South Carolina § 38-31-80 - Powers and duties of director.

§ 38-31-80. Powers and duties of director.

(A) The director or his designee shall:

(1) notify the association of the existence of an insolvent insurer not later than three days after he receives notice of the determination of the insolvency;

(2) upon request of the board of directors, provide the association with a statement of the net direct written premiums of each member insurer.

(B) The director or his designee may:

(1) require that the association notify the insureds of the insolvent insurer and other interested parties of the determination of insolvency and of their rights under this chapter. The notification must be by mail at their last known address, where available, but if sufficient information for notification by mail is not available, notice by publication in a newspaper of general circulation is sufficient;

(2) suspend or revoke, after notice and hearing, the certificate of authority to transact insurance in this State of a member insurer who fails to pay an assessment when due or fails to comply with the plan of operation. As an alternative, the director or his designee may impose the penalties provided in Section 38-2-10;

(3) revoke the designation of a servicing facility if he finds claims are being handled unsatisfactorily;

(4) upon request of the board of directors, notwithstanding the limitation on assessments contained in Section 38-31-60(c)(iii), increase the maximum assessment in a year in an account in order for that assessment to provide an amount sufficient to make all necessary payments by the association from that account. However, no member insurer may be assessed in a year on an account under this provision an amount greater than two percent of the member insurer's net direct written premiums for the calendar year preceding the insolvency on the kinds of insurance in the account;

(5) after determining that an insurance emergency or catastrophe exists in this State pursuant to Insurance Department Regulation 69-1(2), direct the association to pay the first one hundred dollars of each unearned premium claim and the first two hundred fifty dollars of each covered claim, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 38-31-60(a).

HISTORY: Former 1976 Code SECTION 38-19-80 [1962 Code SECTION 37-827; 1971 (57) 1001] recodified as SECTION 38-31-80 by 1987 Act No. 155, SECTION 1; 1988 Act No. 374, SECTION 12; 1991 Act No. 5, SECTION 1; 1993 Act No. 181, SECTION 632.