officer of the insurer is located;
(3) The state in which the assets and books and records of the
insurer are located;
(4) The state in which the board of directors (or similar
governing body) of the insurer conducts the majority of its
meetings;
(5) The state in which the executive or management committee
of the board of directors (or similar governing body) of the
insurer conducts the majority of its meetings; and
(6) The state from which the management of the overall
operations of the insurer is directed.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to set forth standards
which will allow for the proper enforcement of the domestication
requirements of W.Va. Code §33-5-32 that a domestic insurer
maintain the majority of its operations and assets in West
Virginia.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates language that would be
added.