§ 50.76 - Final netting.

§ 50.76 Final netting.

(a) General. Pursuant to section 103(e)(4) of the Act, the Secretary shall have sole discretion to determine the time at which claims relating to any insured loss or act of terrorism shall become final.

(b) Final Netting Date. The Secretary may determine a Final Netting Date for a calendar year, which for purposes of this Part part is the date on or before which an insurer must report to Treasury on the insurer's Certifications of Loss (both Initial Certification of Loss and any Supplemental Certifications of Loss) all insured losses that have been reported by its policyholders for the calendar year.

(1) Criteria for Final Netting Date. The establishment of a Final Netting Date will be based on factors and considerations including:

(i) Amounts of case reserves reported by insurers to Treasury for open underlying insured losses;

(ii) The rate at which claims for the Federal share of compensation for insured losses are being made by insurers to Treasury;

(iii) The rate at which new underlying insured losses are being added by insurers to their Supplementary Certifications of Loss and reported;

(iv) The predominant lines of business for which underlying insured losses are being reported;

(v) Tort and contract statutes of limitations relevant to insured losses and the manner in which they are being applied by the Federal courts;

(vi) Common business practices;

(vii) Issues that are delaying final resolution of insured losses;

(viii) The application of the liability limitations and procedures under the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 441 et seq.) that may affect final resolution of insured losses;

(ix) Issues related to the cap on annual liability for insurer losses, including whether a projection that the cap on annual liability will be reached in connection with any calendar year indicates that no Final Netting Date should be set for that calendar year;

(x) Treasury's claims administration costs; and

(xi) [Reserved]

(xii) Such other factors as the Secretary considers appropriate to take into account.

(2) Notice of Final Netting Date. Treasury shall announce and publish in the Federal Register notice of a proposed Final Netting Date and its application to a specific calendar year, and will solicit comments from the public regarding the appropriateness of the proposed Final Netting Date. After receipt and evaluation of comments respecting its proposed Final Netting Date, Treasury will publish in the Federal Register a Final Netting Date, which is at least 180 days after the date of publication. The Secretary's determination of a Final Netting Date is final and not subject to judicial review.

(c) Post-Final Netting Date claims. After the Final Netting Date, insurers may only make further claims for the Federal share of compensation for insured losses by submission of Supplemental Certifications of Loss with updated information on underlying insured losses previously reported to Treasury. Such updated information may reflect a decision by a court of competent jurisdiction concerning a limitation of liability under the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002. In the case of workers' compensation losses, the insurer may provide updated information based on the number of workers' compensation claimants previously reported. An insurer may not report any new underlying insured losses, or increased workers' compensation loss amounts based on an increase in the number of workers' compensation claimants, to Treasury after a Final Netting Date, except as provided in this section.

(d) Commutation. A commutation is the payment by Treasury of a lump sum present value of future payments to an insurer in lieu of making payments in the future, as provided in this section.

(1) In lieu of continued submission of Supplemental Certifications of Loss after the Final Netting Date as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, Treasury may require, or consider an insurer's request for, a commutation of an insurer's future claims for the Federal share of compensation based on estimates for the underlying insured losses reported to Treasury on or before the Final Netting Date. The payment by Treasury of a final commuted amount to an insurer will discharge Treasury from all future liabilities to the insurer for the Federal share of compensation for insured losses for the applicable calendar year. In the case of an affiliated group of insurers, the requirements of § 50.74(f) apply, and payment of the final commuted amount to the designated insurer of the affiliated group discharges Treasury's payment obligation to the insurers in the affiliated group for insured losses for the applicable calendar year.

(2) If future claims are to be commuted, Treasury may require additional information from the insurer, including an insurer's justification for a final payment amount with necessary actuarial factors and methodology, and pertinent information regarding the insurer's business relationships and other reinsurance recoverables. Insurers will be required to justify discount and other factors from which final payment amounts are derived. If Treasury notifies an insurer of a requirement to submit additional information to inform its commutation decision, the insurer will be provided (depending upon the complexity of the material sought) no less than 90 days from the date of notification to submit material required in the notice. If the insurer fails to provide the requested information, it will forfeit the right to future payments from Treasury. Treasury will evaluate such information in order to determine a final payment amount or (if applicable) an amount to be repaid to Treasury. Treasury may determine that it will not consider commutation until it has completed an audit of an insurer's insured losses pursuant to the authority set forth in Subpart subpart I of these regulations.

(3) Payments of commuted amounts are not considered to be advance payments requiring a segregated account as described in § 50.74(d).

(4) Notwithstanding § 50.70(d), a payment by Treasury of a final commuted amount to an insurer is final unless:

(i) Treasury is put on notice that an insurer's claim was fraudulent or that other conditions for Federal payment were not met, in which case the insurer will be required to repay amounts that were not due; or

(ii) The exception in paragraph (e) of this section applies, in which case Treasury may make additional payments for insured losses, but only under the conditions described in paragraph (e).

(e) Exception. If within one year after the Final Netting Date, and regardless of commutation, an insurer has additional underlying reported insured losses that, in the absence of a Final Netting Date, would result in an increase of the Federal share of compensation to that insurer by 20% of the total amount already paid to that insurer, the insurer may request Treasury to allow those underlying insured losses to be submitted as part of a certification of loss. Under such circumstances and provided that all other conditions for payment have been met, Treasury may reopen or extend the insurer's claim for the Federal share of compensation for insured losses for the pertinent calendar year.