AS Title 21, Chapter 76: Joint Insurance Arrangements

Chapter 76. Joint Insurance Arrangements. Sec. 21.76.010. Authority to establish joint insurance arrangements. (a) Municipalities and their public corporations, city and borough school districts, and regional educational attendance areas may enter into cooperative agreements with each other for the purpose of establishing, operating, or participating in joint insurance arrangements through which the participating members agree to pool contributions in order to either assume risks from losses to the participants on a group basis or purchase coverage for the participants on a group basis. (b) A joint insurance arrangement may be for any kind of insurance defined by this title except for health insurance, life insurance, and title insurance. (c) A joint insurance arrangement shall be considered an alternative or supplement to any other policy or contract of insurance authorized or required by law, including insurance under AS 21.75 . (d) For purposes of AS 23.30.075 , a joint insurance arrangement is considered to be an association duly authorized to transact workers' compensation insurance in the state. Sec. 21.76.020. Regulation by division of insurance and annual report. (a) A joint insurance arrangement may not be considered insurance for the purpose of any other law of the state and is not subject to regulations adopted by the director. (b) By October 1 of each year, the administrator of a joint insurance arrangement shall prepare and deliver to the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee and the director a report showing the true and correct financial condition of the joint insurance arrangement. The report must (1) be attested to by the administrator and the board of directors; (2) include an analysis, certified by a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, of the sufficiency of the loss reserves; and (3) be certified by a certified public accountant. Sec. 21.76.030. General provisions of cooperative agreements. A cooperative agreement must provide for the proper operation of the joint insurance arrangement and include provisions for (1) administration of the arrangement by a board of directors, specifying the number of members of the board and other requirements necessary for the proper functioning of the board; (2) appointment of an administrator and other persons as necessary for the proper functioning of the arrangement; (3) organization of the arrangement, including a roster of participating members and the names of the members of the board of directors; (4) procedures to establish and promote an aggressive risk management and program among the members of the arrangement, including procedures for identifying and reducing the risks that can be reduced through implementing better safety technologies and improved work techniques and procedures; (5) enforcing the collection of contributions or payments in default from members of the arrangement; (6) the addition of new members to the arrangement or the withdrawal of members from the arrangement; (7) the method of apportioning costs and disposition of excess contributions; (8) transmission of financial statements and audit reports of the arrangement to participating members; (9) terminating the arrangement and disposing of its assets; and (10) establishing and administering a joint insurance fund. Sec. 21.76.040. Financial provisions of agreements. (a) A cooperative agreement must include a provision requiring an annual determination by a casualty actuary who is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries that procedures for establishing reserves for losses of the joint insurance arrangement are actuarially sound. (b) A joint insurance arrangement shall be subject to an annual independent audit. The audit shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and must include a review of the actuarial assumptions used for establishing the reserves under (a) of this section. The audit report must include certification from a casualty actuary who is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries that the actuarial assumptions continue to be sound and the level of the reserves are adequate. Sec. 21.76.050. Contracting with private administrators. A cooperative agreement may authorize the board of directors to enter into contracts for services necessary to perform the functions of a joint insurance arrangement. The person contracting to perform the functions must be appropriately licensed under this title if this title so requires. Sec. 21.76.060. Delegation of power to settle claims. A cooperative agreement may delegate to the board of directors, or authorize delegation by the board to another person or group, the power to compromise, arbitrate, or otherwise settle claims on behalf of the arrangement. Sec. 21.76.070. Excess insurance. A cooperative agreement may authorize the board of directors to purchase excess or catastrophic insurance on behalf of the joint insurance arrangement. The cost of the insurance shall be apportioned in the manner specified in the joint insurance agreement. The board may purchase insurance under this section only from an insurer authorized to do business in the state, except that an arrangement formed by municipalities or school districts may purchase insurance under this section from a risk-sharing pool established by a national association of similar entities if the risk-sharing pool meets the qualifications for an unauthorized insurer under AS 21.34.040 (b) and (d) and 21.34.220 and has capital and policyholders surplus in an amount at least as great as would be required if the association were a domestic multiple line insurer. An arrangement may purchase insurance under this section for property and liability risks from unauthorized insurers allowed for use by licensed Alaska surplus lines brokers. Sec. 21.76.080. Joint insurance fund. (a) A joint insurance arrangement shall establish a joint insurance fund. The fund consists of money (1) contributed by members of the joint insurance arrangement through budgetary appropriations or transfers from a self-insurance reserve; (2) contributed by officers and employees of members of the joint insurance arrangement under an employee benefit plan; and (3) collected by the joint insurance arrangement through subrogation of a claim paid from the fund to a member of the arrangement. (b) An expenditure may be made from a joint insurance fund only to (1) pay claims, losses, or benefits, including interest on them, and the administrative and adjustment expenses incurred in connection with them, involving the types of protection for which the fund provides coverage as specified in the joint insurance agreement; (2) pay contractual obligations of a joint insurance fund established by a municipal joint insurance arrangement to the Alaska Municipal Bond Bank Authority or other lender; and (3) purchase insurance coverage for members of a municipal joint insurance arrangement on a group basis. (c) The administrator shall keep the fund separate from other funds of a member of a joint insurance arrangement. (d) For each type of protection offered by the joint insurance arrangement, the method of accounting must show the order, source, date, and amount of each payment from the fund. (e) Within 150 days of the end of the fiscal year, the administrator shall furnish a detailed report of the operation and condition of the fund to the board of directors and the director of the division of insurance. (f) Money held by a fund as reserves and money not needed for daily operations may be invested by the board of directors. (g) A fund may not be terminated unless the administrator certifies that an amount of money sufficient to pay accrued and contingent expenditures has been placed in a fully collateralized escrow account. Sec. 21.76.090. Filing of agreement. The board of directors shall file a copy of the cooperative agreement with the director of insurance at least 60 days before the effective date of the agreement. The agreement shall be available for public inspection. Sec. 21.76.100. Regulations. A cooperative agreement may authorize the board of directors to adopt rules not inconsistent with law for the fair and equitable administration of the joint insurance arrangement and the joint insurance fund. Sec. 21.76.110. Subrogation. A joint insurance arrangement has a right of subrogation with respect to its participants to the same extent that an insurer has a right of subrogation with respect to one of its insureds. Sec. 21.76.120. Debt financing. (a) A municipality or a municipal joint insurance arrangement may authorize the issuance of negotiable or nonnegotiable bonds, notes, or certificates of participation to establish reserves and to self-insure against liability not covered by excess insurance or reinsurance. A bond, note, or certificate issued under this subsection by a municipal joint insurance arrangement shall be secured and payable from participating members of the municipal joint insurance arrangement as provided in the cooperative agreement. (b) A municipality that has entered into a municipal joint insurance arrangement may enter into contracts and agreements concerning debt issued under (a) of this section and provide for matters that affect the security of the debt. Bonds, notes, and certificates of participation issued under (a) of this section may be sold at either public or private sale as provided by the participants in the municipal joint insurance arrangement in the manner and at the price the participants determine. Sec. 21.76.900. Definitions. In this chapter, (1) “adjustment expenses” means expenses for investigative, processing, legal, actuarial, arbitration, and settlement services incurred in the adjustment of losses, claims, or benefits; (2) “administrator” means a person or group appointed by the board of directors to administer a joint insurance arrangement or a joint insurance fund; (3) “board” or “board of directors” means the board of directors provided for in a cooperative agreement; (4) “cooperative agreement” means a written agreement entered into by two or more entities described in AS 21.76.010 for the purpose of establishing, operating, or participating in a joint insurance arrangement; (5) “fund” or “joint insurance fund” means a fund established under AS 21.76.080 ; (6) “joint insurance arrangement” means a joint insurance arrangement authorized under AS 21.76.010 .