17B:27B-2 Licensure, registration required for third party administrators.

2. a. On or after January 1, 2002, no person shall act as, offer to act as, or hold himself out to be, a third party administrator in this State unless licensed or registered by the commissioner in accordance with this act. Every third party administrator that is either: (1) an entity that is not licensed as an insurer and is not an affiliate or subsidiary of an insurer; or (2) an entity that is an affiliate or a subsidiary of an insurer that only processes or pays claims on behalf of benefits payers other than insurers shall be licensed under the provisions of this act. Every third party administrator that is an entity that is a subsidiary or affiliate of an insurer that processes claims on behalf of both the insurer and benefits payers other than the insurer shall be registered with the commissioner pursuant to the provisions of this act.

b. Application for licensure shall be made to the commissioner on a form provided by the commissioner. The commissioner shall establish by regulation the information that shall accompany the application, which may include, but need not be limited to:

(1) a copy of the applicant's basic organizational documents, which shall include articles of incorporation, articles of association, partnership agreement, management agreement, trust agreement or other documents governing the operation of the applicant that are applicable to the applicant's form of business organization;

(2) a copy of the executed bylaws, rules and regulations, or other documents relating to the operation of the applicant's internal affairs;

(3) the names, addresses and official positions of the persons responsible for the conduct of the affairs of the applicant, including, but not limited to, if applicable: the members of the board of directors, executive committee or other governing board or committee; the principal officers or partners; shareholders owning or having the right to acquire 10% or more of the voting securities of the corporation or partnership interest of a partnership, or equity interest, in the case of another form of business organization; each person who has loaned funds to the applicant for the operation of its business; a statement of any criminal convictions and civil, regulatory or enforcement action, including actions related to professional licensing, taken or pending against any principal officer or owner of the applicant; and the relationship with any other business entity, including a parent corporation;

(4) a copy of the applicant's most recent financial statements audited by an independent certified public accountant. If the financial affairs of the applicant's parent company are audited by an independent certified public accountant, but those of the applicant are not, then a copy of the most recent audited financial statement of the applicant's parent company, audited by an independent certified public accountant, shall be submitted. A consolidated financial statement of the applicant and its parent company shall satisfy this requirement unless the commissioner determines that additional or more recent financial information is required for the proper administration of this act;

(5) a copy of the applicant's business plan, including information on staffing levels and the activities undertaken or to be undertaken in this State. The plan shall include a statement of the administrator's capability for providing a sufficient number of experienced and qualified personnel in the areas of claims processing and record keeping and a three-year projection of anticipated operating results, a statement of the sources of working capital and any other sources of funding and provision for contingencies that enable the applicant to perform the work for which it has contracted;

(6) a list of the benefits payers under contract with the applicant and a copy of the standard contract or contracts used by the applicant in the course of business; and

(7) a power of attorney, duly executed by the applicant, if not domiciled in this State, appointing the commissioner and his successors in office as the true and lawful attorney of the applicant in and for this State upon whom all lawful process in any legal action or proceeding against the organization on a cause of action arising in this State may be served.

With respect to an applicant for licensure that is an affiliate or subsidiary of an insurer, the commissioner shall establish by regulation the information necessary to be filed, which shall not be unnecessarily duplicative of any information already on file with the Department of Banking and Insurance.

An application for licensure shall be approved if not disapproved by the commissioner within 60 days of receipt of a completed application. An application shall be deemed to be complete if all of the information required to be submitted to the commissioner by regulation has been submitted by the applicant.

c. Registration shall be on a form prescribed by the commissioner, which shall include: (1) a copy of the applicant's basic organizational documents, as required by the commissioner; (2) the names and official positions of the persons responsible for the conduct of the affairs of the applicant; (3) a copy of the applicant's most recent financial statements, or a consolidated financial statement of the applicant and its parent company; (4) such other information as the commissioner may require. An application for registration shall be approved if not disapproved by the commissioner within 60 days of receipt of a completed application. For the purposes of this subsection, an application shall be complete if all of the information required to be submitted to the commissioner by regulation has been submitted by the applicant. Information required pursuant to this subsection shall not be unnecessarily duplicative of any information already on file with the Department of Banking and Insurance.

L.2001,c.267,s.2.