2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE FIVE - Agriculture (§§ 1 — 4706) › Chapter 49 - Farm Insurance (§§ 1401 — 1420) › § 1403 - Powers and immunity

The Puerto Rico Farm Insurance Corporation is hereby empowered to carry out, on behalf and in representation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the business of farm insurance authorized by this chapter with all the powers, duties, rights, obligations, privileges, and immunities that are required to engage in said business under the name or firm name of “Puerto Rico Farm Insurance”. The Corporation shall perform all acts and contracts that are necessary to such effects, in a like manner and to the same extent as private commercial entities engaged in the insurance business in Puerto Rico. The said powers, duties, rights, obligations, privileges and immunities shall include the following, without said listing being construed as a limitation:
(a) To adopt, alter and use a seal of which judicial cognizance shall be taken.
(b) To prescribe, adopt and repeal rules and regulations to govern the policies of its activities in general, and exercise and perform the powers and duties imposed upon it by law, once such rules and regulations are approved and promulgated by the Board of Directors and the requirements of Act No. 112 of June 30, 1957 as amended, known as the “Rules and Regulations Act of 1958”, have been complied with, they shall have the force of law. All rules and regulations for the implementing of this chapter, except those for the organization and internal proceedings, shall be the subject to public hearings before their adoption and promulgation.
(c) To sue and be sued, and accuse in all the courts.
(d) To enter into contracts, to formalize and execute all instruments necessary or advisable in the exercise of any of its powers.
(e) To borrow money on short terms for any of its purposes and to guarantee the payment of the obligations with its properties or receipts.
(f) To accept financial assistance of any nature including subsidies, donations, advances or other assistance of equal nature deriving exclusively from nonprofit institutions of the Federal Government or from the government of any state of the American Union or from any instrumentality, agency or political subdivision of said governments or from the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico pursuant to the provisions of §§ 1101-1108 of Title 3, and to enter into contracts, leases, agreements and other transactions with any of said agencies and to invest the earnings of any of the funds received for the purposes established in this chapter.
(g) To conduct or carry on searches, examinations, surveys, and investigations, compile data and statistics in connection with the insurances authorized in this chapter.
(h) With the consent of any board, division, commission, political subdivision, or executive department of the Commonwealth or federal Government, including any office rendering guidance or aid services to the farmer, he may obtain from such offices the use of any information, services or facilities, or the employment of the officers or agents thereof to render their services temporarily and in case of energency for the carrying out of the provisions of this chapter.
(i) Shall also have all such incidental powers as may be inherent in any private corporation and specially any insurance entity which may engage in insurance business under the Insurance Code of Puerto Rico.
(j) To offer as incentives to the farmers and fishermen insurance policies such as group or individual insurances, life insurance, life credit or casualty insurances or any other incentive that may serve as an encouragement in order that the farmers or fishermen may avail themselves of the benefits provided under this chapter. To such effect he may use, from the money in the Farm Insurance Fund, the sum he may deem advisable to buy from private insurance companies the insurances not authorized under this chapter when such insurance policies constitute the incentive to be offered.
(k) To enter into reinsurance contracts for the whole or any part of the assumed risk, seeking at all times to restrict the maximum risk to a level commensurate to its financial capacity.
(l) To appoint the said officers, agents, employees or officials and to fix the duties to be required for the carrying out of their functions, to require bonds from them in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, paying the premiums on the required bonds.
(m) Shall be exempt from all surcharges, taxes, fees, imposts, or contribution levied or to be levied by the laws of Puerto Rico.
(n) Shall operate the business of Farm Insurance authorized by this chapter without being subject to the Procurement and Service Act, Act No. 96 of June 29, 1954, as amended.
(o) To require, on a mandatory basis, the acquisition of a catastrophic insurance, as minimum insurance, to all bona fide farmers duly registered in the Department of Agriculture of Puerto Rico, or to those farmers that receive state subsidies. Being it understood that if the farmer obtains the regular “By Up” [sic] insurance, any other insurance provided by the Puerto Rico Agricultural Insurance Corporation complies with the requirement of this chapter.
(p) Specialized farms and school farms of the Agricultural Education Program of the Department of Education of Puerto Rico are exempt from complying with subsection (o) of this section.
History —Dec. 12, 1966, No. 12, p. 62, § 3; June 9, 1969, No. 32, p. 48, § 3; renumbered as § 4 and amended on Aug. 11, 1988, No. 166, p. 718, § 5; July 2, 2002, No. 99, § 1; Mar. 26, 2012, No. 59, § 1.