CIC § 700(c) - Certificate of Authority Status Filing

Filing Required to Establish Compliance with California Insurance Code Section 700(c)

All admitted companies must comply with California Insurance Code (“CIC”) Section 700(c) which provides, “(after the issuance of a certificate of authority, the holder shall continue to comply with the requirements as to its business set forth in this code and in the other laws of this state.)”

When an admitted company is sold, the Department has few, if any, of the required documents on file to make certain that the company continues to be in compliance with CIC Section 700(c) under its new ownership. Similarly, when a company intends to commence operations after a lengthy period of dormancy in California, the documents on file are often inaccurate or outdated, precluding a determination that the company is in compliance with CIC Section 700(c).

The Department has determined that an examination of an admitted company is necessary whenever it has reason to believe that the documents required to be on file for the company may be missing, incomplete, inaccurate or outdated. The Department examination necessary to determine compliance with Section 700(c) is the same examination as that performed on an initial application for a Certificate of Authority.

The requirements for admitted companies are set forth in Section III: Documents Required for Certificate of Authority Application. A filing to establish compliance with CIC Section 700(c) is accomplished by submitting all documents required to support an Application for a Certificate of Authority (except the application form itself) with a cover letter and the filing fee.

A filing under CIC Section 700(c) is made on a “file and use” basis, which means that upon making the filing, the licensee may commence or continue operations without waiting for prior approval of the various documents, except that it may not write any business until it has complied with applicable rate filing requirements. If the Department determines that the filing is deficient in any respect, the Department may request the licensee to correct the deficiency, and may notice a hearing under CIC Section 701 to revoke the Certificate of Authority if the licensee does not respond satisfactorily. (Silence by the Department concerning all or any part of the filing does not necessarily signify “approval”.)

The fee for a CIC Section 700(c) filing is $1,500 – (The reviews for both the 700(c) and Certificate of Authority filings are the same).