§ 31–5202. “Health, accident, and life insurance companies” defined; assets or capital stock requirements; annual required tax and financial statement; annual required examinations; revocation or suspension of license; appeal; issuance of license; exemptions.

Every corporation, joint-stock company, or association not exempt herein, transacting business in the District of Columbia, which collects premiums, dues, or assessments from its members or from holders of its certificates or policies, and which provides for the payment of indemnity on account of sickness or accident, or a benefit in case of death, shall be known as “health, accident, and life insurance companies or associations.” No such company or association shall transact business within the District of Columbia unless it shall have in assets or in capital stock fully paid up in cash, or in both together, not less than $25,000 as a capital or guarantee fund; which assets may be invested in United States, state, county, municipal bonds, and bonds of the District of Columbia, or railroad bonds; but investments in the bonds of railroads shall be limited to the bonds of those railroads which have paid dividends on their capital stock for the 10 years immediately previous to the date of the investment; or in improved real estate, or in first mortgages on improved real estate; but no loan on real estate shall be made for an amount exceeding 70% of its assessed value, such investments to be approved by the Commissioner of Insurance and Securities [Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking] of the District of Columbia. No such health, accident, and life insurance company or association, transacting on August 15, 1911, or thereafter the business of health, accident, and life insurance, or either or all said kinds of insurance, in the District of Columbia shall issue policies or certificates providing, either singly or in aggregate, a greater accident or death benefit than $500, or a greater weekly indemnity than $20, on any 1 person unless such company or association has in assets or in capital stock fully paid up in cash, or in both together, not less than $100,000 invested and approved as aforesaid. Every such company or association shall pay to the Collector of Taxes for the District of Columbia a sum of money, as tax, equal to 1% of all moneys received from members of policy or certificate holders within the District of Columbia, said tax to be paid on or before the 1st day of March of each year on the amount of such income for the year ending December 31st next preceding; and shall also file annually with said Commissioner of Insurance and Securities [Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking], on or before the 1st day of March of each year, a sworn statement, on blanks furnished by said Commissioner of Insurance and Securities [Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking], showing its true financial condition, income, disbursements, assets, and liabilities on the 31st of December next preceding, and such other information as said Commissioner of Insurance and Securities [Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking] may require; and shall pay to the said Collector of Taxes $10 for filing such statement. All companies or associations described herein shall be examined as described in Chapter 14 of this title; and when the Mayor finds the capital stock of any such company impaired or its assets reduced in value to an amount less than required by the provisions hereof he shall at once give notice of said fact to said company or association, and unless said impairment is made good within 60 days after said notice, it shall be the duty of said Commissioner to revoke or suspend the license of said company or association until such impairment shall have been made good; and any company or association that issues policies or certificates of insurance as described herein without a license from said Commissioner or during a suspension thereof, as herein provided, shall be fined not less than $20 nor more than $100 per day; provided, that if any such company or association shall feel aggrieved by the decision of said Commissioner concerning the investment or impairment of its assets or capital stock, it shall have the right to appeal, within 10 days, from the decision of said Commissioner to the Mayor of the District of Columbia, and the Council of the District of Columbia shall prescribe rules and regulations for the hearing of said appeal, and the Mayor’s decision shall be final; provided also, that when any such company or association shall have complied with the provisions contained herein, the Commissioner of Insurance and Securities [Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking] shall issue to it a license to transact its business in the District of Columbia; provided, however, that nothing contained herein shall interfere with or abridge the rights of any fraternal beneficial association licensed to transact business under §§ 31-5701 to 31-5717 [repealed], or incorporated by special act of Congress; and provided further, that nothing contained herein shall apply to any relief association, not conducted for profit, composed solely of officers and enlisted men of the United States Army, Navy, or Air Force, or solely of employees of any other branch of the United States government service, or solely of employees of any individual, company, firm, or corporation. Civil fines, penalties, and fees may be imposed as alternative sanctions for any infraction of the provisions of this section, or any rules or regulations issued under the authority of this section, pursuant to Chapter 18 of Title 2. Adjudication of any infraction of this section shall be pursuant to Chapter 18 of Title 2.

(Mar. 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1292, ch. 854, § 653; Aug. 15, 1911, 37 Stat. 16, ch. 12, § 1; Oct. 5, 1985, D.C. Law 6-42, § 470(e), 32 DCR 4450; Oct. 21, 1993, D.C. Law 10-49, § 9(a), 40 DCR 6110; May 21, 1997, D.C. Law 11-268, § 10(d), 44 DCR 1730.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 35-202.

1973 Ed., § 35-202.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 31-4901.

Cross References

Annual statements and taxes, see § 47-2601 et seq.

Domestic life companies, formation, see § 31-4401.

Fire and Casualty Act, provision that health and accident insurance may be written under, see § 31-2502.11.

Fire, casualty, and marine insurance companies, capital and surplus requirements, see § 31-2502.13.

Health and accident insurance, required policy provisions, see § 31-4712.

Inspection and examination of insurance companies, see §§ 31-208 and 31-5201.

Life insurance companies, deposits, see §§ 31-4315 et seq.

Reserves and related actuarial items, submission of opinion with annual statement, see § 31-4901.

Editor's Notes

Office of Collector of Taxes abolished: The Office of the Collector of Taxes was abolished and the functions thereof transferred to the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia by Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1952. All functions of the Office of the Collector of Taxes including the functions of all officers, employees, and subordinate agencies were transferred to the Director, Department of General Administration by Reorganization Order No. 3, dated August 28, 1952. Reorganization Order No. 20, dated November 10, 1952, transferred the functions of the Collector of Taxes to the Finance Office. The same Order provided for the Office of the Collector of Taxes headed by a Collector in the Finance Office, and abolished the previously existing Office of the Collector of Taxes. Reorganization Order No. 20 was superseded and replaced by Organization Order No. 121, dated December 12, 1957, which provided that the Finance Office (consisting of the Office of the Finance Officer, Property Tax Division, Revenue Division, Treasury Division, Accounting Division, and Data Processing Division) would continue under the direction and control of the Director of General Administration, and that the Treasury Division would perform the function of collecting revenues of the District of Columbia and depositing the same with the Treasurer of the United States. Organization Order No. 121 was revoked by Organization Order No. 3, dated December 13, 1967, Part IVC of which prescribed the functions of the Finance Office within a newly established Department of General Administration. The executive functions of the Board of Commissioners were transferred to the Commissioner of the District of Columbia by § 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967. Functions of the Finance Office as stated in Part IVC of Organization Order No. 3 were transferred to the Director of the Department of Finance and Revenue by Commissioner’s Order No. 69-96, dated March 7, 1969. The collection functions of the Director of the Department of Finance and Revenue were transferred to the District of Columbia Treasurer by § 47-316 on March 5, 1981.

Department of Insurance abolished: See Historical and Statutory Notes following § 31-5201.

Change in Government

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 402(269) of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to the District of Columbia Council, subject to the right of the Commissioner as provided in § 406 of the Plan. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.