A. Whenever the Commission considers it necessary to be informed about any matter related to the enforcement of the insurance laws, it may examine the affairs and condition of any rate service organization under subsection A of § 38.2-1913 and of any joint underwriting or joint reinsurance organization under § 38.2-1915.

B. So far as reasonably necessary for any examination under subsection A of this section, the Commission may examine the accounts, records, documents or evidence of transactions, so far as they relate to the examinee, of any (i) officer, (ii) manager, (iii) general agent, (iv) employee, (v) person who has executive authority over or is in charge of any segment of the examinee's affairs, (vi) person controlling or having a contract under which he has the right to control the examinee whether exclusively or with others, (vii) person who is under the control of the examinee, or (viii) person who is under the control of a person who controls or has a right to control the examinee whether exclusively or with others.

C. On demand every examinee under subsection A of this section shall make available to the Commission for examination any of its own accounts, records, documents or evidences of transactions and any of those of the persons listed in subsection B of this section.

D. The Commission may examine every licensed rate service organization at intervals established by the Commission.

E. 1. Instead of all or part of an examination under subsections A and B of this section, or in addition to it, the Commission may order an independent audit by certified public accountants or actuarial evaluation by actuaries approved by it of any person subject to the examination requirement. Any accountant or actuary selected shall be subject to standards respecting conflicts of interest used by the Commission. Any audit or evaluation under this subsection shall be subject to subsections H through O of this section, so far as appropriate.

2. Instead of all or part of an examination under this section, the Commission may accept the report of an audit already made by certified public accountants or actuarial evaluation by actuaries approved by it, or the report of an examination made by the insurance department of another state.

F. [Reserved.]

G. An examination may cover comprehensively all aspects of the examinee's affairs and condition. The Commission shall determine the exact nature and scope of each examination, and in doing so shall take into account all relevant factors, including but not limited to (i) the length of time the examinee has been operating, (ii) the length of time it has been licensed in this Commonwealth, (iii) the nature of the services provided, (iv) the nature of the accounting records available and (v) the nature of examinations performed elsewhere.

H. For each examination under this section, the Commission shall issue an order stating the scope of the examination and designating the examiner in charge. On demand a copy of the order shall be exhibited to the examinee.

I. Any examiner authorized by the Commission shall, so far as necessary for the purposes of the examination, have access at all reasonable hours to the premises and to any books, records, files, securities, documents or property of the examinee and to those of persons under subsection B of this section so far as they relate to the affairs of the examinee.

J. The officers, employees and agents of the examinee and of persons under subsection B of this section shall comply with every reasonable request of the examiners for assistance in any matter relating to the examination. No person shall obstruct or interfere with the examination in any way other than by legal process.

K. If the Commission finds the accounts or records to be inadequate for proper examination of the condition and affairs of the examinee or improperly kept or posted, it may employ experts to rewrite, post or balance them at the expense of the examinee.

L. The examiner in charge of an examination shall make a proposed report of the examination that shall include the information and analysis as is ordered in subsection H of this section, together with the examiner's recommendations. At the discretion of the examiner in charge, preparation of the proposed report may include conferences with the examinee or its representatives. The proposed report shall remain confidential until filed under subsection M of this section.

M. The Commission shall serve a copy of the proposed report upon the examinee. Within twenty days after service, the examinee may serve upon the Commission a written demand for a hearing on the contents of the report. If a hearing is demanded the Commission shall give notice and hold a hearing, and on demand by the examinee the hearing shall be informal and private. The Commission shall adopt the report with any necessary modifications and file it for public inspection, or it may order a new examination within either (i) sixty days after the hearing or (ii) if no hearing is demanded, sixty days after the last day on which the examinee might have demanded a hearing.

N. The Commission shall forward a copy of the examination report to the examinee immediately upon adoption, except that if the proposed report is adopted without change, the Commission need only so notify the examinee.

O. The examinee shall furnish copies of the adopted report to each member of its board of directors or other governing board.

P. The Commission may furnish, without cost or at a price to be determined by it, a copy of the adopted report to the insurance commissioner of any jurisdiction in which the examinee is licensed and to any other interested person in this Commonwealth or elsewhere.

Q. In any proceeding by or against the examinee or any officer or agent of the examinee, the examination report as adopted by the Commission shall be admissible as evidence of the facts stated in the examination report. In any proceeding by or against the examinee the facts asserted in any report properly admitted in evidence shall be presumed to be true in the absence of contrary evidence.

R. The reasonable costs of an examination under this section shall be paid by the examinee except as provided in subsection U of this section. The costs shall include the salary and expenses of each examiner and any other expenses directly apportioned to the examination.

S. The amount payable under subsection R of this section shall become due ten days after the examinee has been served a detailed account of the costs.

T. The Commission may require any examinee, before or during an examination, to deposit with the State Treasurer any deposits the Commission considers necessary to pay the cost of the examination. Any deposit and any payment made under subsections R and S of this section shall be credited to the special fund of the Bureau of Insurance.

U. On the examinee's request or on its own motion, the Commission may pay all or part of the costs of an examination whenever it finds that, because of the frequency of examinations or other factors, imposition of the costs would place an unreasonable burden on the examinee. The Commission shall include in its annual report information about any instance in which it applied this subsection.

V. Deposits and payments under subsections R through U of this section shall not be considered to be a tax or license fee within the meaning of any law. If any other state charges a per diem fee for examination of examinees domiciled in this Commonwealth, any examinee domiciled in that other state shall pay the same fee when examined by the Commission.

1973, c. 504, § 38.1-279.53; 1986, c. 562.