(a) A life insurer may allocate to one or more separate investment accounts in accordance with a written agreement any amounts paid to the life insurer that are to be invested by the life insurer in accordance with the agreement and applied to the purchase of guaranteed income benefits under the life insurer's individual or group policies or annuity contracts or to provide other guaranteed benefits incidental to those policies or annuity contracts. (b) Any income and gains and losses, realized or unrealized, on each separate investment account shall be credited to or charged against the amounts allocated to the account in accordance with the agreement without regard to other income, gains, or losses of the life insurer. (c) (1) Amounts allocated to separate investment accounts and accumulations on the accounts may be invested and reinvested in any class of investments authorized under this article as life insurance reserve investments. (2) Preferred and common stock investments of amounts allocated to separate investment accounts may not be included in applying the 10% limitations on investments under § 5-511(f) of this subtitle. (3) A separate investment account may invest in any investments contractually permitted for the separate investment account and specified in a plan of operation, and the restrictions, limitations, and other provisions of this article relating to investments shall not apply to the investments contained in the separate investment account, provided that prior to delivery or issuance for delivery in the State, the form of the policy or annuity contract and the plan of operation have been filed with and approved by the Commissioner. (d) Unless a life insurer limits its liability under the guarantee to the interest of the contract holder in the investments, a life insurer may not guarantee: (1) the value of amounts allocated to a separate investment account; or (2) the value of investments of the amounts allocated to the separate investment account or the income from the investments. (e) (1) A life insurer owns the amounts that the life insurer allocates to a separate investment account under this section. (2) A life insurer may not be or hold itself out to be a trustee of the amounts allocated to the separate investment account. (3) To the extent provided under the applicable contracts, the part of the assets of the separate investment account equal to the reserves and other contract liabilities with respect to the account may not be chargeable with liabilities arising out of any other business that the insurer may conduct. (f) At all times, the investments and liabilities of each separate investment account shall be clearly identifiable and distinguishable on the books of the life insurer from other investments and liabilities of the life insurer. (g) Unless the Commissioner approves, a life insurer may not transfer by sale, exchange, substitution, or otherwise from one investment account to another investment account an investment in any separate investment account or in the general investment account of the life insurer. (h) (1) In connection with the allocation of investments or expenses or in any other manner, a life insurer may not discriminate unfairly between: (i) separate investment accounts; or (ii) a separate investment account and the life insurer's general investment account. (2) This subsection does not require a life insurer to follow uniform investment policies for its accounts. (i) (1) Investments made with respect to separate investment accounts shall be valued for the purpose of any valuation required by this article: (i) at the market value of the investment on the date of the valuation; or (ii) if there is no readily available market, in accordance with the terms of the written agreement referred to in subsection (a) of this section. (2) (i) If a separate investment account provides a fixed guaranteed return that is not subject to market value adjustment, the life insurer shall hold assets that equal or exceed the reserve amount that would be required if the separate investment account was an obligation of the life insurer's general account. (ii) An asset held under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be valued in accordance with §§ 5-401 and 5-402 of this title.
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