The Attorney General of New Mexico is stepping in to block the “illegal imposition” of a conservatorship upon California Insurance Company (CIC) – the insurer whose plan to redomicile in New Mexico is seemingly being impeded by the California Department of Insurance (CDI).
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas has retained legal counsel in California on behalf of the state and has filed for leave to submit an amicus curiae brief in support of the CIC’s lawsuit against the CDI.
Balderas had successfully petitioned to file amicus briefs in June, and is now looking to take action due to the problems caused for New Mexico’s regulators. A release from CIC mentioned that Balderas has recognized that the insurer’s redomestication “means jobs, consumer advantages and tax dollars for his state.”
In his filing, Balderas noted that the CDI’s plan to place CIC under its conservatorship has effectively “forestalled” CIC’s merger with a New Mexico-based insurer, which would have paved the way for CIC to redomicile in New Mexico. But due to CDI’s conservatorship decision, New Mexico officials were forced to threaten regulatory action against the carrier with a show-cause action against CIC, the attorney general said. In turn, this action led to CIC filing a lawsuit against CDI.
Balderas’ filing also noted that in October 2019, New Mexico’s Office of Superintendent of Insurance held a hearing to discuss the CIC merger; this hearing was attended by state officials from California, Iowa, and Texas. According to Balderas, California officials did not object to the merger but still filed an ex-parte application to put CIC under the CDI’s conservatorship because it had not approved the merger. The attorney general also prefaced that California officials’ "indefinite" conservation plan interferes with New Mexico’s capability to regulate its estates.
