17:1C-20 Certification of expenses incurred, apportionment.

2. a. The Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury shall, on or before August 15 in each year, ascertain and certify to the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance by category the total amount of expenses incurred by the State in connection with the administration of the special functions of the Division of Insurance in the Department of Banking and Insurance relative to the financial regulation, supervision and monitoring of insurers and health maintenance organizations during the preceding fiscal year. Those expenses shall include, in addition to the direct cost of personal service, the cost of maintenance and operation, the cost of employee benefits and the workers' compensation paid for and on account of personnel, rentals for space occupied in State-owned or State-leased buildings and all other direct and indirect costs of the administration of those functions of the department, as well as any amounts remaining uncollected from the special purpose apportionment of the previous fiscal year. Certification made pursuant to this subsection shall be made by the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting in consideration of revenues paid by insurers and health maintenance organizations pursuant to all other special purpose assessments made pursuant to applicable law in effect on the effective date of this act.

b. (1) Upon receipt of the certification made by the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting pursuant to subsection a. of this section, but no later than September 1 in each year following the close of the previous fiscal year, the commissioner shall issue, in accordance with the provisions of this section, a special purpose apportionment for the amount of the expenses incurred by, or on behalf of, the department for those special purposes recognized in this act.

(2) Special purpose apportionments made pursuant to this section shall be distributed among all of the companies engaged in business pursuant to subtitle 3 of Title 17 of the Revised Statutes (R.S.17:17-1 et seq.), subtitle 3 of Title 17B of the New Jersey Statutes (N.J.S.17B:17-1 et seq.), and P.L.1973, c.337 (C.26:2J-1 et seq.), in this State in the proportion that the net written premiums received by each of them for such insurance written or renewed on risks, in this State during the calendar year immediately preceding, bears to the sum total of all such net written premiums received by all companies writing that insurance or coverage within the State during that calendar year, as reported.

"Net written premiums received" means gross direct premiums written, less return premiums thereon and dividends credited or paid to policyholders as reported on the company's annual financial statement. For the purpose of calculating the apportionment amount for companies engaged in business pursuant to P.L.1973, c.337 (C.26:2J-1 et seq.), "net written premiums received" means direct premiums as reported on the annual financial statement submitted pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1973, c.337 (C.26:2J-9). In determining the apportionment amount pursuant to this section, the net written premiums received by a company, other than a domestic insurer as defined in subsection a. of N.J.S.17B:17-7 that sells life insurance as defined in N.J.S.17B:17-3, including annuities as defined in N.J.S.17B:17-5, shall not exceed $100,000,000 on any one contract of insurance.

For the purpose of calculating the special purpose apportionment, any such premium excluded from the reporting of "net written premiums received" by virtue of the preceding sentence shall be allocated among those domestic insurers as defined in subsection a. of N.J.S.17B:17-7 that sell life insurance as defined in N.J.S.17B:17-3 to be included with the "net written premiums received" reported by those companies. Such excluded premium shall be allocated among those domestic insurers as defined in subsection a. of N.J.S.17B:17-7 that sell life insurance as defined in N.J.S.17B:17-3, on a pro rata basis based on the proportion that the net written premiums received by each of them for insurance written or renewed on risks in this State during the calendar year immediately preceding bears to the sum total of all such net written premiums received by those domestic insurers as defined in subsection a. of N.J.S.17B:17-7 that sell life insurance as defined in N.J.S.17B:17-3, within the State during that calendar year.

c. For the purposes of this section, no company shall be required to pay a special purpose apportionment which exceeds .10 percent of its net written premiums received during the calendar year immediately preceding.

d. The commissioner shall certify the amount of the special purpose apportionment issued to each company. Each company shall remit the amount so certified and apportioned to it to the department in accordance with the procedures established in this act. Amounts collected by the department shall be used for reimbursement to the State for expenses incurred in connection with the special functions of the Division of Insurance relative to the financial regulation, supervision and monitoring of insurers and health maintenance organizations, provided that the amount collected for those expenses shall not exceed the amount appropriated by the Legislature for those expenses.

L.1995, c.156, s.2; amended 1999, c.143, s.1; amended 2016, c.38, s.1.