The definitions set forth in this section apply throughout this chapter:

     (1) "Actuary" means a person who is a member in good standing of the American Academy of Actuaries.

     (2) "Controlling person" means a person, firm, association, or corporation who directly or indirectly has the power to direct or cause to be directed, the management, control, or activities of the reinsurance intermediary.

     (3) "Insurer" means insurer as defined in RCW 48.01.050.

     (4) "Licensed producer" means an insurance producer or reinsurance intermediary licensed under the applicable provisions of this title.

     (5) "Reinsurance intermediary" means a reinsurance intermediary-broker or a reinsurance intermediary-manager as these terms are defined in subsections (6) and (7) of this section.

     (6) "Reinsurance intermediary-broker" means a person, other than an officer or employee of the ceding insurer, firm, association, or corporation who solicits, negotiates, or places reinsurance cessions or retrocessions on behalf of a ceding insurer without the authority or power to bind reinsurance on behalf of the insurer.

     (7) "Reinsurance intermediary-manager" means a person, firm, association, or corporation who has authority to bind or manages all or part of the assumed reinsurance business of a reinsurer, including the management of a separate division, department, or underwriting office, and acts as an insurance producer for the reinsurer whether known as a reinsurance intermediary-manager, manager, or other similar term. Notwithstanding this subsection, the following persons are not considered a reinsurance intermediary-manager, with respect to such reinsurer, for the purposes of this chapter:

     (a) An employee of the reinsurer;

     (b) A United States manager of the United States branch of an alien reinsurer;

     (c) An underwriting manager who, pursuant to contract, manages all the reinsurance operations of the reinsurer, is under common control with the reinsurer, subject to the insurer holding company act, chapter 48.31B RCW, and whose compensation is not based on the volume of premiums written;

     (d) The manager of a group, association, pool, or organization of insurers that engages in joint underwriting or joint reinsurance and that are subject to examination by the insurance commissioner of the state in which the manager's principal business office is located.

     (8) "Reinsurer" means a person, firm, association, or corporation licensed in this state under this title as an insurer with the authority to assume reinsurance.

     (9) "To be in violation" means that the reinsurance intermediary, insurer, or reinsurer for whom the reinsurance intermediary was acting failed to substantially comply with this chapter.

     (10) "Qualified United States financial institution" means an institution that:

     (a) Is organized or, in the case of a United States office of a foreign banking organization, licensed, under the laws of the United States or any state thereof;

     (b) Is regulated, supervised, and examined by United States federal or state authorities having regulatory authority over banks and trust companies; and

     (c) Has been determined by either the commissioner, or the securities valuation office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, to meet such standards of financial condition and standing as are considered necessary and appropriate to regulate the quality of financial institutions whose letters of credit will be acceptable to the commissioner.

[2008 c 217 § 73; 1993 c 462 § 23.]

NOTES:

     Severability -- Effective date -- 2008 c 217: See notes following RCW 48.03.020.