N.Y. Insurance Law § 107: Definitions of terms of general use in this chapter

§ 107. Definitions of terms of general use in this chapter. (a) In

this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "Accident and health insurance company", means any corporation

having power to do the kinds of insurance business specified in item (i)

of paragraph three of subsection (a) of section one thousand one hundred

thirteen of this chapter or items (i) and (ii) of such paragraph,

provided such company does not have power to do any other kind or kinds

of insurance business.

(2) "Accredited reinsurer" means an assuming insurer not authorized to

do an insurance business in this state but which (i) presents

satisfactory evidence to the superintendent that it meets the applicable

standards of solvency required in this state, (ii) is in compliance with

the conditions prescribed by regulation under which a ceding insurer may

be allowed credit for reinsurance recoverable from an insurer not

authorized in this state, and (iii) has received a certificate of

recognition as an accredited reinsurer issued by the superintendent

pursuant to such regulation; provided that no insurer shall be an

accredited reinsurer with respect to any kind of insurance not provided

for in such certificate.

(3) "Admitted assets" means assets of an insurer which conform to the

requirements of section one thousand three hundred one of this chapter.

(4) "Affiliate" means a corporation a majority of whose shares is

owned or controlled by shareholders, directors or officers of another

corporation, who own or control a majority of the shares of the other

corporation.

(5) "Alien insurer" means any insurer incorporated or organized under

the laws of any foreign nation, or of any province or territory not

included under the definition of foreign insurer.

(6) "American institution" means an institution created or existing

under the laws of the United States of America or of any state, district

or territory thereof.

(7) "Articles of association", when used in reference to an

unincorporated association, means the basic instrument prescribing the

powers, purposes and organization of the association.

(8) "Assuming insurer" means an insurer which, under a contract of

reinsurance, incurs to another insurer, called the ceding insurer, an

obligation the performance of which is contingent upon the ceding

insurer's incurring liability or loss under its contract or contracts of

insurance, guaranty or suretyship made with third persons.

(9) "At last year-end" means the end of the next preceding calendar

year.

(10) "Authorized insurer" means an insurer authorized as such to do an

insurance business in this state in compliance with this chapter, by

reason of a license so to do issued and in force pursuant to the laws of

this state or of a corporate charter granted and in force pursuant to

the laws of this state, but not including any insurer herein exempted

from compliance with the requirement that it obtain a license to do

business.

(11) "Board of directors" means the body having power and

responsibility for management and control of a corporation and the

advisory committee or similar body having such power in reference to a

reciprocal insurer or Lloyds underwriters.

(12) "Capital", when used in reference to a stock insurance company,

means the aggregate par value of all classes of shares of capital stock

issued and outstanding.

(13) "Ceding insurer" means the insurer to which an assuming insurer

is obligated.

(14) "Charter" means the basic instrument, by whatever name called,

prescribing the powers, purposes and organization of a corporation.

(15) "Company" means a corporation.

(16) "Control". Except for the purposes of article fifteen of this

chapter, "control", including the terms "controlling", "controlled by"

and "under common control with", means the possession, direct or

indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the

management and policies of an institution, whether through the ownership

of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.

(17) "Department" means the department of financial services of this

state.

(18) "Deputy" means a deputy superintendent of financial services of

this state.

(19) "Domestic insurer" means any authorized insurer incorporated or

organized under any law of this state.

(20) "Firm" means a partnership, limited or unlimited, general or

special.

(21) "Foreign insurer" means any insurer incorporated or organized

under the laws of any state, as herein defined, other than this state.

(22) "Fraternal benefit society" has the meaning ascribed to it by

subsection (a) of section four thousand five hundred one of this

chapter.

(23) "Independent insurance agent" has the meaning ascribed to it by

section two thousand one hundred one of this chapter.

(24) "Institution" means a corporation, a joint-stock company, an

association, a trust, a business partnership, a business joint venture

or any similar entity.

(25) "Insurance agent" has the meaning ascribed to it by section two

thousand one hundred one of this chapter.

(26) "Insurance broker" has the meaning ascribed to it by section two

thousand one hundred one of this chapter.

(27) "Insurance contract" has the meaning ascribed to it by section

one thousand one hundred one of this chapter.

(28) "Life insurance company" means any corporation having power to do

either one or both of the kinds of insurance business specified in

paragraphs one and two of subsection (a) of section one thousand one

hundred thirteen of this chapter.

(29) "Lloyds underwriters" means any aggregation of individuals, who

under a common name engage in the business of insurance for profit

through an attorney-in-fact having authority to obligate the

underwriters severally, within such limits as may be lawfully specified

in the power of attorney, on contracts of insurance made or issued by

such attorney-in-fact, in the name of such aggregation of individuals,

to and with any person or persons insured.

(30) "Minimum surplus" means the minimum amount by which the admitted

assets of an insurer without capital stock must exceed its liabilities

in order to be permitted to do business in this state.

(31) "Minor" or "infant" means a person who has not attained the age

of eighteen years.

(32) "Mortgage" includes a deed of trust.

(33) "Obligations" includes bonds, debentures, notes and other

evidences of indebtedness (whether or not liability for payment extends

beyond the security therefor) as well as participation interests in any

of the foregoing.

(34) "Officer" means any person charged with active management and

control, in an executive capacity, of the affairs of a corporation,

including the president, vice-president, secretary, assistant secretary,

treasurer, assistant treasurer, general counsel, actuary, comptroller

and any other person appointed or elected by the board of directors to

exercise similar powers, and including the manager, attorney-in-fact, or

other person appointed or elected by the board of directors to exercise

similar powers, of a United States branch of an alien insurer, and the

attorney-in-fact of a reciprocal insurer or Lloyds underwriters, and in

case such manager or attorney-in-fact is a corporation, including the

officers of such corporation.

(35) "Parent corporation" has the meaning assigned to it in the

definition of subsidiary.

(36) "Property/casualty insurance company" means any company having

power to write any one or more of the basic kinds of insurance specified

in subsection (a) of section four thousand one hundred one of this

chapter.

(37) "Reciprocal insurer" means any aggregation of persons, firms or

corporations or, in the alternative, New York counties, towns, cities,

villages, district corporations (as defined in paragraph three of

section 2.00 of the local finance law), or school districts and boards

of cooperative educational services, called "subscribers" in article

sixty-one of this chapter, who or which under a common name engage in

the business of inter-insurance or exchanging contracts of insurance on

the reciprocal plan through an attorney-in-fact having authority to

obligate the subscribers severally, within such limits as may lawfully

be specified in the subscriber's agreement, on contracts of insurance

made with any subscriber as a policyholder through such attorney-in-fact

acting on behalf of all other subscribers. Such term includes any

reciprocal or inter-insurance exchange, by whatever name known, and any

reference thereto as an insurer shall be deemed to mean any such

aggregation of inter-insurers operating through an attorney-in-fact

individually and collectively as an insurance organization for the

benefit of its policyholders.

(38) "Renewal license" means a license which becomes effective

immediately following the expiration of a license previously issued and

in force, and which differs from such previous license only as to the

date of expiration.

(39) "State" means any state of the United States, the commonwealth of

Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

(40) "Subsidiary" means an institution controlled, directly or

indirectly, by another institution or by a retirement system. "Parent

corporation" means an institution or a retirement system that, directly

or indirectly, controls another institution. For the purposes of the

definitions in this subsection:

(A) an institution is conclusively presumed to be controlled by an

institution or retirement system that, directly or indirectly, with

power to vote, owns, controls or holds a majority of the outstanding

voting securities of such institution;

(B) no presumption, either of control or of absence of control, arises

if such ownership, control or holding of voting securities is less than

a majority but more than five percent;

(C) absence of control is presumed if such ownership, control or

holding of voting securities is five percent or less; and

(D) in determining control, voting securities held in separate

accounts of an institution or retirement system shall be deemed to be

owned by the institution or retirement system, but voting securities in

an investment advisory account that are not owned by an institution but

are held in an account as to which the institution is an investment

adviser shall not be deemed to be controlled or held by such

institution.

(41) "Superintendent" means the superintendent of financial services

of this state.

(42) "Surplus to policyholders" means the excess of total admitted

assets over the liabilities of an insurer, which is the sum of all

capital and surplus accounts minus any impairment thereof.

(43) "United States". Except for the purposes of article fourteen of

this chapter, when used to signify place, means only the states of the

United States, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of

Columbia.

(44) "United States branch" means, as the context may require, the

business unit through which business is transacted within the United

States by an alien insurer, or the assets and liabilities of such

insurer within the United States pertaining to such business or the

management powers pertaining to such business and to such assets and

liabilities or any combination of these three.

(45) "Voting securities" means securities of any class or any

ownership interest having voting power for the election of directors,

trustees or management of an institution, other than securities having

such power only by reason of the happening of a contingency.

(46) "Doing an insurance business" has the meaning ascribed to it by

section one thousand one hundred one of this chapter.

(47) "Commercial risk insurance" means insurance not subject to

section three thousand four hundred twenty-five of this chapter issued

or issued for delivery in this state, on a risk located in this state,

insuring any of the following contingencies:

(A) loss of or damage to real property;

(B) loss of or damage to personal property;

(C) losses or liabilities arising out of the ownership, operation or

use of a motor vehicle;

(D) liabilities of persons acting as officers or directors; or

(E) other liabilities, including product liability, for loss of,

damage to, or injury to persons or property.

(48) "Product liability" means liability of the insured for damages

for personal injury, death or property damage, where liability is based

upon negligence, implied warranty or strict liability, arising out of a

design, inspection, testing or manufacturing defect, or any other defect

in a product, or is based upon any failure to warn, or to properly

instruct in the use of a product or for any liability for any damage

arising out of the handling or use of any product manufactured, sold,

handled or distributed by the insured or work completed by or on behalf

of the insured.

(49) "Professional liability insurance" means insurance covering

liability arising out of the practice of any profession for which a

license is required by a governmental authority of this state or, with

respect to treatment of patients, arising out of the operation of a duly

certified hospital.

(50) "Public entity insurance" means commercial risk insurance issued

to a public entity.

(51) "Public entity" means:

(A) the state of New York;

(B) a county, city, town, village or any other political subdivision

or civil department or division of the state;

(C) a school district, board of cooperative educational services or

any other governmental entity or combination or association of

governmental entities operating a public school, college, community

college or university;

(D) a fire district, fire company, volunteer fire department, or any

other entity that contracts with a municipality or other political

subdivision to provide fire protection;

(E) a public library, as defined in section two hundred fifty-three of

the education law, authorized to operate in this state;

(F) a public corporation, including a municipal corporation, district

corporation or public benefit corporation;

(G) an improvement district, special district or other district

authorized by the village law, town law, county law or any other law;

(H) a public corporation, public authority, commission, agency,

municipal or other public housing authority, or project organized

pursuant to article two of the private housing finance law; or

(I) any other governmental instrumentality or unit in the state of New

York.

(52) "Gap amount" means:

(A) in the case of a lease of personal property, the difference, if

any, between:

(i) the amount owed by the lessee, under the early termination

provision of the lease, as of the date of a total loss of the leased

property caused by its theft or physical damage, or the amount which

would have been owed by the lessee had the lessor not waived such

obligations; and

(ii) the sum of: (I) any unpaid rental payments and other unpaid

charges, arising from the failure of the lessee to fulfill the lessee's

obligations under the lease, that had accrued prior to the date of the

loss; and (II) the actual cash value of the personal property as of the

date of the loss. If the lessee is required under the lease agreement to

maintain a physical damage insurance policy on the personal property

which is the subject of the lease agreement, and that policy is in

effect on the date of the loss, then "actual cash value" shall have the

same meaning as under the physical damage insurance policy.

(B) In the case of a loan or other credit transaction on the purchase

of personal property, the difference, if any, between:

(i) the amount owed by the debtor under the loan or other credit

transaction as of the date of a total loss of the personal property

which is the subject of the loan or other credit transaction agreement

caused by its theft or physical damage, or the amount that would have

been owed by the debtor had the creditor not waived such obligation; and

(ii) the sum of: (I) any unpaid payments and other unpaid charges,

arising from the failure of the debtor to fulfill the obligations under

the loan or other credit transaction agreement, that had accrued prior

to the date of the loss; and (II) the actual cash value of the personal

property as of the date of the loss. If the debtor is required under the

loan or other credit transaction agreement to maintain a physical damage

insurance policy on the personal property which is the subject of the

loan or other credit transaction agreement, and that policy is in effect

on the date of the loss, then "actual cash value" shall have the same

meaning as under the physical damage insurance policy.

(53) "Nonprofit property/casualty insurance company" means an insurer

organized pursuant to section six thousand seven hundred three of this

chapter and that is subject to the provisions of article sixty-seven of

this chapter.

(54) "Title insurance agent" shall be deemed to have the same meaning

as paragraph one of subsection (y) of section two thousand one hundred

one of this chapter.

(55) "Medically fragile child" means an individual who is under

twenty-one years of age and has a chronic debilitating condition or

conditions, who may or may not be hospitalized or institutionalized, and

meets one or more of the following criteria: (1) is technologically

dependent for life or health sustaining functions; (2) requires a

complex medication regimen or medical interventions to maintain or to

improve their health status; or (3) is in need of ongoing assessment or

intervention to prevent serious deterioration of their health status or

medical complications that place their life, health or development at

risk. Chronic debilitating conditions include bronchopulmonary

dysplasia, cerebral palsy, congenital heart disease, microcephaly,

pulmonary hypertension, and muscular dystrophy. The term "medically

fragile child" shall also include traumatic brain injury, the nature of

which typically require care in a specialty care center for medically

fragile children, even though the child does not have a chronic

debilitating condition or also meet one of the three conditions of this

subsection. Notwithstanding the definitions set forth in this

subsection, any patient which has received prior approval from an

insurer for admission to a specialty care facility for medically fragile

children shall be considered a medically fragile child at least until

discharge from that facility occurs.

(b) Whenever the terms "include", "including" or terms of similar

import appear in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise,

such terms shall not be construed to imply the exclusion of any person,

class or thing not specifically included.

(c) A reference in this chapter to any other law or statute of this

state, or of any other jurisdiction, means such law or statute as

amended to the effective date of this chapter and, unless the context

otherwise requires, as amended thereafter.