17:22E-1. Definitions

1. As used in this act:

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Insurance.

"Controlling person" means a person which directly or indirectly has the power to direct, or cause to be directed, the management, control or activities of the reinsurance intermediary.

"Insurer" means:

(1) A corporation, association, partnership, reciprocal exchange, interinsurer, Lloyd's insurer, fraternal benefit society or other person engaged in the business of insurance pursuant to Subtitle 3 of Title 17 of the Revised Statutes or Subtitle 3 of Title 17B of the New Jersey Statutes;

(2) A medical service corporation operating pursuant to P.L.1940, c.74 (C.17:48A-1 et seq.);

(3) A hospital service corporation operating pursuant to P.L.1938, c.366 (C.17:48-1 et seq.);

(4) A health service corporation operating pursuant to P.L.1985, c.236 (C.17:48E-1 et al.); and

(5) A dental service corporation operating pursuant to P.L.1968, c.305 (C.17:48C-1 et seq.).

"Producer" means a person engaged in the business of an insurance agent, insurance broker or insurance consultant pursuant to P.L.1987, c.293 (C.17:22A-1 et seq.).

"Reinsurance intermediary" means a reinsurance intermediary-broker or a reinsurance intermediary-manager.

"Reinsurance intermediary-broker" means a person, other than an officer or employee of the ceding insurer, which solicits, negotiates or places reinsurance cessions or retrocessions on behalf of a ceding insurer without the authority or power to bind reinsurance on behalf of that insurer.

"Reinsurance intermediary-manager" means a person which has authority to bind or manages all or part of the assumed reinsurance business of a reinsurer, including the management of a separate division, department or underwriting office, and acts as an agent for that reinsurer whether known as a reinsurance intermediary-manager, manager or other similar term, except that the following persons shall not be considered a reinsurance intermediary-manager, with respect to that reinsurer, for the purposes of this act:

(1) An employee of the reinsurer;

(2) A United States manager of a United States branch of an alien reinsurer;

(3) An underwriting manager which, pursuant to contract, manages all or part of the reinsurance operations of the reinsurer, is under common control with the reinsurer, subject to P.L.1970, c.22 (C.17:27A-1 et seq.), and whose compensation is not solely based on the volume of premiums written;

(4) The manager of a group, association, pool or organization of insurers which engage in joint underwriting or joint reinsurance and who are subject to examination by the insurance commissioner or other similar regulatory officer of the state in which the manager's principal business office is located;

(5) A licensed attorney-at-law who negotiates contracts or provides general financial counsel provided no commission or brokerage fee is provided.

"Reinsurer" means any person which engages in the activity of insuring part or all of an insurance risk from an originating or ceding insurer.

"To be in violation" means that a reinsurance intermediary, or the insurer or reinsurer for which the reinsurance intermediary was acting, failed to substantially comply with the provisions of this act.

"Qualified United States financial institution" means an institution that:

(1) Is organized, or in the case of a branch or agency office of a foreign banking organization in the United States, licensed, under the laws of the United States or any state thereof;

(2) Is regulated, supervised and examined by federal or state authorities having regulatory authority over banks and trust companies; and

(3) Has been determined by either the commissioner, or the Securities Valuation Office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, to meet such standards of financial condition and standing as are considered necessary and appropriate to regulate the quality of financial institutions whose letters of credit will be acceptable to the commissioner.

L.1993,c.244,s.1.