33-2-1303. Definitions. For the purposes of this part the following definitions apply:

(1) "Ancillary state" means any state other than a domiciliary state.

(2) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of insurance of this state.

(3) "Creditor" is a person having any claim, whether matured or unmatured, liquidated or unliquidated, secured or unsecured, absolute, fixed, or contingent.

(4) "Delinquency proceeding" means any proceeding instituted against an insurer for the purpose of liquidating, rehabilitating, reorganizing, or conserving the insurer and any summary proceeding under 33-2-1321 or 33-2-1322. "Formal delinquency proceeding" means any liquidation or rehabilitation proceeding.

(5) "Doing business" includes any of the following acts, whether effected by mail or otherwise:

(a) the issuance or delivery of contracts of insurance to persons resident in this state;

(b) the solicitation of applications for contracts of insurance or other negotiations preliminary to the execution of the contracts;

(c) the collection of premiums, membership fees, assessments, or other consideration for contracts of insurance;

(d) the transaction of matters subsequent to execution of contracts of insurance and arising out of them; or

(e) operating as an insurer under a license or certificate of authority issued by the commissioner.

(6) "Domiciliary state" means the state in which an insurer is incorporated or organized or, in the case of an alien insurer, its state of entry.

(7) "Fair consideration" is given for property or an obligation:

(a) when in exchange for the property or obligation, as a fair equivalent for the property or obligation and in good faith, property is conveyed or services are rendered or an obligation is incurred or an antecedent debt is satisfied; or

(b) when the property or obligation is received in good faith to secure a present advance or antecedent debt in an amount not disproportionately small as compared to the value of the property or obligation obtained.

(8) "Foreign country" means any jurisdiction not in any state.

(9) "General assets" means all property, real, personal, or otherwise, not specifically mortgaged, pledged, deposited, or otherwise encumbered for the security or benefit of specified persons or classes of persons. As to specifically encumbered property, "general assets" includes all such property or its proceeds in excess of the amount necessary to discharge the sum or sums secured thereby. Assets held in trust and on deposit for the security or benefit of all policyholders or all policyholders and creditors, in more than a single state, must be treated as general assets.

(10) "Guaranty association" means the Montana insurance guaranty association, the workers' compensation security fund, the Montana life and health insurance guaranty association, and any other similar entity created by the legislature of this state for the payment of claims of insolvent insurers. "Foreign guaranty association" means any similar entities created by the legislature of any other state.

(11) (a) "Insolvency" or "insolvent" means:

(i) for an insurer issuing only assessable fire insurance policies, the inability to pay any obligation within 30 days after it becomes payable; or

(ii) for any other insurer, the inability to pay its obligations when they are due or when its admitted assets do not exceed its liabilities plus the greater of:

(A) any capital and surplus required by law for its organization; or

(B) the total par or stated value of its authorized and issued capital stock.

(b) For purposes of this subsection (11), "liabilities" include but are not limited to reserves required by statute or by the commissioner upon a subject company at the time of admission or subsequent to the time of admission.

(12) "Insurer" means any person who has done, purports to do, is doing, or is licensed to do insurance business and is or has been subject to the authority of or to liquidation, rehabilitation, reorganization, supervision, or conservation by any insurance commissioner. Any other persons included under 33-2-1304 are considered to be insurers.

(13) "Preferred claim" means any claim with respect to which the terms of this part accord priority of payment from the general assets of the insurer.

(14) "Receiver" means a receiver, liquidator, rehabilitator, or conservator as the context requires.

(15) "Reciprocal state" means any state other than this state in which in substance and effect 33-2-1342(1), 33-2-1381, 33-2-1382, and 33-2-1384 through 33-2-1386 are in force and in which provisions are in force requiring that the commissioner or equivalent official be the receiver of a delinquent insurer and in which some provision exists for the avoidance of fraudulent conveyances and preferential transfers.

(16) "Secured claim" means any claim secured by mortgage, trust deed, pledge, deposit as security, escrow, or otherwise, but not including special deposit claims or claims against general assets. The term also includes claims that have become liens upon specific assets by reason of judicial process.

(17) "Special deposit claim" means any claim secured by a deposit made pursuant to statute for the security or benefit of a limited class of persons, but not including any claim secured by general assets.

(18) "State" means any state, district, or territory of the United States.

(19) "Transfer" includes the sale and every other mode, direct or indirect, of disposing of or parting with property or with an interest in the property or with the possession of the property or fixing a lien upon property or upon an interest in the property, absolutely or conditionally, voluntarily, by or without judicial proceedings. The retention of a security title to property delivered to a debtor is considered a transfer suffered by the debtor.

History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 383, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 169, L. 2013.