2012 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 38 - Insurance
Chapter 12 - SOUTH CAROLINA INVESTMENTS LAWS
Section 38-12-320 - Exceptions to investment restrictions; assets from dividends and distributions; mergers and consolidations; protection of previous investments; time for determining qualification.

(A)(1) Pursuant to this subsection, an insurer may acquire an investment of any kind, or engage in a securities lending transaction, repurchase transaction, reverse repurchase transaction, or dollar roll transaction, that is not prohibited specifically by this chapter, without regard to the categories, conditions, standards, or other limitations of Sections 38-12-220 through 38-12-290 if, as a result of and after giving effect to the transaction, the aggregate amount of investments then held and securities lending transactions, repurchase transactions, reverse repurchase transactions, and dollar roll transactions then engaged in pursuant to this subsection does not exceed the lesser of:

(a) ten percent of its admitted assets; or

(b) seventy-five percent of its capital and surplus;

(2) An insurer may not acquire an investment or engage in an investment practice pursuant to this subsection if as a result of and after giving effect to the transaction the aggregate amount of all investments then held by the insurer under this subsection in any one person exceeds three percent of its admitted assets.

(B) In addition to the investments acquired pursuant to subsection (A) of this section, an insurer may acquire an investment of any kind, or engage in investment practices described in Section 38-12-280, that are not prohibited by this chapter without regard to any limitations of Sections 38-12-220 through 38-12-290 if:

(1) the director grants prior approval;

(2) the insurer demonstrates that its investments are made in a prudent manner and that the additional amounts will be invested in a prudent manner; and

(3) as a result of and after giving effect to the transaction, the aggregate amount of investments then held by the insurer pursuant to this subsection does not exceed the greater of:

(a) twenty-five percent of its capital and surplus; or

(b) one hundred percent of capital and surplus less ten percent of its admitted assets.

(C) This section does not permit an insurer to acquire an investment or engage in an investment practice that is prohibited pursuant to Section 38-12-60, or that is a derivative transaction.

(D) If any investment made or transaction entered into pursuant to any other section of this chapter exceeds the limits specified in that section, the excess portion of the investment or transaction is considered to be an investment or transaction pursuant to this section. Any loan, investment, or transaction originally made pursuant to this section which subsequently, if it were then being made, would qualify as an authorized investment or transaction pursuant to another subsection of this section or another section of this chapter shall thereafter be considered an authorized investment or transaction pursuant to that subsection or section.

(E) This chapter does not prohibit the acquisition by an insurer of additional obligations, securities, or other assets if received as a dividend or as a distribution of assets, nor does this chapter apply to securities, obligations, or other assets accepted incident to the workout, adjustment, restructuring, or similar realization of an investment or transaction when the insurer's board of directors or a committee appointed by the board of directors considers it to be in the best interests of the insurer, if the investment or transaction had been authorized previously. This chapter does not apply to assets acquired pursuant to a lawful agreement of bulk reinsurance if the assets constituted legal and authorized investments for the ceding company. No obligation, security, or other asset acquired as authorized by this subsection is required to be qualified pursuant to any other subsection of this section or other section of this chapter, provided that all assets acquired pursuant to this subsection are subject to the applicable accounting and valuation requirements contained in this chapter.

(F) Subject to the provisions of subsection (G), if a domestic life insurance company, pursuant to a merger or consolidation, acquires an investment or transaction that was an authorized investment or transaction of the company that was merged or consolidated with the domestic life insurance company but that does not qualify as an authorized investment or transaction pursuant to this chapter at the time the merger or consolidation occurs, regardless of whether or not the investment or transaction would be authorized pursuant to any of subsections (A) through (C), then the investment or transaction is considered an authorized investment or transaction pursuant to this subsection and is not required to be applied toward the limitations contained in any of subsections (A) through (C), for a period of five years after the date on which the merger or consolidation occurs. After that period it shall no longer be an authorized investment or transaction pursuant to this subsection, unless within the five-year period:

(1) the investment or transaction qualifies as an authorized investment or transaction pursuant to another subsection of this section or another section of this chapter including without limitation, subsections (A), (B), and (C), if the domestic life insurance company so elects; or

(2) the director authorizes the investment or transaction in the plan of merger or consolidation approved by the director; or

(3) upon request of the insurer, the director authorizes an extension of the five-year time period; or

(4) the director approves the investment or transaction pursuant to this subsection.

The aggregate amount of a domestic life insurance company's investments and transactions pursuant to this subsection, excluding investments and transactions authorized pursuant to items (1), (2), and (4), may not exceed twenty-five percent of the domestic life insurance company's capital and surplus after giving effect to such merger or consolidation.

(G) If a domestic life insurance company, pursuant to a merger or consolidation, acquires a mortgage loan, or a participation in a mortgage loan, that would have been authorized pursuant to Section 38-12-270, and pursuant to subsection (D) of this section as to the portion that exceeded seventy-five percent of the value of the property, at the time the company that was merged or consolidated with such domestic life insurance company invested in the mortgage loan or the participation in the mortgage loan, then such mortgage loan or participation in the mortgage loan is authorized pursuant to Section 38-12-270, and pursuant to subsection (D) of this section as to the portion that exceeded seventy-five percent of the value of the property.

(H) The director has full discretion in selecting a method for calculating values of investments and transactions that an insurer acquires through a merger or consolidation, provided that the method is consistent with any applicable provisions of this chapter and any applicable valuation method that the NAIC is currently using at the time with respect to investments and transactions. If there is a conflict between a provision of this chapter and the NAIC valuation method being used, the provision of this chapter controls.

(I) The qualification or disqualification of an investment pursuant to one subsection of this section or one section of this chapter does not prevent its qualification in whole or in part pursuant to another provision of this chapter. An investment authorized by more than one provision of this chapter is authorized pursuant to the provision the insurer elects. An investment or transaction qualified pursuant to any provision of this chapter at the time it was acquired or entered into by the insurer shall continue to be qualified pursuant to that provision. An investment or transaction may be transferred in whole or in part at the election of the insurer to the authority of any provision of this chapter pursuant to which it then qualifies, whether or not it originally qualified pursuant to that provision.

(J) Notwithstanding the provisions of the other subsections of this section or the other sections of this chapter, an insurer may acquire an investment in or enter into a transaction with a business entity in which the insurer already holds one or more investments or with which the insurer has entered into one or more transactions if the investment is acquired or the transaction is entered into in order to protect an investment or transaction previously made in or with the business entity, provided that the aggregate amount of investments and transactions so acquired and entered into may not exceed five percent of the insurer's capital and surplus.

(K)(1) The percentage authorizations and limitations contained in any provision of this chapter apply only at the time of the original acquisition of an investment or at the time a transaction is entered into and are not applicable to the insurer or the investment or transaction after that time except as provided in subsection (I). Once any investment or transaction is qualified pursuant to any provision of this chapter, it shall remain qualified notwithstanding any refinancing, restructuring, or modification of the investment or transaction, provided that the insurer does not engage in the refinancing, restructuring, or modification of the investment or transaction for the purposes of circumventing the requirements or limitations of this chapter.

(2) The director has full discretion to value investments and transactions that an insurer holds at the time of an examination of the insurer using a method of calculating the values that the director selects in his discretion, provided that the method must be consistent with any applicable provisions of this chapter and any applicable valuation method that the NAIC is using at the time with respect to investments and transactions. If there is a conflict between such a provision of this chapter and an applicable NAIC valuation method that the NAIC is using at the time, the provision of this chapter controls.

(3) Notwithstanding items (1) and (2), if the director determines that the continued operation of an insurer may be hazardous to its policyholders, its creditors, or the general public, the director may issue an order consistent with applicable statutes requiring the insurer to limit or withdraw from certain investments or transactions or discontinue certain practices as to investments or transactions to the extent the director considers necessary.

HISTORY: 2002 Act No. 319, Section 2, eff June 3, 2002.