(a) Credit for reinsurance shall be allowed a domestic ceding insurer as either an asset or a deduction from liability in accordance with Sections 922.4 and 922.5 only if the reinsurance contract contains provisions that provide, in substance, as follows:
(1) The reinsurer shall indemnify the ceding insurer for the risk it has assumed according to the terms and conditions contained in the reinsurance contract.
(2) In the event of insolvency, or a change in the status of the ceding company as defined in this section, and the appointment of a conservator, liquidator, or statutory successor of the ceding company, the reinsurance shall be payable to the conservator, liquidator, or statutory successor on the basis of claims allowed against the insolvent company by any court of competent jurisdiction or by any conservator, liquidator, or statutory successor of the company having authority to allow those claims, without diminution because of that insolvency or change in status, or because the conservator, liquidator, or statutory successor has failed to pay all or a portion of any claims. Payments by the reinsurer as set forth in this subdivision shall be made directly to the ceding insurer or to its conservator, liquidator, or statutory successor, except where the contract of insurance or reinsurance specifically provides another payee of such reinsurance in the event of the insolvency or change in status of the ceding insurer.
The reinsurance contract may provide that the conservator, liquidator, or statutory successor of a ceding insurer shall give written notice of the pendency of a claim against the ceding insurer indicating the policy or bond reinsured, within a reasonable time after such claim is filed and the reinsurer may interpose, at its own expense, in the proceeding in which the claim is to be adjudicated, any defense or defenses which it may deem available to the ceding insurer or its conservator, liquidator, or statutory successor. The expense thus incurred by the reinsurer shall be payable subject to court approval out of the estate of the insolvent ceding insurer as part of the expense of conservation or liquidation to the extent of a proportionate share of the benefit which may accrue to the ceding insurer in conservation or liquidation, solely as a result of the defense undertaken by the reinsurer.
(b) Payment pursuant to a reinsurance contract shall be made within a reasonable time with reasonable provision for verification in accordance with the terms of the reinsurance agreement. However, in no event shall the payments be beyond the period required by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Accounting Practices and Procedures Manual.
(c) The original insured or policyholder shall not have any rights against the reinsurer which are not specifically set forth in the contract of reinsurance, or in a specific agreement between the reinsurer and the original insured or policyholder.
(d) For purposes of this section, the phrase “change in the status of the ceding company” means a finding by the commissioner that conditions set forth in subdivision (d) or (i) of Section 1011, a Regulatory Action Level Event as defined in Section 739.4, or any other event which permits the appointment of a conservator, liquidator, or statutory successor has occurred with respect to the ceding company.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 277, Sec. 2. (SB 1216) Effective January 1, 2013.)