The definitions set forth in section two, article twelve of this chapter apply to this article. In addition, as used in this article:

(a) "Actuary" means a person who is a member in good standing of the American academy of actuaries.

(b) "Controlling person" means any person, firm, association or corporation who directly or indirectly has the power to direct or cause to be directed, the management, control or activities of the reinsurance intermediary.

(c) "Commissioner" means the Insurance Commissioner of West Virginia.

(d) "Insurer" means any person, firm, association or corporation duly licensed in this state pursuant to the applicable provisions of this chapter as an insurer.

(e) "Firm" means an individual doing business as a sole proprietor, a partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership or other legal entity.

(f) "Licensed producer" means an insurance producer or reinsurance intermediary licensed pursuant to the applicable provisions of this chapter.

(g) "Reinsurance intermediary" means a reinsurance intermediary-broker or a reinsurance intermediary-manager as these terms are defined in subdivisions (g) and (h) of this section.

(h) "Reinsurance intermediary-broker" means any person, other than an officer or employee of the ceding insurer, firm, association or corporation who solicits, negotiates or places reinsurance cessions or retrocessions on behalf of a ceding insurer without the authority or power to bind reinsurance on behalf of such insurer.

(i) "Reinsurance intermediary-manager" means any person, firm, association or corporation who has authority to bind or manages all or part of the assumed reinsurance business of a reinsurer, including the management of a separate division, department or underwriting office, and acts as an agent for such reinsurer, whether known as a reinsurance intermediary-manager, manager or other similar term. Notwithstanding the above, the following persons are not considered a reinsurance intermediary-manager, with respect to such reinsurer, for the purposes of this article:

(1) An employee of the reinsurer;

(2) A United States manager of the United States branch of an alien reinsurer;

(3) An underwriting manager who, pursuant to contract, manages all the reinsurance operations of the reinsurer, is under common control with the reinsurer, subject to article twenty-seven of this chapter, and whose compensation is not based on the volume of premiums written.

(4) The manager of a group, association, pool or organization of insurers which engage in joint underwriting or joint reinsurance and who are subject to examination by the official charged with regulation of insurance in the state in which the manager's principal business office is located.

(j) "Reinsurer" means any person, firm, association or corporation duly licensed or accredited in this state pursuant to the applicable provisions of this chapter as an insurer with the authority to assume reinsurance.

(k) "To be in violation" means that the reinsurance intermediary, insurer or reinsurer for whom the reinsurance intermediary was acting failed to substantially comply with the provisions of this article.

(l) A "qualified United States financial institution" means an institution that:

(1) Is organized or, in the case of a United States office of a foreign banking organization, licensed under the laws of the United States or any state thereof;

(2) Is regulated, supervised and examined by federal or state authorities having regulatory authority over banks and trust companies; and

(3) Has been determined by either the Commissioner or the securities valuation office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to meet such standards of financial condition and standing as are considered necessary and appropriate to regulate the quality of financial institutions whose letters of credit will be acceptable to the Commissioner.