EXHIBIT 10.17
FORM OF TRADITIONAL
PROGRAM BUSINESS POOLING AGREEMENT
This Traditional Program Business
Pooling Agreement (“Pooling Agreement”) by and between
Tower Insurance Company of New York (“TICNY”), an
insurance company domiciled in New York, Tower National Insurance
Company (“TNIC”), an insurance company domiciled in
Massachusetts (collectively called “Tower”) and
CastlePoint Insurance Company (“CPIC”), an insurance
company domiciled in
[ ],
is dated this day of
,
200[ ], and is made effective as of 12:01 a.m.,
[ ],
200[ ], (the “Effective Date”).
WHEREAS, TICNY, TNIC and CPIC are each authorized to
transact, and do transact, a multiple line property and casualty
insurance business; and
WHEREAS, TICNY, TNIC and CPIC desire to pool their
respective Traditional Program Business (defined below) in order to
make more efficient use of available surplus and achieve other
operating efficiencies; and
WHEREAS, TICNY will act as the manager of such
pool;
NOW, THEREFORE,
for mutual considerations, the
sufficiency and receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, TICNY,
TNIC and CPIC agree as follows:
ARTICLE I - Definitions
The following terms, whenever used herein, shall
have the following meanings:
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“Existing Reinsurance”
shall mean reinsurance ceded by a Participating Company that is in
effect on the Effective Date, to the extent that such reinsurance
relates to the Traditional Program Business of such Participating
Company.
“Management Fees” shall
mean the management fees payable by CPIC and TNIC to TICNY pursuant
to Article XIV.
“Net Liability” shall
mean the loss and loss adjustment expense liability remaining after
the application of Existing Reinsurance and, with respect to TICNY,
Pool Reinsurance, in each case to the extent collectible; provided,
however, that “Net Liability” shall not include
liability with respect to losses and loss adjustment expenses
incurred prior to the Effective Date.
“Net Loss Ratio” shall
mean, for any period of time, the ratio of Net Losses and loss
adjustment expenses incurred during such period to Net Premium
Earned for such period.
“Net Losses” shall mean,
for any period of time, any and all amounts that a Participating
Company is required to pay to or on behalf of insureds for
insurance claims made under its Policies, after the application of
any applicable reinsurance but not including loss adjustment
expenses.
“Net Premium Earned”
shall mean, for any period of time, the earned portion of premiums
written by a Participating Company after payment for reinsurance,
if any.
“Net Written Premium”
shall mean direct premium written on the Policies covered by this
Agreement plus additions, less refunds and return premium for
cancellations and reductions
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(but not dividends) and less premium paid or
payable for reinsurance that inures to the benefit of the
Participating Companies.
“Participating
Companies” shall mean TICNY, TNIC and CPIC.
“Policies” shall mean
all policies, certificates, binders, contracts and agreements of
insurance covering Traditional Program Business issued or renewed
on or after the Effective Date by or on behalf of TICNY, TNIC or
CPIC, as the case may be, all of which shall be subject to this
Pooling Agreement.
“Pool Reinsurance” shall
mean property catastrophe and excess of loss reinsurance ceded by
TICNY to an insurer that is not a Participating Company that inures
to the benefit of the Traditional Program Business Pool.
“Pooling Percentages”
shall be those percentages set forth on Schedule A attached,
as amended from time to time.
“Program Business” shall
mean narrowly defined classes of business that are underwritten on
an individual policy basis by Program Underwriting Agents on behalf
of insurance companies.
“Program Underwriting
Agent” shall mean an insurance intermediary that aggregates
business from retail and general agents and manages business on
behalf of insurance companies, including functions such as risk
selection and underwriting, premium collection, policy form design
and client service.
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“Traditional Program Business
Pool” shall mean Traditional Program Business written by or
on behalf of the Participating Companies or assumed by a
Participating Company (including such business assumed by TICNY
from its affiliates), that is pooled and allocated to each of the
Participating Companies based upon their Pooling Percentage as set
forth in this Pooling Agreement.
“Traditional Program
Business” shall mean blocks of Program Business in excess of
$5 million in gross written premium that Tower has historically
underwritten, consisting of non-auto related personal lines and the
following commercial lines of business: retail stores and wholesale
trades, commercial and residential real estate, restaurants,
grocery stores, office and service industries, and artisan
contractors.
ARTICLE II- Cessions to Traditional Program
Business Pool
CPIC and TNIC
shall automatically and obligatorily cede to TICNY as reinsurance,
and TICNY shall be obligated to accept as assumed reinsurance, one
hundred percent (100%) of the Net Liabilities with respect to
Policies issued or assumed by CPIC and TNIC, to be combined with
the Net Liabilities of TICNY under Policies issued or assumed by
TICNY provided, however, that the total gross written premium of
CPIC after pooling shall not exceed $50 million for the first 12
month period ending March 31, 2007, subject to a growth factor
of 25% per each 12 month period thereafter.
ARTICLE III - Participation in Traditional
Program Business Pool
TICNY shall
establish the Traditional Program Business Pool, which shall
consist of the Net Liability under all Traditional Program Business
written or assumed by Tower and
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CPIC (including business
assumed by TICNY pursuant to this Pooling Agreement). Tower
shall automatically and obligatorily cede to CPIC, and retain for
Tower’s own account, the applicable Pooling Percentages of
such Net Liability and CPIC shall automatically and obligatorily
accept such cessions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Tower
(i) writes business of the type that it has historically not
written or (ii) writes more than 25% of its gross written
premiums outside the state of New York in any 12 month period
ending on the anniversary date of this Pooling Agreement, then such
non-historical business and the excess of business not in New York
over 25% may, at CPIC’s discretion, be excluded from the
pool. In addition, the pool shall exclude any property excess of
loss liabilities over $10 million resulting from any one
occurrence. TICNY and TNIC shall determine how the Tower Pooling
Percentage will be allocated between each of them. Such
Pooling Percentages shall be applied to all Traditional Program
Business written by the Participating Companies. Any change
in the Pooling Percentages shall be made only by a written
amendment to this Pooling Agreement signed by the parties hereto or
as otherwise set forth in Article XVI of this Pooling
Agreement. The Participating Companies acknowledge that,
following the acceptance or retention of a percentage of the
Traditional Program Business Pool by a Participating Company, such
pooled business shall be subject to such reinsurance as may be
entered into by such Participating Company on or after the
Effective Date that is for the benefit of such Participating
Company as to its participation in the Traditional Program Business
Pool and does not inure to the benefit of the Traditional Program
Business Pool.
ARTICLE IV - Reinsurance
TICNY, as pool
manager, shall negotiate, obtain and maintain such Pool Reinsurance
as it deems appropriate with respect to the liabilities of the
Traditional Program Business Pool,
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which reinsurance shall
inure to the benefit of the Participating Companies according to
their respective Pooling Percentages. TICNY shall purchase property
and casualty excess of loss reinsurance and property catastrophe
excess of loss reinsurance from third party reinsurers to protect
the net exposure of the Participating Companies. The property
catastrophe excess of loss reinsurance purchased by TICNY may
provide for up to approximately 10% of the combined surplus of
Tower and CPIC to be retained by the pool prior to reinsurance by
third party reinsurers (“Pooled Retention”). Any of the
Participating Companies also shall have the right, in its
discretion, to require TICNY to increase the Pooled Retention by an
additional amount of up to 10% of the surplus of CastlePoint
Reinsurance Company (“CPRe”) provided that TICNY
purchases reinsurance for such additional Pooled Retention from
CPRe.
ARTICLE V - Losses and Loss Adjustment
Expenses
A.
All loss
settlements made by TICNY with regards to the Traditional Program
Business, whether under strict policy conditions or by way of
compromise, shall be unconditionally binding upon TNIC and
CPIC.
B.
Each
Participating Company shall be liable for its proportionate share
of loss adjustment expenses incurred under or in connection with
the Policies and shall be credited with its proportionate share of
any recoveries of such expense.
C.
If a
Participating Company pays or is held liable to pay any punitive,
exemplary, compensatory, or consequential damages (hereinafter
called “Extra Contractual Obligations”) because of
alleged or actual negligence on its part in handling a claim under
a Policy, one hundred percent (100%) of such Extra Contractual
Obligations (to the extent permitted by law)
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shall be added to the Net
Liability, if any, of such Participating Company under the Policy
involved, and the sum thereof shall be subject to this Pooling
Agreement.
D.
If a
Participating Company pays or is held liable to pay in connection
with any loss amounts in excess of the limit of its original
Policy, such loss in excess of that limit having been incurred
because of its failure to settle within the Policy limit or by
reason of alleged or actual negligence in rejecting an offer of
settlement or in the preparation of the defense or in the trial of
any action against the original insured or reinsured or in the
preparation or prosecution of an appeal consequent upon such action
(hereinafter called an “Excess of Policy Limits Loss”),
one hundred percent (100%) of such Excess of Policy Limits Loss (to
the extent permitted by law) shall be added to the Net Liability,
if any, of such Participating Company under the Policy involved,
and the sum thereof shall be subject to this Pooling
Agreement.
ARTICLE VI - Salvage and
Subrogation
Each of the
Participating Companies shall be credited with its proportionate
share of salvage and subrogation on account of losses under the
Policies.
ARTICLE VII - Original Conditions
Apply
All reinsurance
under this Pooling Agreement shall be subject to the same rates,
terms, conditions and waivers, and to the same modifications and
alterations as the respective Policies. Each of the
Participating Companies shall be credited with the proportion equal
to its Pooling Percentage of the original premiums received under
the Policies issued on or after the Effective Date, but after
deduction of premiums, if any, ceded under Existing Reinsurance and
Pool Reinsurance.
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ARTICLE VIII - Ceding
Commission
Each of the
Participating Companies shall be charged with a ceding commission
in an amount equal to such Participating Company’s Pooling
Percentage of actual commissions paid to agents or brokers, premium
taxes, guarantee fund assessments, fees and assessments for boards,
bureaus and associations, fees and assessments for industry and
residual markets, and other similar expenses incurred by the
Participating Companies on all premiums ceded hereunder but after
deduction of ceding commissions or expense reimbursement amounts
recovered under Existing Reinsurance and Pool
Reinsurance.
ARTICLE IX - Remittances and
Reports
A.
As soon as
practicable consistent with its standard financial reporting
practices, but no later than thirty (30) days after the end of each
calendar month, TICNY shall submit a pooling report to TNIC and
CPIC setting forth the following information as regards the
Traditional Program Business Pool:
1.
Net Written
Premium received during the month;
2.
Net Premium
Earned received during the month
3.
Ceding commission
thereon;
4.
Losses and loss
adjustment expenses paid during the month;
5.
Salvage and
subrogation recoveries received;
6.
Recoverables
under inuring reinsurance; and
7.
Management Fees
due.
B.
The balance shown
to be due a Participating Company shall be remitted within fifteen
(15) days after the i