View all text of Part 223 [§ 223.1 - § 223.22]
§ 223.10 - Limitation of risk.
(a) Except as provided in § 223.11, no company holding a certificate of authority shall underwrite any single risk on any bond or policy on behalf of any individual, firm, association, or corporation, whether or not the United States is interested as a party thereto, the amount of which is greater than 10 percent of the paid-up capital and surplus of such company, as determined by Treasury. Such figure (i.e., 10 percent of a company's paid-up capital and surplus as determined by Treasury) is hereinafter referred to as the underwriting limitation. For purposes of this part, single risk means the total risk under one bond or policy regardless of the number of individual risks under that bond or policy.
(b) In determining the underwriting limitation, the full penalty of any surety and fidelity obligation will be regarded as the liability, and no offset will be allowed on account of any estimate of risk that is less than such full penalty, except in the following cases:
(1) Appeal bonds; in which case the liability will be regarded as the amount of the judgment appealed from, plus 10 percent of said amount to cover interest and costs;
(2) Bonds of executors, administrators, trustees, guardians, and other fiduciaries, where the penalty of the bond or other obligation is fixed in excess of the estimated value of the estate; in which cases the estimated value of the estate, upon which the penalty of the bond was fixed, will be regarded as the liability;
(3) Indemnifying agreements executed by sole heirs or beneficiaries of an estate releasing the surety from liability;
(4) Contract bonds given in excess of the amount of the contract; in which cases the amount of the contract will be regarded as the liability; or
(5) Bonds for banks or trust companies as principals, conditioned to repay moneys on deposit, whereby pursuant to any law or decree of a court, the amount to be deposited shall be less than the penalty of the bond; in which cases the maximum amount on deposit at any one time will be regarded as the liability.