Conn. Gen. Stat. » Title 38a — INSURANCE · Chapter 698d — Unauthorized Insurers Act
Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 38a-271 (2025)

(Formerly Sec. 38-263). Definitions. Acts of doing an insurance business. Exceptions

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(a) Unless otherwise indicated, as used in sections 38a-27 and 38a-271 to 38a-278, inclusive, “insurer” includes all corporations, associations, partnerships and individuals engaged as principals in the business of insurance and also includes interinsurance exchanges, mutual benefit societies and health care centers and “commissioner” means the Insurance Commissioner. Any of the following acts effected in this state by mail or otherwise is defined to be doing an insurance business in this state: (1) The making of or proposing to make, as an insurer, an insurance contract; (2) the making of or proposing to make, as guarantor or surety, any contract of guaranty or suretyship as a vocation and not merely incidental to any other legitimate business or activity of the guarantor or surety; (3) the taking or receiving of any application for insurance; (4) the receiving or collection of any premium, commission, membership fees, assessments, dues or other consideration for any insurance or any part thereof; (5) the issuance or delivery of contracts of insurance to residents of this state or to persons authorized to do business in this state; (6) directly or indirectly acting as an agent for or otherwise representing or aiding on behalf of another any person or insurer in the solicitation, negotiation, procurement or effectuation of insurance or renewals thereof or in the dissemination of information as to coverage or rates, or forwarding of applications, or delivery of policies or contracts, or inspection of risks, a filing of rates or investigation or adjustment of claims or losses or in the transaction of matters subsequent to effectuation of the contract and arising out of it, or in any other manner representing or assisting a person or insurer in the transaction of insurance with respect to subjects of insurance resident, located or to be performed in this state. The provisions of this subdivision shall not operate to prohibit full-time salaried employees of a corporate insured from acting in the capacity of an insurance manager or buyer in placing insurance on behalf of such employer; (7) the doing of or proposing to do any insurance business in substance equivalent to any of the foregoing in a manner designed to evade the provisions of the general statutes relating to insurance; and (8) any other transactions of business in this state by an insurer. The venue of an act committed by mail is at the point where the matter transmitted by mail is delivered and takes effect.

(b) The provisions of sections 38a-271 to 38a-278, inclusive, other than section 38a-277, do not apply to: (1) The lawful transaction of surplus lines insurance; (2) the lawful transaction of reinsurance by insurers; (3) transactions, in this state, involving a policy lawfully solicited, written and delivered outside of this state covering only subjects of insurance not resident, located or expressly to be performed in this state at the time of issuance, and which transactions are subsequent to the issuance of such policy; (4) transactions involving contracts of insurance independently procured pursuant to the unsolicited application of the insured or his or her agent which are reported and on which a premium tax is paid in accordance with section 38a-277; (5) attorneys acting in the ordinary relation of attorney-client in the adjustment of claims or losses; (6) transactions, in this state, involving contracts of insurance issued to one or more industrial insureds, provided nothing in this section shall relieve an industrial insured from the taxation imposed upon independently procured insurance in section 38a-277. For the purpose of this subdivision, “industrial insured” means an insured (A) which procures the insurance of any risk by the use of the services of a full-time employee acting as an insurance manager or buyer, or the services of a regularly and continuously retained qualified insurance consultant, and (B) whose aggregate annual premiums for insurance, excluding life, accident and health insurance, total at least fifty thousand dollars; (7) transactions involving contracts issued by a life insurance or annuity company, organized and operated without profit, to any private shareholder or individual exclusively for the purpose of aiding and strengthening educational institutions or charitable, health and welfare organizations by issuing insurance and annuity contracts only to or for the benefit of such institutions or organizations and individuals engaged in the service of such institutions or organizations; (8) transactions in this state involving group life and group sickness and accident or franchise sickness and accident insurance or group annuities where the master policy of such groups was lawfully issued and delivered in and pursuant to the laws of a state in which the insurer was authorized to do an insurance business to a group organized for purposes other than the procurement of insurance, and where the policyholder is domiciled or otherwise has a bona fide situs; (9) transactions in this state involving any policy of insurance or annuity contract issued prior to January 1, 1970.

(c) The provisions of section 38a-27 do not apply to: (1) The lawful transaction of surplus lines insurance; (2) transactions, in this state, involving a policy lawfully solicited, written and delivered outside of this state covering only subjects of insurance not resident, located or expressly to be performed in this state at the time of issuance, and which transactions are subsequent to the issuance of such policy; (3) transactions involving contracts of insurance independently procured pursuant to the unsolicited application of the insured or his or her agent which are reported and on which a premium tax is paid in accordance with section 38a-277; (4) attorneys acting in the ordinary relation of attorney-client in the adjustment of claims or losses; (5) transactions, in this state, involving contracts of insurance issued to one or more industrial insureds, provided nothing in this section shall relieve an industrial insured from the taxation imposed upon independently procured insurance in section 38a-277; (6) transactions involving contracts issued by a life insurance or annuity company, organized and operated without profit, to any private shareholder or individual exclusively for the purpose of aiding and strengthening educational institutions or charitable, health and welfare organizations by issuing insurance and annuity contracts only to or for the benefit of such institutions or organizations and individuals engaged in the service of such institutions or organizations; (7) transactions in this state involving group life and group sickness and accident or franchise sickness and accident insurance or group annuities where the master policy of such group was lawfully issued and delivered in and pursuant to the laws of a state in which the insurer was authorized to do an insurance business to a group organized for purposes other than the procurement of insurance, and where the policyholder is domiciled or otherwise has a bona fide situs; (8) transactions in this state involving any policy of insurance or annuity contract, other than a reinsurance contract, issued prior to January 1, 1970. For the purposes of subdivision (5) of this subsection, an “industrial insured” means an insured (A) which procures the insurance of any risk by the use of the services of a full-time employee acting as an insurance manager or buyer, or the services of a regularly and continuously retained qualified insurance consultant, and (B) whose aggregate annual premiums for insurance, excluding life, accident and health insurance, total at least fifty thousand dollars.

(d) Nothing in sections 38a-271 to 38a-278, inclusive, shall be construed to prohibit a nonadmitted insurer from establishing an office in this state for the lawful transaction of surplus lines insurance.

(1969, P.A. 561, S. 1; P.A. 77-614, S. 163, 610; P.A. 80-482, S. 319, 348; P.A. 90-243, S. 149; P.A. 93-239, S. 3; P.A. 96-78, S. 2; P.A. 98-98, S. 5; P.A. 10-32, S. 118; P.A. 11-61, S. 35; P.A. 12-145, S. 5; P.A. 14-122, S. 167; P.A. 15-166, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 77-614 placed insurance commissioner within the department of business regulation and made insurance department a division within that department, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-482 restored insurance commissioner and division to prior independent status and abolished the department of business regulation; P.A. 90-243 substituted “surplus lines” for “excess line” insurance in Subsec. (b); Sec. 38-263 transferred to Sec. 38a-271 in 1991; P.A. 93-239 made technical corrections for statutory consistency; P.A. 96-78 amended Subsec. (b) to delete the reference to Sec. 38a-27 and added a new Subsec. (c) re exemptions to provisions of Sec. 38a-27; P.A. 98-98 amended definition of “insurer” in Subsec. (a) to include health care centers; P.A. 10-32 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective May 10, 2010; P.A. 11-61 amended Subsecs. (b) and (c) to replace references to Sec. 38a-277(c) with references to Sec. 38a-277, and make technical changes, effective June 21, 2011; P.A. 12-145 made technical changes in Subsec. (b), effective June 15, 2012; P.A. 14-122 made technical changes in Subsec. (b)(6); P.A. 15-166 added Subsec. (d) re establishment of office in this state by nonadmitted insurer for lawful transaction of surplus lines insurance.

Provisions of Subsec. (b) exempting reinsurers from statute prevent the application of Subsec. (c), exempting industrial insureds from the provisions of Sec. 38a-27, to such reinsurers. 103 CA 319.

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2006–2024 · leading case: Cogswell v. Am. Transit Ins., 923 A.2d 638 (Conn. 2007).
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Cogswell v. Am. Transit Ins., 923 A.2d 638 (Conn. 2007). · cites it 28× “” The court determined that the defendant’s interaction with Reavis, including at least one letter the defendant had sent to Connecticut from New York and one telephone call the defendant had made from New York to Connecticut, constituted an act of “doing an insurance business”…”
Hartford Accident & Indem. Co. v. Ace Am. Reinsurance Co., 901 A.2d 1164 (Conn. 2006). · cites it 3× ““(c) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall be construed to prevent an unauthorized person or insurer from filing a motion to quash a writ or to set aside service thereof made as provided in section 38a-25, section 38a-26 or section 38a-273 on the ground that the person…”
Manka v. Walt Disney Co., 87 A.3d 1165 (Conn. App. Ct. 2014). · cites it 2× “6 The plaintiff also argues that the court improperly excluded evidence as to whether the defendant is an “insurer” under General Statutes § 38a-271 (a). At the evidentiary hearing, the plaintiff presented letters from an insurance claims administrator to demonstrate that the…”
Hartford Accident & Indem. Co. v. Ace Am. Reinsurance Co., 930 A.2d 701 (Conn. App. Ct. 2007). · cites it 24× “It is undisputed that, pursuant to General Statutes § 38a-271 (c), “[t]he provisions of section 38a-27 do not apply to .”
Travinski v. Gen. Ins. Co. of Am., 224 Conn. App. 838 (Conn. App. Ct. 2024). · cites it 2× “The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment as to all counts of the complaint, arguing, inter alia, that the insurance policy did not provide coverage for the plaintiffs’ claim and that the extracontractual claims were unfounded.”
Carolina Cas. Ins. Co. v. Connecticut Solid Surface, LLC, 262 A.3d 885 (Conn. App. Ct. 2021). · cites it 2× “, the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, General Statutes § 42-110a et seq.”
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