Washington § 48.15.010 - Definitions.

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Affiliate" means, with respect to an insured, any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the insured.

(2) "Affiliated group" means any group of entities that are all affiliated.

(3) With respect to an insured, an entity has "control" over another entity when:

(a) The entity directly or indirectly or acting through one or more other persons owns, controls, or has the power to vote twenty-five percent or more of any class of voting securities of the other entity; or

(b) The entity controls in any manner the election of a majority of the directors or trustees of the other entity.

(4)(a) "Exempt commercial purchaser" means any person purchasing commercial insurance that, at the time of placement, meets the following requirements:

(i) The person employs or retains a qualified risk manager to negotiate insurance coverage;

(ii) The person has paid aggregate nationwide commercial property and casualty insurance premiums in excess of one hundred thousand dollars in the immediately preceding twelve months; and

(iii) The person meets at least one of the following criteria:

(A) The person possesses a net worth in excess of twenty million dollars, as the amount is adjusted under (b) of this subsection;

(B) The person generates annual revenues in excess of fifty million dollars, as the amount is adjusted under (b) of this subsection;

(C) The person employs more than five hundred full-time or full-time equivalent employees per insured or is a member of an affiliated group employing more than one thousand employees in the aggregate;

(D) The person is a not-for-profit organization or public entity generating annual budgeted expenditures of at least thirty million dollars, as the amount is adjusted under (b) of this subsection; or

(E) The person is a municipality with a population in excess of fifty thousand persons.

(b) The amounts in (a)(iii)(A), (B), and (D) of this subsection must be adjusted to reflect the percentage change for the five-year period in the consumer price index for all urban consumers published by the bureau of labor statistics of the United States department of labor.

(c) For the purpose of this subsection, "commercial insurance" means property and casualty insurance pertaining to a business, profession, occupation, nonprofit organization, or public entity.

(5)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, "insured's home state" means, with respect to an insured:

(i) The state in which an insured maintains its principal place of business or, in the case of an individual, the individual's principal residence; or

(ii) If one hundred percent of the insured risk is located out of the state referred to in this subsection, the state to which the greatest percentage of the insured's taxable premium for that insurance contract is allocated.

(b) If more than one insured from an affiliated group are named insureds on a single insurance contract issued by an unauthorized insurer, the term "insured's home state" means the insured's home state, as determined pursuant to (a) of this subsection, of the member of the affiliated group that has the largest percentage of premium attributed to it under the insurance contract.

(c) To determine the home state of the insured, the principal place of business is the state where the insured maintains its headquarters and where the insured's high-level officers direct, control, and coordinate the business activities of the insured.

(6) "Qualified risk manager" means, with respect to a policyholder of commercial insurance, a person who meets all of the following requirements:

(a) The person is an employee of, or third-party consultant retained by, the commercial policyholder;

(b) The person provides skilled services in loss prevention, loss reduction, or risk and insurance coverage analysis, and purchase of insurance; and

(c) The person:

(i)(A) Has a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university in risk management, business administration, finance, economics, or any other field determined by the commissioner to demonstrate minimum competence in risk management; and

(B)(I) Has three years of experience in risk financing, claims administration, loss prevention, risk and insurance analysis, or purchasing commercial lines of insurance; or

(II) Has one of the following designations:

(AA) A designation as a chartered property and casualty underwriter (CPCU) issued by the American institute for CPCU/insurance institute of America;

(BB) A designation as an associate in risk management issued by the American institute for CPCU/insurance institute of America;

(CC) A designation as [a] certified risk manager issued by the national alliance for insurance education and research;

(DD) A designation as a RIMS fellow issued by the global risk management institute; or

(EE) Any other designation, certification, or license determined by the commissioner to demonstrate minimum competency in risk management;

(ii)(A) Has at least seven years of experience in risk financing, claims administration, loss prevention, risk and insurance coverage analysis, or purchasing commercial lines of insurance; and

(B) Has any one of the designations specified in (c)(i)(B)(II)(AA) through (EE) of this subsection;

(iii) Has at least ten years of experience in risk financing, claims administration, loss prevention, risk and insurance coverage analysis, or purchasing commercial lines of insurance; or

(iv) Has a graduate degree from an accredited college or university in risk management, business administration, finance, economics, or any other field determined by the commissioner to demonstrate minimum competence in risk management.

Effective date—2011 c 31: "Sections 1, 2, and 4 through 9 of this act are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing institutions, and take effect July 21, 2011." [ 2011 c 31 s 12.]