Chapter 617

617.215(3) (3) Payment of expenses. All insurers to which this section applies are liable for and shall pay the reasonable expenses related to the commissioner’s participation in supervisory colleges, including reasonable travel expenses. The commissioner may impose a regular assessment on insurers to cover the expenses.

617.215(4) (4) Not delegation of authority. Nothing in this section delegates to a supervisory college the authority of the commissioner to regulate or supervise an insurer or its affiliates within the commissioner’s jurisdiction.

617.215 History History: 2013 a. 279.

617.22 617.22 Dividends and other distributions.

617.22(1) (1) General. Any action by the board of a stock insurer authorized to do business in this state authorizing any distribution to shareholders other than a stock dividend shall be reported to the commissioner in writing. No payment may be made until at least 30 days after such report.

617.22(2) (2) New corporations. For 5 years after the initial issuance of a certificate of authority, no payment may be made under sub. (1) until at least 45 days after the report. The commissioner may extend the waiting period an additional 45 days by giving notice to the corporation not less than 5 days before expiration of the first 45-day period.

617.22(3) (3) Exemptions. If sub. (2) is inapplicable, no report need be made under sub. (1) of a distribution that is no more than 15 percent larger than for the corresponding period in the previous year.

617.22(4) (4) Special exemption for certain nondomestic insurers. A nondomestic insurer which does not have to report under s. 617.11 is only required to report dividends if so directed by the commissioner.

617.22 History History: 1979 c. 102 ss. 145, 236 (2).

617.225 617.225 Extraordinary dividends.

617.225(1) (1) A domestic insurer may not pay an extraordinary dividend to its shareholders and an affiliate of the insurer may not accept an extraordinary dividend unless the insurer reports the extraordinary dividend to the commissioner at least 30 days before payment and the commissioner does not disapprove the extraordinary dividend within that period.

617.225(2) (2) The commissioner may promulgate rules under this section including, but not limited to, rules prescribing the form and content of and procedure for filing reports under this section.

617.225(3) (3) An insurer may declare an extraordinary dividend that is conditioned upon the insurer’s compliance with sub. (1). A declaration of an extraordinary dividend under this subsection does not confer rights on a shareholder or affiliate unless sub. (1) is complied with and is void if the extraordinary dividend is disapproved by the commissioner.

617.225(4) (4) In addition to any remedies available under s. 617.23, an insurer may recover from an affiliate any extraordinary dividend paid in violation of this section.

617.225 History History: 1987 a. 167; 2003 a. 261.

617.23 617.23 Liability of affiliates.

617.23(1) (1) Right of receiver to recover dividends paid. If an order for the liquidation, rehabilitation or conservation of an insurer authorized to do business in this state is entered under ch. 645, the receiver appointed under the order shall have a right to recover on behalf of the insurer the amount of distributions other than stock dividends paid by the insurer on its capital stock at any time during the 5 years preceding the petition for liquidation, rehabilitation or conservation, subject to the limitations of subs. (2) to (4).

617.23(2) (2) Dividend payments recoverable. No such dividend shall be recoverable if the insurer shows that when paid the distribution was lawful and reasonable, and that the insurer did not know and could not reasonably have known that the distribution might adversely affect the ability of the insurer to fulfill the obligations to claimants under its insurance contracts.

617.23(3) (3) Persons liable.

617.23(3)(a) (a) Affiliates at time of payment. Any person who was an affiliate of the insurer at the time the distributions were paid shall be liable up to the amount of distributions he or she received.

617.23(3)(b) (b) Affiliates at time of declaration of distribution. Any person who was an affiliate of the insurer at the time the distributions were declared shall be liable up to the amount of distributions he or she would have received if they had been paid immediately.

617.23(3)(c) (c) Joint and several liability. If under pars. (a) and (b) 2 persons are liable with respect to the same distributions, they shall be jointly and severally liable.

617.23(4) (4) Aggregate limitation. The maximum amount recoverable under this section is:

617.23(4)(a) (a) The amount needed in excess of all other available assets to pay all claims under the receivership.

617.23(4)(b) (b) Reduced by any amount already paid to receivers under similar laws of other states.

617.23(5) (5) Secondary liability. If any person liable under sub. (3) is insolvent, all its affiliates that controlled it at the time the dividend was paid are jointly and severally liable for any resulting deficiency in the amount recovered from the insolvent affiliate.

617.23 History History: 1977 c. 203 ss. 95, 103; 1979 c. 102 ss. 146, 236 (5); 1989 a. 359; 1997 a. 254.

617.25 617.25 Officers and directors.

617.25(1) (1) No director or officer of an insurer or of an affiliate of an insurer may permit, participate in or assent to a transaction or payment or acceptance of a dividend or distribution prohibited under this chapter.

617.25(2) (2) An officer or director of an insurer or of an affiliate of an insurer who knows, or reasonably should know, that the insurer or affiliate has entered into a transaction or paid a dividend or distribution that violates this chapter shall report the transaction, dividend or distribution to the commissioner in writing within 30 days after attaining that knowledge. Section 601.42 (6) applies to a report under this section and the report is confidential unless the commissioner finds it necessary to disclose the report for the purpose of enforcing this chapter.

617.25 History History: 1987 a. 167.