Chapter 33, Chapter 33

(a) Any person of competent legal capacity may contract for insurance. (b) A minor not less than fifteen years of age as at nearest birthday, may notwithstanding such minority, contract for life or accident and sickness insurance on his own life or body, for his own benefit or fo…

(a) No insurer shall fail to renew an outstanding automobile liability or physical damage insurance policy unless the nonrenewal is preceded by at least forty-five days advance notice to the named insured of the insurer's election not to renew the policy: Provided, That subject t…

In the event of a declination, the insurer shall, within thirty days of the receipt of the written nonbinding application or written request for coverage provide the applicant reasons for such declination.

(a) Individual sickness and accident policy benefits under a policy form other than a limited benefits policy form or certificate shall be deemed reasonable in relation to the premium charged, as required by subdivision (e), section nine, article six of this chapter, if the premi…

With respect to any fire, marine, or casualty insurance contract, no person may deny, refuse to renew, cancel coverage, or charge increased premiums for applicants or insureds solely as a result of a uniformed service member’s performance of active military duty in the United Sta…

(a) On or after July 1, 2004, an insurer may nonrenew an automobile liability or physical damage insurance policy for any reason which is consistent with its underwriting standards. (b) Notwithstanding any other provisions in this section, race, religion, nationality, ethnic grou…

(a) Each insurer licensed to write automobile liability or physical damage insurance policies in this state, as of July 1, 2004, may elect to issue all nonrenewal notices either pursuant to section four or section four-a of this article. Each insurer may notify the commissioner o…

By January 1, 2009, the commissioner shall submit a report to the Legislature. The report shall contain the following: (1) An analysis of the impact of legislation enacted during the two thousand four legislative session upon rates and insurance availability in the state; (2) Sta…

No life or accident and sickness insurance contract upon an individual, except a contract of group life insurance or of group accident and sickness insurance, shall be made unless at the time of the making of the contract the individual insured, being of competent legal capacity …

(a) Refunds to West Virginia policyholders made pursuant to section four of this article and based upon annual earned premium volume in West Virginia shall be calculated by multiplying the anticipated loss ratio by the applicable earned premium during the experience period and su…

For the implementation of this article and for advising all persons of their rights and privileges under this article, the commissioner, by regulation and in accordance with section thirteen, article two of this chapter, shall establish a procedure whereby any person whose automo…

Hearings for the violation of any provision of this article, and the administrative procedure prior to, during, and following these hearings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of article two of this chapter.

(a) All applications for life or accident and sickness insurance, as defined in section ten, article one of this chapter, to be issued in this state shall: (1) If application is made by the proposed insured, include the signature of both the proposed insured and the agent; (2) If…

(a) No application for the issuance of any life or accident and sickness insurance policy or contract shall be admissible in evidence in any action relative to such policy or contract, unless a true copy of the application was attached to or otherwise made a part of the policy wh…

If the commissioner determines in a final order that: (a) An insurer has violated section three or four of this article, he may require the insurer to: (1) Accept the application or written request for insurance coverage at a rate and on the same terms and conditions as are avail…

Each insurer providing individual sickness and accident policy benefits shall make reasonable disclosure in solicitation and sales materials provided to individuals of the following: (a) The extent to which premium rates for individuals are established or adjusted according to th…

(a) The Insurance Commissioner may reject any loss ratio guarantee filed by an insurer within sixty days from the date on which it was filed for any of the following reasons: (1) The insurer has demonstrated an inability to adequately monitor its loss ratios; (2) The insurer has …

All statements and descriptions in any application for an insurance policy or in negotiations therefor, by or in behalf of the insured, shall be deemed to be representations and not warranties. Misrepresentations, omissions, concealments of facts, and incorrect statements shall n…

If any provision of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is for any reason held to be invalid, the remainder of the article and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

(a) No insurance policy form, no group certificate form, no insurance application form where a written application is required and is to be made a part of the policy and no rider, endorsement or other form to be attached to any policy shall be delivered or issued for delivery in …

The commissioner shall disapprove any such form of policy, application, rider, or endorsement or withdraw any previous approval thereof: (a) If it is in any respect in violation of or does not comply with this chapter. (b) If it contains or incorporates by reference any inconsist…

In any determination of the financial condition of an insurer, there shall be allowed as assets only such assets as are owned by the insurer and which consist of: (a) Cash in the possession of the insurer, or in transit under its control, and including the true balance of any dep…

(a) All bonds or other evidences of debt having a fixed term and rate of interest held by any insurer may, if amply secured and not in default as to principal or interest, be valued as follows: (1) If purchased at par, at the par value. (2) If purchased above or below par, on the…

(a) Securities, other than those referred to in section ten of this article, held by an insurer shall be valued, in the discretion of the commissioner, at their market value, or at their appraised value, or at prices determined by him as representing their fair market value, all …

(a) In the event of a default real property acquired pursuant to a mortgage loan or contract for sale shall not be valued at an amount greater than the unpaid principal of the defaulted loan or contract at the date of such acquisition, together with any taxes and expenses paid or…

Mortgages or deeds of trust on real property shall be valued in an amount equal to the unpaid balance but not exceeding sixty- six and two-thirds percent of the fair value of such real property, except that any amount in excess of sixty-six and two- thirds percent may be included…

Assets may be allowed as deductions from corresponding liabilities, and liabilities may be charged as deductions from assets, and deductions from assets may be charged as liabilities, in accordance with the form of annual statement applicable to such insurer as prescribed by the …

In addition to assets impliedly excluded by the provisions of section one of this article, the following expressly shall not be allowed as assets in any determination of the financial condition of an insurer: (a) Goodwill, trade names and other like intangible assets. (b) Advance…

All assets not allowed and all other assets of doubtful value or character included as assets in any statement by an insurer to the commissioner, or in any examiner's report to him shall also be reported, to the extent of the value disallowed, as deductions from the gross assets …

In any determination of the financial condition of an insurer, capital stock and liabilities to be charged against its assets shall include: (a) The amount of its capital stock outstanding, if any; (b) The amount, estimated consistent with the provisions of this chapter, necessar…

(a) With reference to insurance against loss or damage to property (except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section) and with reference to all general casualty insurance, and surety insurance, every insurer shall maintain an unearned premium reserve on all policies in force. …

For all accident and sickness policies the insurer shall maintain an active life reserve which shall place a sound value on its liabilities under such policies and which shall not be less than the reserve according to standards set forth in regulations issued by the commissioner …

(a) If the commissioner determines that an insurer's unearned premium reserve, however computed, is inadequate, he may require the insurer to compute such reserve or any part thereof according to such other method or methods as are prescribed in this article. (b) If the loss expe…

(a) This section shall be known as the standard valuation law. For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply on or after the operative date of the valuation manual: (1) The term "accident and health insurance" means contracts that incorporate morbidity risk an…

The commissioner shall propose rules, on or before July 1, 1998, adopting the national association of Insurance Commissioners' model proposal "Recognizing Annuity Mortality Tables For Use In Determining Reserve Liabilities," which incorporates the "Annuity 2000 Mortality Table" a…

(a) The purpose of this article is to protect the interests of insureds by promoting insurer solvency and financial strength. This will be accomplished through the application of investment standards that facilitate a reasonable balance of the following objectives: (1) To preserv…

The purpose of this article is to authorize domestic insurance companies to utilize modern systems for holding and transferring securities without physical delivery of securities certificates, subject to appropriate regulation of the commissioner.

(a) Except as otherwise specified in this article, an insurer may not acquire, directly or indirectly through an investment subsidiary, an investment under this article if, as a result of and after giving effect to the investment, the insurer would hold more than three percent of…

(a) Subject to the limitations of subsection (b) of this section, an insurer may acquire rated credit instruments: (1) Subject to the limitations of subsection (b), section ten of this article, but not to the limitations of subsection (a), section ten of this article, an insurer …

(a) An insurer may acquire investments in investment pools that: (1) Invest only in: (A) Obligations that are rated 1 or 2 by the SVO or have an equivalent of an SVO 1 or 2 rating (or, in the absence of a 1 or 2 rating or equivalent rating, the issuer has outstanding obligations …

(a) Subject to the limitations of section ten of this article, an insurer may acquire equity interests in business entities organized under the laws of any domestic jurisdiction. (b) An insurer may not acquire an investment under this section if, as a result of and after giving e…

(a) Subject to the limitations of section ten of this article, an insurer may acquire tangible personal property or equity interests in tangible personal property located or used wholly, or in part, within a domestic jurisdiction either directly or indirectly through limited part…

(a) Subject to the limitations of section ten of this article, an insurer may acquire, either directly, indirectly through limited partnership interests and general partnership interests not otherwise prohibited by subsection (d), section five of this article, joint ventures, sto…

(a) An insurer may enter into securities lending, repurchase, reverse repurchase and dollar roll transactions with business entities, subject to the following requirements: (1) The insurer's board of directors shall adopt a written plan that is consistent with the requirements of…

(a) Subject to the limitations of section ten of this article, an insurer may acquire foreign investments, or engage in investment practices with persons of or in foreign jurisdictions, of substantially the same types as those that an insurer is permitted to acquire under this ar…

(a) An insurer may, directly or indirectly through an investment subsidiary, engage in derivative transactions under this section under the following conditions: (1) An insurer may use derivative instruments under this section to engage in hedging transactions and certain income …

A life insurer may lend to a policyholder on the security of the cash surrender value of the policyholder's policy a sum not exceeding the legal reserve that the insurer is required to maintain on the policy.

As used in this article, the term: (1) "Agent" means a national bank, state bank, trust company or broker-dealer that maintains an account in its name in a clearing corporation or that is a member of the federal reserve system and through which a custodian participates in a clear…

The following terms are defined for purposes of this article: (1) "Acceptable collateral" means: (A) As to securities lending transactions and for the purpose of calculating counter party exposure amount, cash, cash equivalents, letters of credit, direct obligations of, or securi…

(a) Solely for the purpose of acquiring investments that exceed the quantitative limitations of sections ten through seventeen, inclusive, of this article, an insurer may acquire under this subsection an investment, or engage in investment practices described in section sixteen o…