HB 1826

T he Tennessee County Mutual Insurance Company Act of 2006 governs the qualifications and procedures for licensing and general regulatory requirements for county mutual insurance companies insuring risks and property in this state. The Act provides that i t is unlawful for any person to enter into a contract of insurance as a county mutual insurance company or transact insurance business in this state as a county mutual insurance company without a certificate of authority provided by the commissioner of commerce and insur ance. The Act provides that such a certificate of authority authorize s the county mutual insurance company to insure losses or damage to property, including losses of use and occupancy, by fire, lightning, explosion, windstorm, hail, riot, civil commotion, aircraft, vehicles, collision, extended only to farm machinery, live stock, and other covered farm property, overturn of farm equipment, smoke, glass breakage, theft, vandalism, falling objects, weight of ice, snow or sleet, freezing, sudden and accidental dama ges caused by discharge or failure of plumbing, heating, air conditioning or automatic sprinkler systems, sudden and accidental tearing apart, cracking, burning or bulging of plumbing, heating, air conditioning or automatic sprinkler systems, sudden and a ccidental jolts from artificially generated electrical currents to electrical appliances, devices, fixtures and wiring, electrocution, drowning, vicious animals, sinkhole, collapse and volcanic action. However, the Act prohibits a certificate of authority from authoriz ing a county mutual insurance company to issue a policy of insurance covering those risks described above where the retained amount of risk by the county mutual insurance company on any single risk exceeds the lesser of (i) $20,000, plus 3% of the county mutual insurance company's surplus or ( ii ) $100,000. This bill raises the $100,000 limit in this provision to $250,000. The Act prohibits any county mutual insurance company meeting the requirements of the Act from issu ing a policy of insurance covering those risks found in the Act where the retained amount of risk by the county mutual insurance company on any single risk exceeds $100,000 liability and $5,000 medical payments. This bill raises the $100,000 liability limit in this provision to $250,000.