Effective 28 Aug 2014

384.021. Nonadmitted insurers, limitation on furnishing coverage — exempt commercial purchaser, licensee exemptions. — 1. A surplus lines licensee shall not place coverage with a nonadmitted insurer, unless, at the time of placement, the surplus lines licensee has determined that the nonadmitted insurer is authorized to write the kind of insurance in its domiciliary jurisdiction and meets one of these criteria:

(1) Has capital and surplus or its equivalent under the laws of its domiciliary jurisdiction, which equals the greater of the minimum capital and surplus requirements under the laws of this state or fifteen million dollars, except that the requirements of this subdivision may be satisfied by an insurer's possessing less than the minimum capital and surplus upon an affirmative finding of acceptability by the director provided that the finding shall be based upon such factors as quality of management, capital and surplus of any parent company, company underwriting profit and investment income trends, market availability and company record and reputation within the industry, and in no event shall the director make an affirmative finding of acceptability when the nonadmitted insurer's capital and surplus is less than four million five hundred thousand dollars; or

(2) Appears on the most recent list of eligible surplus lines insurers published by the director from time to time but at least semiannually or on the most recent quarterly listing of alien insurers maintained by the international insurers department of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or rules adopted to implement the provisions of this chapter, a surplus lines licensee seeking to procure or place nonadmitted insurance in Missouri for an exempt commercial purchaser shall not be required to satisfy any requirement to make a due diligence search to determine whether the full amount or type of insurance sought by such exempt commercial purchaser can be obtained from nonadmitted insurers if:

(1) The surplus lines licensee procuring or placing the surplus lines insurance has disclosed to the exempt commercial purchaser that such insurance may or may not be available from the admitted market that may provide greater protection with more regulatory oversight; and

(2) The exempt commercial purchaser has subsequently requested in writing the surplus lines licensee to procure or place such insurance from a nonadmitted insurer.

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(L. 1987 H.B. 700 § 3, A.L. 1989 S.B. 250, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1449 merged with S.B. 687, A.L. 2011 S.B. 132, A.L. 2014 H.B. 1361)