H219 - NAIC Accreditation Amendments. (SL 2019-57)

Overview: S.L. 2019-57 enacts legislative changes to North Carolina's insurance laws to comply with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and allow the North Carolina Department of Insurance (DOI) to maintain its NAIC accreditation.

Specifically, the act 1) clarifies the legal authority and power of the Commissioner of Insurance (COI) to engage in the group-wide supervision of an internationally active insurance group (IAIG), 2) requires insurers to establish an internal audit function that will evaluate the insurer's governance, risk management, and internal controls, and 3) enacts new legislation requiring insurers to disclose and file their corporate governance practices with the COI.

The section of the act pertaining to the internal audit function requirements becomes effective January 1, 2020, and will allow an insurer who no longer qualifies for an exemption, one calendar year after the year the exemption ends to comply with the internal audit function. The section of the act pertaining to a corporate governance annual disclosure becomes effective January 1, 2020, with the first filing of the CGAD to be made on or before June 1, 2020. Except as otherwise provided, the remainder of this act became effective June 26, 2019.