Bill
SB 105
NC licenses and regulates continuing care retirement communities to improve financial transparency, consumer protections, and resident safeguards.
Status: Enacted — Approved by the Governor (Chapter 104, Statutes of 2025) — Approved 2025-09-17
Summary
SB 105 creates a new statutory framework for continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) in North Carolina by repealing the prior Article 64 and adding Article 64A to Chapter 58 of the General Statutes. The bill places CCRCs under active oversight by the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI), establishes licensing and financial-reporting requirements, and defines terms and consumer‑protection concepts intended to reduce resident risk if a provider becomes insolvent or otherwise fails to deliver contracted care.
Purpose and intent
- Encourage development of CCRCs while protecting residents who often pay substantial sums (entrance fees) for lifetime or long‑term continuing care.
- Require providers offering continuing care in NC (both for‑profit and nonprofit) to obtain a license and be regulated by NCDOI.
- Improve financial transparency, actuarial soundness, escrow handling of entrance fees and deposits, and consumer disclosures.
Key provisions and definitions
- Repeals previous Article 64 and enacts Article 64A, the “Continuing Care Retirement Communities Act.”
- Licensing and oversight — Providers offering continuing care must obtain an NCDOI license and will be monitored under the new Article. (Applies to both for‑profit and nonprofit CCRCs.)
- Definitions — The bill defines key terms used throughout the new Article, including: continuing care; continuing care at home; continuing care retirement community; entrance fee; deposit; binding reservation agreement; escrow agent and escrow agreement; actuary; actuarial study; and accepted actuarial standards of practice.
- Actuarial standards — Requires actuarial studies and opinions to conform to recognized standards (specifically Actuarial Standards of Practice No. 3 for CCRCs, Revised Edition, effective June 1, 2022). An actuary must be qualified under American Academy of Actuaries standards.
- Financial metrics — Introduces quantitative measures such as a Debt Service Coverage Ratio (formula provided in the statute) and rules about how entrance fee proceeds are treated relative to indebtedness.
- Escrow and consumer funds — Defines escrow agent and escrow agreement for holding entrance fees and deposits when escrow is required by the statute; establishes that such funds be handled under specified requirements.
- Consumer contracts — Differentiates binding reservation agreements from other purchase contracts and clarifies what constitutes continuing care and continuing care at home programs.
- Reporting and documentation — Requires audited financial statements and actuarial analyses as part of the regulatory regime (statutory language provides for actuarial studies, opinions, and financial reporting).
Who is affected
- Continuing care retirement community providers (for‑profit and nonprofit) operating or seeking to operate in North Carolina — new licensing, financial, actuarial, escrow and reporting obligations.
- Prospective and current CCRC residents and depositors — enhanced consumer protections, standardized contract concepts, and financial‑soundness safeguards.
- The Department of Insurance — expanded regulatory responsibilities and enforcement duties.
- Escrow agents, actuaries and independent auditors — roles and standards are specified/required.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Consumer protections are strengthened through licensing, actuarial review, escrow rules, and defined financial‑soundness metrics.
- Providers will face additional compliance, actuarial and reporting costs; smaller or new projects may need to incorporate these costs into business planning.
- NCDOI will need resources and staff capacity to implement licensing, review actuarial studies, manage escrow approvals, and enforce the new requirements.
- The statute creates clearer expectations (definitions and standards) that should improve market transparency and could help reduce catastrophic losses to residents if a provider becomes insolvent.
Procedural / timeline notes
- SB 105 was enacted as Chapter 104, Statutes of 2025, approved by the Governor on September 17, 2025. The bill repeals prior Article 64 and replaces it with the new Article 64A. Implementation will depend on NCDOI rulemaking and administrative processes to operationalize licensing, application procedures, escrow approvals, and actuarial review requirements.
For further detail
- The enacted statute (Article 64A, Chapter 58, N.C. Gen. Stat.) should be consulted for the complete statutory language, specific filing/escrow thresholds, licensing procedures, enforcement powers, and any rulemaking that NCDOI adopts to implement the Act.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
Sign in to ask a question.
