Senate Bill No. 667
(By Senator Kessler)
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[Introduced February 23, 2004; referred to the Committee on
Banking and Insurance.]
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A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §33-2-20, relating to
the authority of the commissioner of insurance regarding
withdrawal from the state by insurance companies.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §33-2-20, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2. INSURANCE COMMISSIONER.
§33-2-20. Authority of commission to allow withdrawal of insurance
carriers from doing business in the state.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, the commissioner may, consistent with the provisions of
this section, authorize liability insurance companies that offer
personal, private passenger automobiles covered by article six-a of this chapter from doing business entirely in this state if:
(1) The insurer demonstrates to the satisfaction of the
commissioner that allowing the insurer to withdraw would be in the
best interest of the insurer, its policyholders and the citizens of
this state; and
(2) The insurer has submitted and received approval from the
commissioner of a withdrawal plan.
(b) Any insurer that elects not to renew or to cancel the
particular type or line of insurance coverage provided by section
five, article seventeen-a of this chapter shall submit to the
insurance commissioner a withdrawal plan for informational purposes
prior to cancellation or nonrenewal of all its business in this
state.
(c) The commissioner shall propose legislative rules for
approval in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code intended to set forth criteria
for withdrawal plans.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize certain
insurance carriers to withdraw from business or lines of business
in this state and to prescribe criteria therefor.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.