(1) the employers in the multiple-employer welfare arrangement have formed a valid MEWA as defined under Section 4(6) of this Rule and are composed of at least two (2) employers;

(2) the employee welfare plan of the association or group in the multiple-employer welfare arrangement is controlled and sponsored directly by participating employers, participating employees, or both;

(3) the association or group of employers in the multiple-employer welfare arrangement is a not-for-profit organization;

(4) for an association sponsored multiple-employer welfare arrangement, the association has been organized and maintained in good faith in active existence for at least two (2) years for purposes other than that of obtaining insurance or insuring members, employees, or employees of members of the association for the benefit of persons other than the association or its officers or trustees;

(5) the multiple-employer welfare arrangement has within its own organization adequate facilities and competent personnel, as determined by the Commissioner, to service the employee benefit plan or has contracted with a third party administrator that holds a current certificate of authority to engage in business in the State of Arkansas;

(6) the multiple-welfare arrangement has applications from not less than two (2) employers, and will provide similar benefits for not less than 200 separate participating employees, and the annual gross premiums or contributions to the plan will be not less than $20,000 for a plan that provides only vision benefits, $75,000 for a plan that provides only dental benefits and $200,000 for all other plans;

(7) the multiple-employer welfare arrangement possesses a written commitment, binder, or policy for stop-loss insurance issued by an insurer that has a certificate of authority to transact business in the State of Arkansas, providing not less than 30 days notice to the Commissioner of any cancellation or non-renewal of coverage; (this instrument shall provide both specific and aggregate coverage with an aggregate retention of no more than 125% of the amount of expected claims for the next plan year and any specific retention amount as determined by the Finance Division of the Arkansas Insurance Department);

(8) both the specific and aggregate coverage will require all claims to be submitted within 90 days after the claim is incurred and provide a 12-month claims incurred period and a 15-month paid claims period for each policy year;

(9) the contributions shall be set to fund at least 100% of the aggregate retention plus all other costs of the multiple-employer welfare arrangement;

(10) if the required reserves exceed the greater of 40% of the total contributions for the current plan year, or 40% of the total contributions expected for the current plan year, the contributions may be reduced to fund less than 100% of the aggregate retention plus all other costs of the multiple-employer welfare arrangement, but in no event less than the level of contributions necessary to fund the minimum reserves required;

(11) the reserves shall be established before a certificate of authority is issued;

(12) the multiple-employer welfare arrangement has established a procedure for handling claims for benefits in the event of dissolution of the multiple-employer welfare arrangement;

(13) the multiple-employer welfare arrangement has obtained the required fidelity bond;

(14) the multiple-employer welfare arrangement has submitted its plan document or any instrument describing the rights and obligations of the employers, employees and beneficiaries with respect to the multiple-employer welfare arrangement; and

(15) the multiple-employer welfare arrangement has submitted a summary plan description and has filed for review any notifications such as an identification card, policy or contract, in connection with the employee welfare benefit plan, which notifications include any of the disclosures set out in subparagraphs (A)-(D) of this paragraph, as follow [FN1]: