For the purpose of Article 19 of the Insurance Code:

1. "Impairment" or "insolvency." The capital of a stock insurer, or limited stock life, accident and health insurer, the net assets of a Lloyds association, or the surplus of a mutual or reciprocal insurer, shall be deemed to be impaired and the insurer shall be deemed to be insolvent, when such insurer shall not be possessed of assets at least equal to all liabilities and required reserves together with its total issued and outstanding capital stock if a stock insurer, the net assets if a Lloyds association, or the minimum surplus if a mutual or reciprocal insurer required by this code to be maintained for the kind or kinds of insurance it is then authorized to transact.

2. "Insurer" means any person, firm, corporation, health maintenance organizations, association or aggregation of persons doing an insurance business and subject to the insurance supervisory authority of, or to liquidation, rehabilitation, reorganization or conservation by the Insurance Commissioner or the equivalent insurance supervisory official of another state.

3. "Delinquency proceeding" means any proceeding commenced against an insurer pursuant to this article for the purpose of liquidating, rehabilitating, reorganizing or conserving such insurer.

4. "State" means any state of the United States and also the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.

5. "Foreign country" means territory not in any state.

6. "Domiciliary state" means the state in which an insurer is incorporated or organized, or in the case of an insurer incorporated or organized in a foreign country, the state in which such insurer, having become authorized to do business in such state, has at the commencement of delinquency proceedings, the largest amount of its assets held in trust and assets held on deposit for the benefit of its policyholders or policyholders and creditors in the United States, and any such insurer is deemed to be domiciled in such state.

7. "Ancillary state" means any state other than a domiciliary state.

8. "Reciprocal state" means any state other than this state in which in substance and effect the provisions of the Uniform Insurers Liquidation Act, as defined in Section 1921 of this title, are in force, including the provisions requiring that the Insurance Commissioner or equivalent insurance supervisory official be the receiver of a delinquent insurer.

9. "General assets" means all property, real, personal or otherwise, not specifically mortgaged, pledged, deposited or otherwise encumbered for the security or benefit of specified persons or a limited class or classes of persons, and as to such specifically encumbered property the term includes all such property or its proceeds in excess of the amount necessary to discharge the sum or sums secured thereby. Assets held in trust and assets held on deposit for the security or benefit of all policyholders or all policyholders and creditors in the United States shall be deemed general assets.

10. "Preferred claim" means any claim with respect to which the law of the state or of the United States accords priority of payments from the general assets of the insurer.

11. "Special deposit claim" means any claim secured by a deposit made pursuant to statute for the security or benefit of a limited class or classes of persons, but not including any general assets.

12. "Secured claim" means any claim secured by mortgage, trust deed, pledge, deposit as security, escrow, or otherwise, but not including special deposit claim or claims against general assets. The term also includes claims which more than four months prior to the commencement of delinquency proceedings in the state of the insurer's domicile have become liens upon specific assets by reason of judicial process.

13. "Receiver" means receiver, liquidator, rehabilitator, or conservator as the context may require.

Added by Laws 1957, p. 293, § 1801, operative July 1, 1957. Renumbered from Title 36, § 1801 by Laws 1975, c. 316, § 12, emerg. eff. June 12, 1975. Amended by Laws 2003, c. 197, § 57, eff. Nov. 1, 2003.