41-2839. HOME OFFICE — RECORDS — ASSETS — PENALTY FOR UNLAWFUL REMOVAL. (1) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, every domestic insurer shall have and maintain its principal place of business and home office in this state, and shall keep therein accurate and complete accounts and records of its assets, transactions, and affairs in accordance with the usual and accepted principles and practices of insurance accounting and recordkeeping as applicable to the kinds of insurance transacted by the insurer.

(2) Every domestic insurer shall have and maintain its assets in this state, except as to:

(a) Real property and personal property appurtenant thereto lawfully owned by the insurer and located outside this state;

(b) Such property of the insurer as may be customary, necessary, and convenient to enable and facilitate the operation of its branch offices and "regional home offices" located outside this state as referred to in subsection (4) below; and

(c) Such assets of any insurer that has redomesticated to this state pursuant to section 41-342, Idaho Code, and satisfies the conditions of subsection (5) of this section.

(3) Removal of all or a material part of the records or assets of a domestic insurer from this state except pursuant to a plan of merger or consolidation approved by the director under this code, or for such reasonable purposes and periods of time as may be approved by the director in writing in advance of such removal, or concealment of such records or assets or such material part thereof from the director, is prohibited. Any person who removes or attempts to remove such records or assets or such material part thereof from the home office or other place of business or of safekeeping of the insurer in this state with the intent to remove the same from this state, or who conceals or attempts to conceal the same from the director, in violation of this section, shall upon conviction thereof be guilty of a felony, punishable by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in the penitentiary for not more than five (5) years, or by both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court. Upon any removal or attempted removal of such records or assets or upon retention of such records or assets or material part thereof outside this state, beyond the period therefor specified in the director’s consent under which the records were so removed thereat, or upon concealment of or attempt to conceal records or assets in violation of this section, the director may institute delinquency proceedings against the insurer pursuant to the provisions of chapter 33, title 41, Idaho Code.

(4) This section shall not be deemed to prohibit or prevent an insurer from:

(a) Establishing and maintaining branch offices or "regional home offices" in other states where necessary or convenient to the transaction of its business and keeping therein the detailed records and assets customary and necessary for the servicing of its insurance in force and affairs in the territory served by such an office, as long as such records and assets are made readily available at such office for examination by the director at his request.

(b) Having, depositing or transmitting funds and assets of the insurer in or to jurisdictions outside of this state required by the law of such jurisdiction or as reasonably and customarily required in the regular course of its business.

(c) Using custodial arrangements for the holding of book-entry securities owned by the insurer, either in or outside of this state, and either segregated from or commingled with securities owned by others, if the arrangements conform to rules adopted by the director for safeguarding the assets and facilitating the director’s examination of insurers using such custodial arrangements.

(5) A stock insurer that has redomesticated to this state pursuant to section 41-342, Idaho Code, is not required to maintain its home office and principal place of business in this state and is not required to maintain its assets in this state so long as:

(a) The majority of the stock of the insurer is owned directly or indirectly by a mutual insurance holding company that maintains its home office and principal place of business in this state;

(b) The insurer can and shall produce the accounts and records of the insurer in their entirety in this state upon request from the director in a form satisfactory to the director;

(c) Material administrative and financial activities of the insurer are conducted in this state, initial evidence of which is submitted by the insurer under oath to the director as part of the insurer’s application for a certificate of authority or certificate of redomestication under section 41-342, Idaho Code;

(d) At least one (1) officer and one (1) director of the insurer are residents of this state. The officer and director contemplated in this paragraph shall not be the same person; and

(e) In addition to those examination expenses payable by the insurer under section 41-228, Idaho Code, the insurer pays all examination expenses that exceed the costs and fees necessary to examine an insurer with its principal place of business and home office in this state including, without limitation, actual travel expenses, reasonable living expense allowance, and compensation of employees, agents and contractors of the department, as determined and approved by the director.

History:

[41-2839, added 1961, ch. 330, sec. 607, p. 645; am. 1981, ch. 174, sec. 1, p. 306; am. 2016, ch. 92, sec. 2, p. 283.]