AB 494: Insurance Holding Company System Regulatory Act.

Existing law, the Insurance Holding Company System Regulatory Act, requires an insurer that is authorized to do business in this state and that is a member of an insurance holding company system, which consists of two or more affiliated persons, at least one of which is an insurer, to register with the Insurance Commissioner and to file a registration statement containing specified information. Existing law requires the ultimate controlling person of an insurer subject to registration under the act to file an annual enterprise risk report with the lead state commissioner, as determined by procedures of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and to provide a copy to the commissioner if they are not the lead state commissioner.

This bill would require the ultimate controlling person of an insurer subject to registration under the act to concurrently file with the registration an annual group capital calculation, unless a specified exemption applies. The bill would require the commissioner, if they are the lead state commissioner, to require the group capital calculation for the United States operations of a non-United States-based insurance holding company system if they determine it is appropriate for prudential oversight and solvency monitoring purposes or for ensuring the competitiveness of the insurance marketplace. The bill would authorize the commissioner, if they are the lead state commissioner, to exempt the ultimate controlling person from filing an annual group capital calculation or to accept a limited group capital filing if specified criteria are met. The bill would also require the ultimate controlling person of an insurer subject to registration under the act and scoped into the NAIC Liquidity Stress Test Framework to file the results of a specific years liquidity stress test, as specified.

Existing law requires information or documents obtained or disclosed in the course of an examination or investigation made pursuant to specified provisions of the Insurance Holding Company System Regulatory Act to be kept confidential. Existing law authorizes the commissioner to share those confidential documents or materials or that other information with the NAIC and its affiliates and subsidiaries under specified circumstances.

This bill would instead authorize the commissioner to share confidential documents, materials, or other information with the NAIC and a third-party consultant designated by the commissioner. The bill would require the commissioner to maintain the confidentiality of a group capital calculation, the resulting group capital ratio, a liquidity stress test, and a liquidity stress tests results and supporting disclosures.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.