§1854. Definitions

            For the purposes of this Chapter the following terms have the following meanings:

            (1) "Church" means a nonprofit religious organization made up of a group of religious believers.

            (2) "Commercial coverage" means coverage for the damage or loss of a structure or building and may include but is not limited to the following:

            (a) Premises liability coverage.

            (b) Contents coverage for furniture or equipment.

            (c) Wind and hail coverage.

            (d) Loss of use coverage.

            (3) "Department" means the Department of Insurance.

            (4) "Fund" means the self-insurance fund established pursuant to this Chapter to provide commercial coverage for churches and nonprofit religious organizations and shall be known as the Louisiana Churches and Nonprofit Religious Organizations Self-Insured Fund.

            (5) "Hazardous financial condition" means a condition in which, based upon its present or reasonably anticipated financial condition, the fund, although not yet financially impaired or insolvent, is unlikely to be able to:

            (a) Meet obligations with respect to known claims and reasonably anticipated claims.

            (b) Pay other obligations in the normal course of business.

            (6) "Insolvency" means the condition existing when the fund's liabilities are greater than the fund's assets as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles as delineated in the fund's financial statement audited by an independent certified public accountant and calculated before a member's distribution is payable or before a dividend is declared.

            (7) "Nonprofit religious organization" means an active corporation or other entity organized under the United States Internal Revenue Code as a nonprofit organization defined as any one of the following:

            (a) A church or religious house of worship.

            (b) An organization formed for religious purposes.

            (c) A nonprofit institution affiliated with a faith-based organization.

            (d) An integrated auxiliary organization of a church.

            (8) "Religious denomination" means a group of individual churches or houses of worship who are called or identified using the same terms and a particular set of beliefs or spiritual or religious values.

            Acts 2023, No. 259, §§1, 3A, eff. June 12, 2023; Acts 2026, No. 759, §1, eff. June 2, 2026.