J. MILLARD TAWES, Governor                     1043

capital stock and minimum surplus if a stock insurer, or the mini-
mum surplus if a mutual or reciprocal insurer, required by this article
to be maintained for the kind or kinds of insurance business it is
then authorized to transact.

(2)   "Insurer" means any person, firm, corporation, association
or aggregation of persons doing an insurance business and subject to
the insurance supervisory authority of, or to liquidation, rehabilita-
tion, reorganization or conservation by the Commissioner or the
equivalent insurance supervisory official of another state.

(3)   "Delinquency proceedings" means any proceeding commenced
against an insurer pursuant to this subtitle for the purpose of liqui-
dating, rehabilitating, reorganizing or conserving such insurer.

(4)   "State" means any state of the United States and also the
District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

(5)   "Foreign country" means territory outside of any state.

(6)   "Domiciliary state" means the state in which an insurer is
incorporated or organized, or in the case of an insurer incorporated
or organized in a foreign country, the state in which such insurer,
having become authorized to do business in such state, has at the
commencement of delinquency proceedings, the largest amount of its
assets held in trust and assets held on deposit for the benefit of its
policyholders or policyholders and creditors in the United States,
and any such insurer is deemed to be domiciled in such state.

(7)   "Ancillary state" means any state other than a domiciliary
state.

(8)   "Reciprocal state" means any state other than this state in
which in substance and effect the provisions of this subtitle are in
force, including the provisions requiring that the Commissioner or
equivalent insurance supervisory official be the receiver of a delin-
quent insurer.

(9) "General assets" means all property, real, personal, or other-
wise, not specifically mortgaged, pledged, deposited or otherwise
encumbered for the security or benefit of specified persons or
a limited class or classes of persons, and as to such specifically
encumbered property the term includes all such property or its pro-
ceeds in excess of the amount necessary to discharge the sum or
sums secured thereby. Assets held in trust and assets held on deposit
for the security or benefit of all policyholders or all policyholders
and creditors in the United States shall be deemed general assets.

(10)   "Preferred claim" means any claim with respect to which
the law of the state or of the United States accords priority of pay-
ments from the general assets of the insurer.

(11)   "Special deposit claim" means any claim secured by a deposit
made pursuant to statute for the security or benefit of a limited
class or classes of persons, but not including any general assets.

(12)   "Secured claim" means any claim secured by mortgage, trust
deed, pledge, deposit as security, escrow or otherwise, but not includ-
ing special deposit claim or claims against general assets. The term
also includes claims which more than four months prior to the com-
mencement of delinquency proceedings in the state of the insurer's