(i) has continuously transacted an insurance business outside the United States for at least three years immediately prior to making application with the department for the issuance of a certificate of recognition as an accredited reinsurer pursuant to section 125.7 of this Part;

(ii) otherwise complies substantially with related requirements imposed upon authorized insurers;

(iii) has agreed in writing, prior to receiving such certificate of recognition as an accredited reinsurer or within ninety days of the effective date of this amendment where a certificate of recognition has previously been issued, to submit to examination by the superintendent as often as the superintendent deems it expedient with the cost of such examination to be borne by such group; and

(iv) has deposited and continues to maintain, with one or more New York State banks and/or members of the Federal Reserve System located in New York State, a trust fund or trust funds, constituting a surplus, in cash or readily marketable securities, in an amount of not less than $100,000,000 for the protection of United States ceding insurers and United States beneficiaries under reinsurance policies (contracts) issued in the name of such group. The minimum surplus amount shall be maintained on a joint and several basis. The use of such minimum surplus amount shall be limited to the payment or reimbursement of any losses and allocated loss expenses paid by a ceding insurer but not recovered from any member of such group and for unearned premiums due a ceding insurer if not otherwise recovered from any member of such group in accordance with the terms of the reinsurance policies (contracts) issued in the name of such group. The prior approval of the superintendent shall be required for any payment or reimbursement which reduces such surplus below the minimum required amount of $100,000,000. Such surplus amount shall be in addition to any other trust fund or trust funds required by this department. As used in this subparagraph "surplus" means the balance remaining after subtracting the liabilities, attributable to reinsurance policies (contracts) issued in the name of such group, from the total assets deposited in the trust fund or trust funds.

(i) the largest percentage of all uncollectable unauthorized reinsurance recoverables during any one of the last five full calendar years[;] , as measured by dividing the amount of reinsurance recoverables due and payable to the ceding insurer for that calendar year from the unauthorized assuming insurers, over 90 days past due and not in dispute, by the amount of reinsurance recoverables due and payable to the ceding insurer plus amounts actually collected by the ceding insurer for that same calendar year from unauthorized assuming insurers;

(ii) the largest percentage of unearned premiums in any one unauthorized insurer to the total unearned premiums on cessions to all unauthorized insurers; or

(iii) fifteen percent;

(i) that the assuming insurer meets the standards of solvency, on a substantial compliance basis, as required by the superintendent;

(ii) that the assuming insurer maintains the greater of a policyholder's surplus of $3,000,000 or the surplus required to be maintained by a domestic insurer organized to do the same or similar kinds of insurance;

(iii) that the assuming insurer maintains an acceptable level of premium writings in relation to its surplus to policyholders;

(iv) that the ceding [company] insurer has limited the maximum amount of liability for loss, with respect to any one risk ceded to any one assuming insurer, to ten percent of the assuming insurer's policyholder's surplus and has limited the aggregate premium cession to any one assuming insurer to twenty percent of the assuming insurer's policyholder's surplus;

(v) that credit claimed for reinsurance recoverable under this subdivision is to be supported by proper and appropriate records maintained by the ceding company both as to the solvency of the assuming insurer and the record on which the review was based, and a record of the amount of reinsurance ceded subject to examination at any reasonable time by any person appointed to do so by the superintendent, and

(vi) that a report be filed quarterly, with the ceding insurer's annual or quarterly statement, and certified to by the ceding insurer, within 90 days of the statement date, on prescribed Form #1, incorporated in Appendix 16 of this Title.

(vii) Any ceding insurer that has taken credit under this subdivision is required to disclose the amounts thereof in the "Other Items" section of the notes to the financial statements section of the annual statement.

(viii) that the credit allowed by this subdivision shall be an amount not to exceed, in the aggregate, ten percent of the ceding insurer’s policyholders surplus.

(i) that any assuming insurer fails to meet its obligations under any contractual agreements or treaties between the parties; or

(ii) that there is any indication or evidence that any assuming insurer, with whom the ceding insurer has a contract, [is failing to meet the acceptable standards of solvency required by this department] fails to substantially comply with the solvency requirements under the Insurance law and regulations thereunder.

(i) the largest percentage of all uncollectable unauthorized reinsurance recoverables during any one of the last five full calendar years, as measured by dividing the amount of reinsurance recoverables due and payable to the ceding insurer for that calendar year from the unauthorized assuming insurers, over 90 days past due and not in dispute, by the amount of reinsurance recoverables due and payable to the ceding insurer plus amounts actually collected by the ceding insurer for that same calendar year from unauthorized assuming insurers;

(ii) the largest percentage of unearned premiums in any one unauthorized insurer to the total unearned premiums on cessions to all unauthorized insurers; or

(iii) fifteen percent.

(i) that the assuming insurer meets the standards of solvency, on a substantial compliance basis, as required by the superintendent;

(ii) that the assuming insurer maintains the greater of a policyholder's surplus of $20,000,000 or the surplus required to be maintained by a domestic insurer organized to do the same or similar kinds of insurance (in the case of an alien assuming insurer, the policyholder's surplus is equivalent to the adjusted shareholders funds and must be maintained in a like amount);

(iii) that the assuming insurer maintains an acceptable level of premium writings in relation to its surplus to policyholders that does not exceed a ratio of 3:1;

(iv) that the ceding insurer has limited the maximum amount of liability for loss, with respect to any one risk ceded to any one assuming insurer, to ten percent of the assuming insurer's policyholder's surplus and has limited the aggregate premium cession to any assuming insurer to twenty percent of the assuming insurer's policyholder's surplus;

(v) that the unauthorized alien assuming insurer provides to, and maintains, any acceptable funds withheld under a reinsurance agreement with such insurer as security for the payment of obligations thereunder, pursuant to the provisions of section 1301(a)(14) of the Insurance Law in an amount at least equal to 110% of the unearned premium and known case outstanding reserves for loss and allocated loss adjustment expense ceded to the unauthorized alien assuming insurer by the ceding insurer;

(vi) that credit claimed for reinsurance recoverable under this subdivision is to be supported by proper and appropriate records maintained by the ceding insurer both as to the solvency of the assuming insurer and the record on which the review was based, and a record of the amount of reinsurance ceded subject to examination at any reasonable time by any person appointed to do so by the superintendent;

(vii) that a report be filed quarterly, with the ceding insurer's annual or quarterly statement, and certified to by the ceding insurer, on prescribed Form #1, incorporated in Appendix 16 of this Title;

(viii) that the unauthorized alien assuming insurer is included in the Standard & Poor's classic database and satisfies at least four of the eight Standard & Poor's tests, as set forth below. The tests are as follows with their ratio numbers:

(ix) that the reinsurance agreements between the unauthorized alien assuming insurer and the ceding insurer contain:

(i) that obligations of an unauthorized assuming insurer for which credit for reinsurance was taken under this section are more than 90 days past due and not in dispute; or

(ii) that there is any indication or evidence that any assuming insurer, with whom the ceding insurer has a contract, fails to substantially comply with the solvency requirements under the Insurance Law and regulations thereunder.

(b) Other than as permitted pursuant to section 125.4(e)[ or (f)], (f) or (g) of this Part, credit taken by a ceding insurer for reinsurance ceded to an unauthorized insurer, which is not an accredited reinsurer, shall not exceed the amounts withheld under a reinsurance treaty with such unauthorized insurer as security for the payment of obligations thereunder, provided such funds are held subject to withdrawal by, and under the control of, the ceding insurer. Amounts withheld include: