Insurance Regulation

Insurance companies, HMOs, reinsurers, producers and other industry participants have to cope with the complexities of state regulation, as well as with regulatory inquiries and required approvals. We provide a full range of services that professionals in the insurance industry often need, from the formation and licensing of insurance companies, Holding Company Act transactions, and market conduct and financial examinations, to a myriad of other regulatory compliance projects.

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Our Insurance Regulation group has a long history in the insurance field. Our lawyers include the former Chairman of the Board of a substantial professional liability insurer and the former General Counsel of a large domestic life and health insurer. We have extensive experience representing both domestic and foreign insurers, and other industry participants, in a variety of matters, including transactions as well as regulatory compliance, reinsurance, guaranty association and general counsel engagements. In every area, we take a practical approach to finding the solutions that work best for you.

This gives us easy access to governmental agencies and is conducive to developing long-standing relationships with state regulatory personnel. We often represent clients in matters at the North Carolina Department of Insurance.

Performing complicated regulatory, administrative and transactional work is a hallmark of our firm. We’ve practiced in this area for decades and regulators have confidence in our knowledge, trustworthiness and reliability. Likewise, clients appreciate our focused, effective and straightforward advice.

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Services

• Formation and company licensing
• Holding Company Act filings and approvals, including those related to mergers, acquisitions and other changes of control 
• Market conduct, financial and other examinations
• Regulatory inquiries, reviews and compliance
• Administrative proceedings 
• Premium rate issues and compliance
• Reinsurance and assumption reinsurance 
• Residual markets and quasi-governmental entities
• Catastrophe bonds and capital markets transactions
• Guaranty association matters
• Surplus lines questions 
• Agent licensing, appointment and compliance
• Captive Insurers, including protected cell companies
• Redomestications

Additional Services:
As a courtesy to clients and friends, we routinely send bulletins, advisories and other informal mailings on current developments. Smith Anderson also provides our clients with services in related practice areas, including legislative and administrative advocacy, corporate and securities, and health law matters.

General and North Carolina Counsel Representations

• Outside general counsel in the formation, North Carolina licensing and ongoing operation of domestic property and casualty, and life and health, insurance companies, as well as full- and single-service HMOs and MEWAs. Engagements have included corporate organization; North Carolina licensing and regulatory compliance; surplus lines approval and licensure applications in other states; premium rate and policy form filing and compliance; reinsurance treaties; coverage questions and other general counsel duties
• Service as outside general counsel for domestic mutual professional liability insurance companies
• General counsel representation of residual market entities, including North Carolina's coastal property insurance pool. Experience with reinsurance contracts, catastrophe bonds, regulatory compliance, contracts and board of directors matters
• Service as outside general counsel for North Carolina's life and health insurance guaranty association
• North Carolina counsel for foreign property and casualty insurance companies.  Substantial experience in mergers and acquisitions as well as other changes of control, including all required North Carolina regulatory approvals; regulatory compliance; financial and market conduct examinations; and NCDOI inquiries
• North Carolina counsel for foreign life and health insurers and managed care organizations. Engagements have included licensing and regulatory compliance issues; Holding Company Act transactions (Form A, B, C, and D filings and exemption requests); policy form and rate filings; PPO registration and compliance; TPA licensing; HIPAA discontinuation and company dissolution issues; surplus lines questions; and reinsurance contracts
• Service as North Carolina counsel to captive insurance companies, including protected cell captives

Transactional Representations

• Primary outside counsel for North Carolina insurers and residual market entities in reinsurance placements and catastrophe bond financing transactions
• Served as sellers' primary counsel in sales of minority and majority interests in domestic HMOs, as well as in mergers. Clients have included both public and private companies
• Acquirer’s North Carolina regulatory counsel in acquisitions of control of domestic insurers and HMOs, including coordination of required NCDOI approvals for both public and private companies
• Served as primary outside counsel to domestic HMOs in the transfer and assumption of substantially all of the ongoing North Carolina HMO contracts of other HMOs, including coordination of required NCDOI approvals

Miscellaneous

• Frequent representation of insurers and HMOs in financial and market conduct examinations, NCDOI premium rate compliance reviews and other regulatory compliance matters
• Representation in connection with insurer and MEWA insolvencies, supervisions and dissolutions
• Substantial experience, through our firm's litigation practice group, in insurance-related litigation, mediation, and arbitration, including professional liability matters. Similar experience, through our firm's health law group, in health issues which sometimes relate to insurance, including integrated delivery system issues.  Experience through our firm’s securities and corporate practice groups in mergers, acquisitions, and other transactions involving insurance companies and HMOs, including catastrophe bonds
• Experience as either legislative counsel or outside legal counsel for various insurance and HMO trade associations, as well as other insurance company clients