AI-assisted research summary: An insurer may buy, manage, and sell real estate for its business needs, but several asset-percentage limits apply.
§601.10. Real estate A. An insurer may acquire, manage, and dispose of real estate for the convenient accommodation of the insurer's business operations, which may include its affiliates, including home office, branch office, and field office operations. (1) An insurer authorized to transact insurance in a foreign country may acquire and hold immovable property required for the convenient accommodation of the transacting of its own business in any such country and the property may include additional space to be rented or leased to third parties for the purpose of producing income to help defray the cost of acquisition, construction, and maintenance of the building, as well as a return on the investment in addition to that derived from the company's own use of a portion of the property. The investment in a building shall not exceed ten percent of the company's assets in that country. (2) No insurer shall acquire real estate if, as a result of and after giving effect to the acquisition, the aggregate amount of all real estate then held by the insurer pursuant to this Section would exceed ten percent of its admitted assets. (3) Upon approval by the commissioner, additional amounts of real estate may be acquired pursuant to this Section upon a determination by the commissioner that the amount represented by the percentage of its admitted assets is insufficient to provide convenient accommodation for the insurer's business and would not render the insurer in hazardous financial condition. B.(1) An insurer may acquire real estate situated in the United States that is income producing or after suitable improvement within five years from acquisition can reasonably be expected to produce income. (2) The insurer may thereafter own, hold, maintain, and manage the real estate so acquired and the improvements thereon and collect or receive income therefrom and may grant, sell, or convey the same in whole or in part. Ownership, management, and control shall be entire and complete by one insurer unless shared by two or more insurers subject to this Title or unless the insurer is a general partner under agreements that will assure concerted action in the management and control of the property and in case of the insolvency of any participating insurer. C.(1) No insurer shall acquire an investment pursuant to this Section if, as a result of and after giving effect to the investment and any outstanding guarantees made by the insurer in connection with the investment, the aggregate amount of investments then held by the insurer plus the guarantees then outstanding would exceed one of the following: (a) Five percent of its admitted assets in any one parcel or group of contiguous parcels of real estate. (b) Fifteen percent of its admitted assets in the aggregate, but not more than five percent of its admitted assets as to properties that are to be improved or developed. (2) No insurer shall acquire an investment pursuant to R.S. 22:601.9 or Subsection B of this Section if, as a result of and after giving effect to the investment and any guarantees it has made in connection with the investment, the aggregate amount of all investments then held by the insurer pursuant to R.S. 22:601.9 and Subsection B of this Section plus the guarantees then outstanding would exceed forty-five percent of its admitted assets. D. Orders or decisions of the commissioner of insurance shall be subject to review as provided in R.S. 22:2191 et seq. Acts 2021, No. 165, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2022.