Title INS — California Ins. Code

The phrase “motor vehicle” or “motor vehicles” as used in Section 383.5 includes, but is not limited to: (a) Trailers, house trailers, mobilehomes, campers and all other wheeled vehicles or nonwheeled structures so made as to be capable of being moved as a compatible portion ther…

(a) A certificate of insurance or verification of insurance provided as evidence of insurance in lieu of an actual copy of the insurance policy shall contain the following statements or words to the effect of: This certificate or verification of insurance is not an insurance poli…

All policies issued by incorporated insurers shall be subscribed by the president or vice president, or chairman, or chief executive officer, or, in case of the death, absence, or disability of those officers, by any two of the directors, and countersigned by the secretary of the…

When the name of the person intended to be insured is specified in a policy, it can be applied only to his own interest. (Enacted by Stats. 1935, Ch. 145.)

When an insurance contract is executed with an agent or trustee as the insured, the fact that his principal or beneficiary is the real party in interest may be indicated by describing the insured as agent or trustee, or by other general words in the policy. (Enacted by Stats. 193…

To render an insurance effected by one partner or part-owner applicable to the interest of his copartners, or of other part-owners, it is necessary that the terms of the policy should be such as are applicable to the joint or common interest. (Enacted by Stats. 1935, Ch. 145.)

When the description of the insured in a policy is so general that it may comprehend any person or any class of persons, only he who can show that it was intended to include him can claim the benefit of the policy. (Enacted by Stats. 1935, Ch. 145.)

A policy may be so framed that it will inure to the benefit of whomsoever, during the continuance of the risk, becomes the owner of the interest insured. (Enacted by Stats. 1935, Ch. 145.)

Any exception from the risk generally covered by a policy of insurance which insures property for the period of time when such property is under the dominion and control of a party other than the insured for the purpose of storage or for the purpose of transferring such property …

(a) The commissioner may approve insurance policies and associated materials in languages other than English if the following conditions are met: (1) The policyholder is given a copy of the same material in English. (2) The English version is the official version. (3) A policyhol…

After a covered loss, an insurer shall provide, free of charge, a complete copy of the insured’s current insurance policy or certificate within 30 calendar days of receipt of a request from the insured. The period for providing the insurance policy or certificate may be extended …

(a) An insurer shall do either of the following: (1) Maintain a verifiable process that allows a policyholder to designate in writing or by electronic transmission pursuant to Section 38.6 one additional person to receive notice of lapse, termination, expiration, nonrenewal, or c…

A “mutual” insurer is an insurance corporation without capital stock owned by its policyholders collectively, who have the right to vote in the election of its directors.

The provisions of Section 36 shall apply to domestic mutual insurers as well as foreign mutual insurers.

Domestic mutual insurers, incorporating or qualifying to transact any or all of the classes of insurance designated in Sections 100 through 123 and 700. 01, shall be subject to all provisions of this code applicable to other incorporated insurers, except where otherwise provided.…

(a) Each policyholder of a domestic mutual insurer, other than the holder of a reinsurance contract, is a member of the insurer during the policy period, as defined in the policy or the declarations page of the policy, with all rights and obligations of that membership, and the p…

Any person, government or governmental agency, state or political subdivision thereof, public or private corporation, board, association, estate, trustee or fiduciary may be a policyholder member of a mutual insurer.

With respect to the management, records, and affairs of a domestic mutual insurer qualified to transact any or all of the classes of insurance designated in Section 700.01, and except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a member of such mutual insurer shall have the same chara…

Each member of a domestic mutual insurer is entitled to one vote upon each matter coming to a vote at meetings of members.

Notice of all meetings of members whether annual or special shall be given in writing to the members entitled to vote by the secretary, or an assistant secretary, or other persons charged with that duty, or if there be no such officer, or in case of his or her neglect or refusal,…

(a) The presence in person or by proxy of 5 percent of the members of a domestic mutual insurer entitled to vote at any meeting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business of the insurer, including but not limited to, the amendment of the articles of incorporati…

A member shall have the right to vote in person or by his written proxy filed with the corporate secretary not less than five days prior to the meeting. No such proxy shall be made irrevocable, nor be valid beyond the earliest of the following dates: (a) The date of expiration se…

No member’s vote upon any proposal to divest the insurer of its business or assets, or the major part thereof, shall be registered or taken except in person or by proxy newly executed and specific as to the matter to be voted upon.

This chapter does not apply to a mutual insurer that has converted to a mutual legal reserve insurer pursuant to former Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 10810) of Part 2 of Division 2. Except for Section 4016.2, this chapter does not apply to (a) a mutual insurer that has compl…

The affairs of every domestic mutual insurer shall be managed by a board of directors consisting of not less than 5 directors nor more than 15 directors.

Directors shall be elected by the members of a domestic mutual insurer at the annual meeting of members. Directors may be elected for terms of not more than five years each and until their successors are elected and have qualified, and if to be elected for terms of more than one …

A director of a mutual insurer shall be a policyholder thereof.

As to an insurer operating as an authorized insurer only in the State of California, a majority of the members of the insurer’s board of directors shall be citizens of and shall actually reside in this State.

A domestic mutual insurer shall not hereafter make any contract whereby any person is granted or is to enjoy in fact the management of the insurer to the substantial exclusion of its board of directors or to have the controlling or preemptive right to produce substantially all in…

Any such contract shall provide that any such manager or producer of its business shall within 90 days after expiration of each calendar year furnish the insurer’s board of directors a written statement of amounts received under or on account of the contract and amounts expended …

The commissioner shall disapprove any such contract if he finds that it: (a) Subjects the insurer to excessive charges; or (b) Is to extend for an unreasonable length of time; or (c) Does not contain fair and adequate standards of performance; or (d) Contains other inequitable pr…

The commissioner may, after a hearing held thereon, withdraw his approval of any such contract theretofore approved by him, if he finds that the bases of his original approval no longer exist, or that the contract has, in actual operation, shown itself to be subject to disapprova…

The holder of any such contract described in this Article shall be subject to examination by the commissioner pursuant to Article 4 (beginning with Section 730), Chapter 1, Part 2, Division 1 of this code.

A mutual insurer may borrow money to defray the expenses of its organization, provide it with surplus funds, or for any purpose of its business, upon a written agreement that the money is required to be repaid only out of the insurer’s surplus in excess of that stipulated in the …

The issuance of any document evidencing any such loan shall require the commissioner’s securities permit under Article 8 of Chapter 1, Part 2, Division 1 (commencing with Section 820).

This section shall not apply to loans obtained by the insurer in ordinary course of business from banks and other financial institutions, nor to loans secured by pledge or mortgage of assets.

The directors of a domestic mutual insurer may from time to time apportion and pay or credit to its members dividends only out of that part of its surplus funds which represents net realized savings, net realized earnings, and net realized capital gains, all in excess of a surplu…

A dividend otherwise proper may be payable out of such savings, earnings, and gains even though the insurer’s total surplus is then less than the aggregate of contributed surplus remaining unpaid by the insurer.

The payment of any such dividends on a workers’ compensation policy shall be subject to the provisions of Section 11738 and for that purpose a mutual policy shall be considered to be a participating policy.

A domestic mutual insurer while maintaining unimpaired surplus funds not less in amount than one and one-half times the minimum paid-in capital stock required of a domestic stock insurer formed under this code for authority to transact the same class or classes of insurance, may,…

The commissioner shall not authorize a domestic insurer to extinguish the contingent liability of any of its members or in any of its policies to be issued, unless it qualifies to and does extinguish such liability of all its members and in all such policies for all kinds of insu…

A foreign or alien mutual insurer may issue nonassessable policies to its members in this State pursuant to its charter and the laws of its domicile.

The commissioner shall revoke the certificate of a domestic mutual insurer to issue policies without contingent liability if (a) At any time the insurer’s assets are less than the sum of its liabilities and the surplus required for such certificate, or (b) The insurer, by resolut…

During the absence of such certificate the insurer shall not issue any policy without providing therein for the contingent liability of the policyholder, nor renew any policy which is then in force without endorsing the same to provide for such contingent liability.

Such an insurer is insolvent if its surplus becomes less than the amount of paid-in capital required of a capital stock company to qualify to transact the same classes of insurance.

Such an insurer shall be subject to all the provisions of this code and all the applicable rules and regulations of the commissioner. Such code provisions and such rules and regulations, when applied to such insurers, shall be construed in accordance with the fundamental nature o…

Any county mutual fire insurer, or two or more such insurers, may merge into a general mutual insurer described in this chapter by following the procedure in Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 7040) of Chapter 5, Part 1, Division 2 of this code. Such general mutual insurer shal…

By following the procedure specified in this article, any domestic mutual insurer described in this article may merge, consolidate, or otherwise unite with or become a part of, or may reinsure all of its policies with and, upon assumption of all of its liabilities, may transfer a…

The plan and agreement by which any such transaction is to be effected shall be approved by a resolution of the majority of the board of directors of each domestic mutual insurer reciting the reasons for and the purposes of the proposed transaction and the manner in which the tra…

When any such plan and agreement shall have been approved by the commissioner, with any changes required by him, the same shall be approved in the case of each domestic mutual insurer that is a party to the transaction by not less than two-thirds of the votes cast by the members …