Montana Code Annotated
Part 1. General Provisions and Licensing
33-28-101. Definitions

33-28-101. Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Affiliated company" means any company in the same corporate system as a parent, an industrial insured, or a member by virtue of common ownership, control, operation, or management.
(2) "Association" means any legal association of sole proprietorships or business entities that has been in continuous existence for at least 1 year unless the 1-year requirement is waived by the commissioner and the members of which collectively, or the association itself:
(a) owns, controls, or holds with power to vote all of the outstanding voting securities of an association captive insurance company incorporated as a stock insurer;
(b) has complete voting control over an association captive insurance company incorporated as a mutual insurer;
(c) constitutes all of the subscribers of an association captive insurance company formed as a reciprocal insurer; or
(d) owns, controls, or holds with power to vote all of the outstanding ownership interests of an association captive insurance company organized as a limited liability company.
(3) "Association captive insurance company" means any company that insures risks of the members and the affiliated companies of members.
(4) "Branch business" means any insurance business transacted by a branch captive insurance company in this state.
(5) "Branch captive insurance company" means any foreign captive insurance company authorized by the commissioner to transact the business of insurance in this state through a business unit with a principal place of business in this state.
(6) "Branch operations" means any business operations of a branch captive insurance company in this state.
(7) (a) "Business entity" means a corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity formed by an organizational document.
(b) The term does not include a sole proprietor.
(8) "Captive insurance company" means any pure captive insurance company, association captive insurance company, protected cell captive insurance company, special purpose captive insurance company, or industrial insured captive insurance company formed or authorized under the provisions of this chapter.
(9) "Captive reinsurance company" means a captive insurance company authorized in this state that reinsures the risk ceded by any other insurer.
(10) "Captive risk retention group" means a captive insurance risk retention group formed under the laws of this chapter and pursuant to Title 33, chapter 11.
(11) "Cash equivalent" means any short-term, highly liquid investment that is:
(a) readily convertible to known amounts of cash; and
(b) so near to its maturity that it presents insignificant risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates. Only an investment with an original maturity of 3 months or less qualifies as a cash equivalent.
(12) (a) "Controlled unaffiliated business entity" means a business entity or sole proprietorship:
(i) that is not in a parent's corporate system consisting of the parent and affiliated companies;
(ii) that has an existing, controlling contractual relationship with the parent or an affiliated company; and
(iii) whose risks are managed by a pure captive insurance company.
(b) The commissioner may promulgate rules that further define a controlled unaffiliated business entity.
(13) "Excess workers' compensation insurance" means, in the case of an employer that has insured or self-insured its workers' compensation risks in accordance with applicable state or federal law, insurance that is in excess of a specified per-incident or aggregate limit established by the commissioner.
(14) "Foreign captive insurance company" means any captive insurance company formed under the laws of any jurisdiction other than this state.
(15) "Industrial insured" means an insured:
(a) who procures the insurance of any risk or risks by use of the services of a full-time employee acting as an insurance manager or buyer;
(b) whose aggregate annual premiums for insurance on all risks total at least $25,000; and
(c) who has at least 25 full-time employees.
(16) "Industrial insured captive insurance company" means any company that insures risks of the industrial insureds that comprise the industrial insured group and their affiliated companies.
(17) "Industrial insured group" means any group that meets either of the following:
(a) the group collectively:
(i) owns, controls, or holds with power to vote all of the outstanding voting securities of an industrial insured captive insurance company incorporated as a stock insurer; or
(ii) has complete voting control over an industrial insured captive insurance company incorporated as a mutual insurer; or
(b) the group is a captive risk retention group.
(18) "Member" means a sole proprietorship or business entity that belongs to an association.
(19) "Mutual insurer" means a business entity without capital stock and with a governing body elected by the policyholders.
(20) "Organizational document" means articles of incorporation, articles of organization, a subscribers' agreement, a charter, or any other document that establishes a business entity.
(21) "Parent" means a sole proprietorship, business entity, or individual that directly or indirectly owns, controls, or holds with power to vote more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of a captive insurance company.
(22) "Participant" means a sole proprietorship or business entity and any affiliates that are insured by a protected cell captive insurance company in which the losses of the participant are limited through a participant contract to the participant's share of the assets of one or more protected cells identified in the participant contract.
(23) "Participant contract" means a contract by which a protected cell captive insurance company insures the risks of a participant and limits the losses of each participant in the contract.
(24) "Protected cell" means a separate account established by a protected cell captive insurance company formed or authorized under the provisions of this chapter, in which an identified pool of assets and liabilities are segregated and insulated, as provided in this chapter, from the remainder of the protected cell captive insurance company's assets and liabilities in accordance with the terms of one or more participant contracts to fund the liability of the protected cell captive insurance company with respect to the participants as set forth in the participant contracts. All protected cells must be incorporated.
(25) "Protected cell assets" means all assets, contract rights, and general intangibles identified with and attributable to a specific protected cell of a protected cell captive insurance company.
(26) "Protected cell captive insurance company" means any captive insurance company:
(a) in which the minimum capital and surplus required by applicable law are provided by one or more sponsors;
(b) that is formed or authorized under the provisions of this chapter;
(c) that insures the risks of separate participants through participant contracts;
(d) that funds its liability to each participant through one or more protected cells and segregates the assets of each protected cell from the assets of other protected cells and from the assets of the protected cell captive insurance company's general account; and
(e) that is incorporated or formed as a limited liability company.
(27) "Protected cell liabilities" means all liabilities and other obligations identified with and attributable to a specific protected cell of a protected cell captive insurance company.
(28) "Pure captive insurance company" means any company that insures risks of its parent and affiliated companies and controlled unaffiliated business entities.
(29) "Sole proprietorship" means an individual doing business in a noncorporate form.
(30) "Special purpose captive insurance company" means a captive insurance company that is formed or authorized under this chapter that does not meet the definition of any other type of captive insurance company defined in this section or is formed by, on behalf of, or for the benefit of a political subdivision of this state.
(31) "Sponsor" means any entity that meets the requirements of 33-28-301 and 33-28-302 and is approved by the commissioner to provide all or part of the capital and surplus required by the applicable law and to organize and operate a protected cell captive insurance company.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 298, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 383, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 518, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 75, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 229, L. 2015; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 335, L. 2015; amd. Sec. 29, Ch. 151, L. 2017; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 223, L. 2019.