In accordance with Title 31 - Insurance and Securities, of the District of Columbia Official Code, an insurer must apply for a certificate of authority issued by the Commissioner in order to engage in the insurance business in the District of Columbia. The applicant will file a Uniform Certificate of Authority Application (UCAA) as developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The application can be found at the NAIC’s website at the NAIC's website.
A primary application should be used by newly-formed District of Columbia insurance companies and HMO’s seeking a Certificate of Authority in the District of Columbia and for insurers wishing to re-domesticate to the District of Columbia. All other insurance companies and HMO’s, already licensed elsewhere, should submit an expansion application. The Corporate Amendments Application should be used to request amendments to an existing Certificate of Authority and for changes, such as address, amending articles of incorporation and/or bylaws. Applicants that are unfamiliar with the UCAA process should take the UCAA tutorial at the NAIC’s UCAA website.
District of Columbia – Specific Forms
The District of Columbia has no state specific forms to be filed with the UCAA application. For the primary and expansion applications, third-party verification of the biographical affidavits is required, as per the UCAA Instructions. Also, expansion applications for all types of insurers are subject to the seasoning requirements of District of Columbia Municipal Regulation 26A-1001.
The District of Columbia application review process consists of a thorough, comprehensive operational and financial review of the applicant's business. The review evaluates the applicant's qualifications as an insurer with respect to:
- Capital and surplus
- Lawfulness and quality of investments
- Financial stability
- Reinsurance arrangements
- Competency, character and integrity of management
- In the case of a capital stock insurer, ownership and control of issued and outstanding shares
- Fairness and honesty in methods of doing business
The District of Columbia reserves the right to review, for substantive reasons, all documents and information submitted by an applicant as well as any other supplemental information that may be necessary for regulatory review under District of Columbia law, at any time prior and subsequent to issuance of a Certificate of Authority
Minimum Capital and Surplus Requirements:
For property and casualty insurance companies:
Statutory minimum paid-up capital is $300,000 and
Statutory minimum surplus is $300,000
(See DC Code § 31-2502.13)
For life insurance companies:
Statutory minimum paid-up capital is $1,000,000
Statutory minimum surplus is $500,000
(See DC Code § 31-4408)
For HMO’s:
Primary Applications - Initial minimum net worth of $1,500,000
(See DC Code § 31-3412 for the calculation of minimum net worth for expansion applications)
For title insurance companies:
Statutory minimum paid-in capital is $500,000 and
Statutory minimum surplus is $500,000
(See DC Code § 31-5031.05)
Deposits:
$100,000 for Life Companies (DC Code § 31-4315)
$300,000 for Health Maintenance Organization (DC Code § 31-3412) 120% of HMO's o/s liability for uncovered exp. (DC Code § 31-3413)
Application Submission and Fee:
Expansion applications should be submitted electronically through the UCAA page at the NAIC website.
Primary applications are submitted in hard copy to the Department at:
District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking
Attn: Licensing Branch, Insurance Bureau
1050 First Street, NE, Suite 801
Washington, DC 20002
The initial Certificate of Authority application fee is $500 for both primary and expansion applications. Payment is submitted through Optins at www.optins.org.