H. B. 2703


(By Delegates H. White, Hrutkay, and R. M. Thompson)
[Introduced January 27, 2003 ; referred to the
Committee on Banking and Insurance then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections ten and twelve, article twenty-two, chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to the contingent liability of members of farmers' mutual fire insurance companies; and limiting the amount of risk such companies may undertake.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections ten and twelve, article twenty-two, chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 22. FARMERS' MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANIES.
§33-22-10. Contingent liability of member.

The contingent liability of a member of such company may, with the approval of the commissioner, be limited to one or more times the annual premium as computed for the policy, and the company may issue a policy without contingent liability to the member if at the time of issuance the net premium written to surplus as to policyholders does not exceed four to one it has surplus of not less than one hundred thousand dollars and the company maintains unearned premium and other reserves on the same basis as that required of domestic insurers transacting like kinds of insurance. In the absence of such limitation of contingent liability each member shall be liable for his pro rata share of losses and expenses of the company, including a reasonable contribution to a surplus fund.
§33-22-12. Limit of risk.

No such company shall insure any single risk comprising a building and contents or other property so located as to be subject to destruction by a single fire for a greater amount than one thousand dollars until its insurance in force shall be as much as five hundred thousand dollars, nor shall it then insure any such risks for an amount greater than one fifth of one percent of the net insurance in force under its policies, or ten percent of its surplus whichever is greater, unless the risks insured by the company in excess of the amounts above stipulated are simultaneously covered by reinsurance.
Any company having received an extension of its license to permit it to issue policies of insurance pursuant to subsection(c), section eight, article twenty-two, chapter thirty-three shall be subject to the provisions of section sixteen, article four of this chapter.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a new minimum surplus for farmers' mutual insurance companies in order to insure financial solvency.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.