State ex rel. European Accident Insurance v. Tomlinson
State ex rel. European Accident Insurance v. Tomlinson
Opinion of the Court
Section 9510 (2), General Code, authorizes insurance companies to do various kinds of insurance business as provided in that section; among others it is provided that they may “make insurance to indemnify employers against loss or damage for personal injury or death resulting, from accidents to employes or persons other than employes and to indemnify persons and corporations other than employers against loss or damage for personal injury or death resulting from accidents to other persons or corporations. But a company of another state, territory, district or country admitted to transact the business of indemnifying employers and others, in addition to any other deposit required by other laws of the state, shall deposit with the superintendent of insurance for
It is claimed by the Superintendent of Insurance that under the provisions of that section the making of reinsurance contracts in the state of New York was, in effect, a doing of liability insurance business in this state; and that such business of reinsurance, under the circumstances related in the foregoing statement, was not permitted pmless the deposit of $50,000 was made with the Superintendent of Insurance for the benefit of policy-holders; and that the license of March 1, 1920, authorized the relator to transact only general casualty insurance and bonding business in Ohio and did not permit it, either directly or indirectly, to reinsure liability risks without first making the deposit referred to.
Section 9567, General Code, provides that insurance companies, other than life, organized under or incorporated by a foreign government shall file statements' of their condition and affairs in the office of the Superintendent of Insurance, and that if such statements are satisfactory, and the deposits required are maintained, the superintendent may issue renewal certificates of authority to do business in this state. Under another section of the Code all certificates of authority and licenses of companies authorized or admitted to do business relating to insurance other than life shall expire on the first day of March after they are issued.
Counsel for relator seek immunity from the requirement to make the additional deposit of $50,-000, under Section 9510, General. Code, basing their
“No company, corporation, or association, whether organized in this state or elsewhere, .shall engage either directly or indirectly in this state in the business of insurance, or enter into any con
This section of the insurance code is sufficiently comprehensive to cover this case. It provides that no company, whether organized in this state or elsewhere shall enter-into any contract substantially amounting to insurance or in any manner aid therein or engage in the business of guaranteeing against liability, unless such company is expressly authorized by the laws of this state, and unless such laws regulating it have been complied with.
The contract of the relator made with the Hartford and other companies in New York state was made in aid of those companies and was in effect engaging in the business of guaranteeing such companies against a portion of their liabilities and risks that might be incurred under their policies written in this state. This indirect method of insurance, cannot be done under the sanction of that section without compliance with the laws regulating liability insurance, one of which was the compliance with Section 9510, General Code, which required a deposit to be made with the Superintendent of Insurance for the benefit of the policy-holders in the state. Since the making of contracts for reinsurance is conceded, the fact that such contracts were made in a foreign state by an alien company with other companies actually admitted to make
We do not have the situation arising in the reported case of Allgeyer v. Louisiana, 165 U. S., 578. If it be conceded that the state might not interfere with an insurance contract made in a foreign state by a foreign company, non constat that the state may not impose conditions under which such foreign or alien company may be permitted to do insurance business in Ohio. We have not the question of contract before us. In that respect nothing is claimed. The state simply says, in effect, “you must comply with our laws, if you seek a license to do insurance business here.” While the relator, flaunting its violation of law, answers, “you must license my casualty and bonding business, if I do violate your law in other fields of insurance.” We have for consideration the question of license only. There is no inherent right for license existing in favor of the relator. That is granted by favor of the state and only upon conditions which the state imposes.
This distinction is made in Doyle v. Continental Ins. Co., 94 U. S., 535. There the state of Wisconsin imposed a condition that no foreign insurance company could transfer a state suit to a federal court without subjecting its license to revocation. Mr. Justice Hunt, in deciding the case, said:
“It is said that we thus indirectly sanction what we condemn when presented directly; to-wit, that
We, therefore, hold that the relator’s contract of reinsurance, although made in the state of New York, under the circumstances detailed, was in violation of the provisions of Section 665, General Code.
The Superintendent of Insurance had issued a license to the relator to make casualty insurance and to do a bonding business only. Did he have the power to revoke the license so issued for those purposes upon discovering that the relator was violating Section 665, General Code? Since we have decided that it was a violation of law, the sole question remains whether or not the Superintendent of Insurance had the power of revocation.
Section 617, General Code, provides that “The superintendent of insurance shall see that the laws relating to insurance are duly executed and enforced.” The further provisions of that section require the Superintendent of Insurance to institute criminal proceedings for its violation. The
The relator seeks á writ of mandamus commanding the Superintendent of Insurance to issue a license to relator authorizing it to make the insurance so authorized in said license. Had the relator disclaimed the right to make liability reinsurance contracts, with which it is charged, and disavowed the further purpose of making such contracts, thereby confining its activities to casualty and bonding business, this court might be willing to grant the writ prayed for; but when it seeks that remedy without such disavowal, and while still violating the provisions of the state law re
Writ denied.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.