(1) Upon the filing of the required papers, it is the duty of the commissioner to examine and pass upon the same and, if found in accordance with this title, to issue a certificate of authority which shall expire on April 1 next succeeding.
(2) To qualify for authority to transact insurance business in this state after July 1, 1971, every interinsurance exchange or reciprocal exchange shall possess and maintain an unencumbered surplus in an amount of not less than three hundred thousand dollars. Any interinsurance exchange or reciprocal exchange currently authorized to transact insurance business in this state need not meet such surplus requirements until five years after July 1, 1971; except that the surplus of any such interinsurance exchange or reciprocal exchange shall be increased annually at the rate of twenty percent of the difference between its surplus as of December 31, 1970, and three hundred thousand dollars. Upon written request and for good reason shown, the commissioner may waive the requirement for any one annual surplus increase, with the provision that said surplus increase will be accomplished in full within the next year, together with the surplus increase scheduled for that year.
Source: L. 13: p. 373, § 81. C.L. § 2554. CSA: C. 87, § 98. CRS 53: § 72-4-6. C.R.S. 1963: § 72-4-6. L. 71: p. 719, § 1. L. 2001: (1) amended, p. 1267, § 6, effective June 5.
ANNOTATION
Under this section the competency of insurers is passed upon, and determined, by the insurance commissioner. Consol. Underwriters v. Indus. Comm'n, 117 Colo. 239, 185 P.2d 1013 (1947).
Insurance commissioner has discretion under subsection (1) to issue a new annual certificate of authority to an interinsurance exchange which fails to meet the unencumbered surplus requirement for original certification when he is acting under his regulatory authority to rehabilitate the interinsurance exchange in the same manner as any other insurance company in §§ 10-3-401 to 10-3-414. Alias Smith & Jones v. Barnes, 695 P.2d 302 (Colo. App. 1984).