§ 27-606. Cancellation or nonrenewal of policies -- Required notices.

   (a) Filing of plan of withdrawal required. --

   (1) Except for life insurance, health insurance, and annuities, an insurer that intends to cancel or not renew a line of business shall file a plan of withdrawal with the Commissioner at least 180 days before the date of the proposed withdrawal.

   (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Commissioner may allow an insurer to file a plan of withdrawal at least 60 days before the date of proposed withdrawal if the Commissioner determines that compliance by the insurer with paragraph (1) of this subsection may result in:

      (i) the impairment of the insurer;

      (ii) the loss of or substantial changes in applicable reinsurance; or

      (iii) significant financial losses to the insurer.

   (3) For health insurance:

      (i) an insurer that intends to cancel or not renew a health insurance product, as defined by the Commissioner, for all of its covered insureds in the State shall file a plan of withdrawal with the Commissioner at least 90 days before the date of the proposed cancellation or nonrenewal; and

      (ii) an insurer that intends to withdraw completely from the health insurance market in the State by canceling or not renewing all of its health insurance products in the State shall file a plan of withdrawal with the Commissioner at least 180 days before the date of the proposed withdrawal.

(b) Contents of plan of withdrawal. -- The plan of withdrawal shall contain:

   (1) a statement by an elected officer of the insurer that the cancellation or nonrenewal action is necessary as a result of:

      (i) the loss of or substantial changes in applicable reinsurance;

      (ii) financial losses of the insurer; or

      (iii) another business or economic reason of the insurer;

   (2) if the reason for cancellation or nonrenewal is loss of or substantial changes in reinsurance, a statement that explains:

      (i) that the insurer made a good faith effort to obtain replacement reinsurance, but was unable to do so due to either the unavailability or unaffordability of replacement reinsurance;

      (ii) how the loss of or reduction in reinsurance affects the insurer's risks throughout the entire line or category of insurance proposed for cancellation or nonrenewal; and

      (iii) why cancellation or nonrenewal is necessary to cure the loss of or reduction in available reinsurance; and

   (3) notwithstanding the reason for cancellation or nonrenewal, a statement that:

      (i) identifies the category of risk, the total number of risks written by the insurer in that line of business, and the number of risks intended to be canceled or not renewed;

      (ii) explains how the cancellation or nonrenewals, if approved, will be implemented with respect to individual risks and the steps that will be taken to ensure that the cancellation or nonrenewal decisions will not be applied in an arbitrary, capricious, or unfairly discriminatory manner or in violation of § 27-501 of this title; and

      (iii) includes any other information that the Commissioner reasonably requires.

(c) Plan filed without required information. -- If a plan of withdrawal filed with the Commissioner is not accompanied by the information required by this section, the Commissioner may so inform the insurer and the plan of withdrawal will be deemed filed when the information is provided to the Commissioner.

(d) Notice to insurance producers. -- After an insurer has filed a plan of withdrawal with the Commissioner, the insurer shall notify in writing each of its insurance producers in the State that the insurer has filed a plan of withdrawal.

(e) Review by Commissioner. -- The Commissioner shall review each plan of withdrawal to determine its compliance with this section and § 27-501 of this title.

(f) Disapproval by Commissioner; deemed approval; withdrawal or amendment of filing. --

   (1) (i) The Commissioner shall disapprove each plan of withdrawal that does not comply with this section.

      (ii) If the Commissioner disapproves a plan, the Commissioner shall issue an order of disapproval that includes specific reasons for the disapproval.

   (2) (i) Subject to paragraph (3) of this subsection, a plan filed under this section is deemed approved if the Commissioner fails to approve or disapprove the plan within 60 days after the date of filing by the insurer.

      (ii) If a filing is deemed approved under this paragraph, the filing becomes effective on the 60th day after the date of filing.

   (3) If the Commissioner does not have sufficient information to determine whether a filing or amended filing meets the requirements of this section, the Commissioner:

      (i) shall require the insurer to provide the necessary information; and

      (ii) may extend the period for approval until the information is provided.

   (4) A plan may be withdrawn or amended by the insurer at any time before approval.

   (5) After approval or disapproval of a plan, the withdrawal or amendment of the plan is subject to the approval of the Commissioner.

(g) Disapproval of plan of withdrawal. -- The Commissioner may disapprove a plan of withdrawal for health insurance if an insurer, nonprofit health service plan, or health maintenance organization has failed to demonstrate compliance with § 15-1212 or § 15-1308 of this article.

HISTORY: An. Code 1957, art. 48A, § 240A; 1997, ch. 35, § 2; 2001, ch. 731, § 9; 2002, ch. 19, § 5; ch. 247; 2006, ch. 580, § 2.