Montana Code Annotated
Part 3. Protected Cell Captive Insurance Companies
33-28-301. Protected cell captive insurance company

33-28-301. Protected cell captive insurance company. (1) One or more sponsors may form a protected cell captive insurance company.
(2) A protected cell captive insurance company formed or authorized under the provisions of this chapter is subject to the following:
(a) (i) A protected cell captive insurance company may establish one or more protected cells with the prior written approval of the commissioner of a plan of operation or amendments submitted by the protected cell captive insurance company with respect to each protected cell.
(ii) Upon the written approval of the commissioner of the plan of operation, which must include but is not limited to the specific business objectives and investment guidelines of the protected cell, the protected cell captive insurance company in accordance with the approved plan of operation may attribute to the protected cell insurance obligations with respect to its insurance business.
(iii) A protected cell must have its own distinct name or designation that must include the words "protected cell".
(iv) The protected cell captive insurance company shall transfer all assets attributable to a protected cell to one or more separately established and identified protected cell accounts bearing the name or designation of that protected cell. Protected cell assets must be held in the protected cell accounts for the purpose of satisfying the obligations of that protected cell.
(v) An incorporated protected cell may be organized and operated in any form of business organization authorized by the commissioner. Each protected cell of a protected cell captive insurance company must be treated as a captive insurance company for purposes of this chapter, except that the limit on maximum yearly aggregate taxes paid in 33-28-201 does not apply. Unless otherwise permitted by the articles of incorporation or other organizational document of a protected cell captive insurance company, each protected cell of the protected cell captive insurance company must have the same directors, secretary, and registered office as the protected cell captive insurance company.
(b) All attributions of assets and liabilities between a protected cell and the protected cell captive insurance company's general account must be in accordance with the plan of operation and participant contracts approved by the commissioner. No other attribution of assets and liabilities may be made by a protected cell captive insurance company between the protected cell captive insurance company's general account and its protected cells. Any attribution of assets and liabilities between the general account and a protected cell must be in cash or in readily marketable securities with established market values.
(c) The creation of a protected cell creates, with respect to that protected cell, a legal person separate from the protected cell captive insurance company. Amounts attributed to a protected cell under this chapter, including assets transferred to a protected cell account, are owned by the protected cell, and the protected cell captive insurance company may not be a trustee or hold itself out to be a trustee with respect to those protected cell assets of that protected cell account. A protected cell captive insurance company may allow for a security interest to attach to protected cell assets or a protected cell account when the security interest is in favor of a creditor of the protected cell and is otherwise allowed under applicable law.
(d) This chapter may not be construed to prohibit the protected cell captive insurance company from contracting with or arranging for an investment adviser, commodity trading adviser, or other third party to manage the protected cell assets of a protected cell if all remuneration, expenses, and other compensation of the third party are payable from the protected cell assets of that protected cell and not from the protected cell assets of other protected cells or the assets of the protected cell captive insurance company's general account.
(e) (i) A protected cell captive insurance company shall establish administrative and accounting procedures necessary to properly identify the one or more protected cells of the protected cell captive insurance company and the protected cell assets and protected cell liabilities attributable to the protected cells. The directors of a protected cell captive insurance company shall keep protected cell assets and protected cell liabilities:
(A) separate and separately identifiable from the assets and liabilities of the protected cell captive insurance company's general account; and
(B) attributable to one protected cell separate and separately identifiable from protected cell assets and protected cell liabilities attributable to other protected cells.
(ii) If the provisions of this subsection (2)(e) are violated, the remedy of tracing is applicable to protected cell assets commingled with protected cell assets of other protected cells or the assets of the protected cell captive insurance company's general account. The remedy of tracing may not be construed as an exclusive remedy.
(f) When establishing a protected cell, the protected cell captive insurance company shall attribute to the protected cell assets with a value at least equal to the reserves attributed to that protected cell.
(3) Each protected cell must be accounted for separately on the books and records of the protected cell captive insurance company to reflect the financial condition and result of operations of the protected cell, including but not limited to the net income or loss, dividends or other distributions to participants, and any other factor provided in the participant contract or required by the commissioner.
(4) The assets of a protected cell may not be chargeable with liabilities arising from any other insurance business of the protected cell captive insurance company.
(5) A sale, exchange, or other transfer of assets may not be made by a protected cell captive insurance company among any of its protected cells without the consent of the participants of each affected protected cell.
(6) A sale, exchange, transfer of assets, dividend, or distribution may not be made from a protected cell to a sponsor or a participant without the commissioner's prior written approval, which may not be given if the sale, exchange, transfer, dividend, or distribution would result in insolvency or impairment with respect to the protected cell.
(7) Each protected cell captive insurance company shall file annually with the commissioner any financial reports required by the commissioner and shall include, without limitation, accounting statements detailing the financial experience of each protected cell.
(8) Each protected cell captive insurance company shall notify the commissioner in writing within 20 business days from the time that a protected cell has become impaired or insolvent or is otherwise unable to meets its claim or expense obligations.
(9) A participant contract may not take effect without the commissioner's prior written approval.
(10) An addition of each new protected cell or the withdrawal of any participant of an existing protected cell constitutes a change in the business plan of the protected cell captive insurance company and may not be effective without the commissioner's prior written approval.
(11) The business written by a protected cell captive insurance company, with respect to each cell, must be fronted by an insurance company authorized under the laws of any state or approved by the commissioner.
(12) If a protected cell captive insurance company's business is reinsured, with respect to each cell it must be:
(a) reinsured by a reinsurer authorized or approved by the commissioner; or
(b) secured by a trust fund in the United States for the benefit of policyholders and claimants, which must be funded by an irrevocable letter of credit or other asset that is acceptable to the commissioner, and subject to the following:
(i) the amount of the security provided by the trust fund may not be less than the reserves associated with the liabilities that are not fronted or reinsured, including but not limited to reserves for losses that are allocated for loss adjustment expenses, incurred but not reported losses, and unearned premiums for business written through the participant's protected cell;
(ii) the commissioner may require the protected cell captive insurance company to increase the funding of any trust;
(iii) if the form of security in the trust is a letter of credit, the letter of credit must be established, issued, or confirmed by a bank chartered in this state, a member of the federal reserve system, or a bank chartered by another state if that state-chartered bank is approved by the commissioner; and
(iv) the trust and trust instrument must be in a form and with terms approved by the commissioner.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 383, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 15, Ch. 518, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 75, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 21, Ch. 169, L. 2013; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 335, L. 2015; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 223, L. 2019.

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