RSA 412:3 · Definitions

412:3 Definitions. – In this chapter:

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I.

[Repealed.]

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II.

"Advisory organization" means any entity, including its affiliates or subsidiaries, which either has 2 or more member insurers or is controlled either directly or indirectly by 2 or more insurers, and which assists insurers in ratemaking-related activities such as those enumerated in RSA 412:4 and RSA 412:20. Two or more insurers having a common ownership or operating in this state under common management or control constitute a single insurer for purposes of this definition.

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III.

"Classifications system" or "classification" means the process of grouping risks with similar risk characteristics so that differences in costs may be recognized.

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IV.

"Commercial risk" means any kind of risk that is not a personal risk.

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V.

"Commissioner" means the insurance commissioner.

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VI.

"Competitive market" means a market that has not been found to be noncompetitive pursuant to RSA 412:13.

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VII.

"Developed losses" means losses, including loss adjustment expense, adjusted using standard actuarial techniques, to eliminate the effect of differences between current payment or reserve estimates and those which are anticipated to provide actual ultimate loss, including loss adjustment expense payments.

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VIII.

"Expenses" mean that portion of a rate attributable to acquisition, field supervision, collection expenses, general expenses, taxes, licenses and fees.

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IX.

"Experience rating" means a rating procedure utilizing past insurance experience of the individual policyholder to forecast future losses by measuring the policyholder's loss experience against the loss experience of policyholders in the same classification to produce a prospective premium credit, debit or unity modification.

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X.

"Joint underwriting" means an arrangement established to provide insurance coverage for a risk pursuant to which 2 or more insurers jointly contract with the insured at a price and under policy terms agreed upon between the insurers.

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XI.

"Large commercial policyholder" means an insurance contract holder that is a corporation, partnership, trust, sole proprietorship, or other business or public entity that uses an employed or retained risk manager to procure insurance and that has certified that it meets:

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(a)

At least one of the following 4 criteria:

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(1)

A net worth of $10,000,000 as certified by a certified public accountant or public accountant authorized to do business in this state.

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(2)

Net revenue or sales of $5,000,000 as certified by a certified public account or public accountant authorized to do business in this state.

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(3)

A total of more than 25 employees per individual company or more than 50 employees per holding company.

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(4)

Aggregate property and casualty insurance premiums, excluding workers' compensation, medical malpractice, life, health, and disability insurance premiums of $25,000 or more.

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(b)

"Large commercial policyholder" also includes a nonprofit or public entity with an annual budget or assets of $25,000,000 or more that employs or retains a risk manager to procure insurance and meets the premium criteria listed in subparagraph (a)(4), and a municipality with a population of 20,000 or more that meets the premium criteria listed in subparagraph (a)(4).

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(c)

In this section, "risk manager" means a chartered property and casualty underwriter, certified insurance counselor, an associate in risk management, certified risk manager or a licensed insurance consultant.

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XII.

"Loss adjustment expense" means the expenses incurred by the insurer in the course of settling claims.

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XIII.

"Market" means the interaction between buyers and sellers consisting of a product component and a geographic component. A product component consists of identical or readily substitutable products including but not limited to consideration of coverage, policy terms, rate classifications and underwriting. A geographic component is a geographical area in which buyers seek access to the insurance product through sales outlets and other distribution mechanisms. Determination of a geographic component shall consider existing distribution patterns.

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XIV.

"Noncompetitive market" means a market for which there is a ruling in effect pursuant to RSA 412:13 that a reasonable degree of competition does not exist.

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XV.

"Personal risk" means homeowners, tenants, private passenger automobile policy, and other property and casualty insurance for personal, family or household needs. This includes any property and casualty insurance that is otherwise intended for non-commercial coverage.

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XVI.

"Pool" means a voluntary arrangement, established on an on-going basis, pursuant to which 2 or more insurers participate in the sharing of risks on a predetermined basis. The pool may operate through an association, syndicate, or other pooling agreement.

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XVII.

"Prospective loss costs" means that portion of a rate that does not include provisions for expenses, other than loss adjustment expenses, or profit, and are based on historical aggregate losses and loss adjustment expenses adjusted through development to their ultimate value and projected through trending to a future point in time.

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XVIII.

"Rate" means that cost of insurance per exposure unit whether expressed as a single number or as a prospective loss cost with an adjustment to account for the treatment of expenses, profit, special assessments, and individual insurer variation in loss experience, prior to any application of individual risk variations based on loss or expense considerations, and does not include minimum premium.

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XIX.

"Residual market mechanism" means an arrangement, either voluntary or mandated by law, involving participation by insurers in the equitable apportionment among them of insurance which may be afforded applicants who are unable to obtain insurance through ordinary methods.

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XX.

"Special assessments" means guaranty fund assessments, assessments for residual market mechanisms, vocational rehabilitation fund assessments, and other similar assessments.

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XXI.

"Statistical agent" means an entity that has been licensed by the commissioner to collect statistics from insurers and provide reports developed from these statistics to the commissioner for the purpose of fulfilling the statistical reporting obligations of those insurers under this chapter.

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XXII.

"Supplementary rating information" means any manual or plan of rates, or prospective loss costs, classification, rating schedule, minimum premium, policy fee, rating rule, underwriting rule and any other similar information needed to determine the applicable rate in effect or to be in effect.

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XXIII.

"Supporting information" means:

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(a)

The experience and judgment of the filer and the experience or data of other insurers or advisory organizations relied upon by the filer;

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(b)

The interpretation of any other data relied upon by the filer;

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(c)

Description of methods used in making the rates; and

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(d)

Any other information required by the commissioner to be filed.

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XXIV.

"Trending" means any procedure for projecting losses to the average date of loss, or premiums or exposures to the average date of writing, for the period during which the policies are to be effective. Source. 2003, 150:1. 2004, 156:6, 8, I, eff. July 23, 2004. 2016, 115:1, eff. July 19, 2016. 2018, 68:1, eff. July 24, 2018. 2024, 331:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2025.

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