Bulletin 2025-03 All Insurers Transacting Private Passenger Automobile Insurance in South Carolina

South Carolina Department of Insurance Capitol Center 1201 Main Street, Suite 1000 Columbia, South Carolina 29201 _________________________ Mailing Address: P.O. Box 100105, Columbia, S.C. 29202-3105 Bulletins are the method by which the Director of Insurance formally communicates with persons and entities regulated by the Department. Bulletins are departmental interpretations of South Carolina insurance laws and regulations and provide guidance on the Department’s enforcement approach. Bulletins do not provide legal advice. Readers should consult applicable statutes and regulations or contact an attorney for legal advice or for additional information on the impact of that legislation on their specific situation. HENRY MCMASTER Governor MICHAEL WISE Director BULLETIN NUMBER 2025-03 TO: All Insurers Transacting Private Passenger Automobile Insurance Business in South Carolina FROM: Michael Wise Director of Insurance RE: FY25’s Uninsured Motorist Distribution (Based on 2023’s Market Share) DATE: February 25, 2025 This Bulletin is issued to address the accounting guidance for disbursements from the Uninsured Motorist Fund. Title 56, Chapter 10 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, provides the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles shall impose fines or fees against individuals found to be driving while uninsured. Section 38- 77-151 mandates that these fees be deposited into the Uninsured Motorist Fund ("Fund") to be held by the State Treasurer and permits the Director of the Department of Insurance to disburse the monies from the Fund, “as provided in Section 38-77-154 and 38-77-155.” Section 38-77-155 instructs the Director of the Department of Insurance to annually distribute monies from the Fund among the insurers writing motor vehicle bodily injury and property damage liability insurance on motor vehicles registered in this state. The amount distributed to each carrier is required to be in proportion to each insurer’s premium income for auto liability coverage written in South Carolina for the preceding calendar year. See S.C. Code Ann. §38-77-155. Your company may receive a check representing its portion of the uninsured motorist distribution based upon its 2023 market share. This amount was calculated pursuant to the requirements of §38-77-155. The purpose of the Fund is to reduce the cost of uninsured motorist insurance coverage. Therefore, the method used to account for these funds must be consistent with the purpose set forth in §38-77-154. S.C. Code Ann. §38-77-154. These funds must be accounted for as other income in accordance with the statutory guidance from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Please contact Mia Mills, Accountant/Fiscal Analyst III, at (803) 737-6111 or via E-mail at mmills@doi.sc.gov if you have any questions or concerns about the amount of this year's distribution.