5 U.S.C. § 8710: Reinsurance

Summary

The Office of Personnel Management must set up reinsurance so other life insurance companies share parts of the group life policies it issues. Before each policy year, and at least every 3 years or when a company leaves, the Office decides which companies can be reinsurers and how much of each policy the issuing company keeps and how much is given to reinsurers. The split is based on each company’s total group life insurance in force in the United States on the most recent December 31, excluding insurance bought under this law. Any amount a company has above $100,000,000 is reduced in chunks: 25% of the first $100,000,000 over, 50% of the next $100,000, 75% of the next $100,000, and 95% of the rest. No company may be assigned more than 25% of its total U.S. life insurance. A licensed fraternal benefit association that issues insurance only to U.S. employees can be a reinsurer and may get up to 25% of its U.S. employee life insurance on the determination date. Companies are guaranteed at least the amount equal to any drop in their group insurance from December 31, 1953, to the determination date, reduced by any amounts already assumed by the Office. The Office can change the math as needed to follow these rules.

Title 5, §8710

Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Office of Personnel Management shall arrange with a company issuing a policy under this chapter for the reinsurance, under conditions approved by the Office, of portions of the total amount of insurance under the policy, determined under this section, with other life insurance companies which elect to participate in the reinsurance.

(b)The Office shall determine for and in advance of a policy year which companies are eligible to participate as reinsurers and the amount of insurance under a policy which is to be allocated to the issuing company and to reinsurers. The Office shall make this determination at least every 3 years and when a participating company withdraws.

(c)The Office shall establish a formula under which the amount of insurance retained by an issuing company after ceding reinsurance, and the amount of reinsurance ceded to each reinsurer, is in proportion to the total amount of each company’s group life insurance, excluding insurance purchased under this chapter, in force in the United States on the determination date, which is the most recent December 31 for which information is available to the Office. In determining the proportions, the portion of a company’s group life insurance in force on the determination date in excess of $100,000,000 shall be reduced by—

(1)25 percent of the first $100,000,000 of the excess;

(2)50 percent of the second $100,000,000 of the excess;

(3)75 percent of the third $100,000,000 of the excess; and

(4)95 percent of the remaining excess.

However, the amount retained by or ceded to a company may not exceed 25 percent of the amount of the company’s total life insurance in force in the United States on the determination date.

(d)A fraternal benefit association which is—

(1)licensed to transact life insurance under the laws of a State or the District of Columbia; and

(2)engaged in issuing insurance certificates on the lives of employees of the United States exclusively;

is eligible to act as a reinsuring company and may be allocated an amount of reinsurance equal to 25 percent of its total life insurance in force on employees of the United States on the determination date named by subsection (c) of this section.

(e)An issuing company or reinsurer is entitled, as a minimum, to be allocated an amount of insurance under the policy equal to any reduction from December 31, 1953, to the determination date, in the amount of the company’s group life insurance under policies issued to associations of employees of the United States. However, any increase under this subsection in the amount allocated is reduced by the amount in force on the determination date of any policy covering life insurance agreements assumed by the Office.

(f)The Office may modify the computations under this section as necessary to carry out the intent of this section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large 5 U.S.C. 2096(c)–(e).Aug. 17, 1954, ch. 752, § 7(c)–(e), 68 Stat. 739.Aug. 11, 1955, ch. 794, § 3, 69 Stat. 677. The section is reorganized to clarify the steps in the computation of the insurance allocable to issuing and reinsuring companies. In subsections (c) and (d), references to the first determination date, December 31, 1953, are omitted as executed. Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1978—Subsecs. (a) to (c), (e), (f). Pub. L. 95–454 substituted “Office of Personnel Management” and “Office” for “Civil Service Commission” and “Commission”, respectively, wherever appearing.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1978 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 95–454 effective 90 days after Oct. 13, 1978, see section 907 of Pub. L. 95–454, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

§8710 Reinsurance