Barberton Rescue Mission, Inc. v. Insurance Division of the Iowa Department of Commerce

LARSON, Justice.

The issues raised in this appeal are (1) whether a Christian newsletter, through which medical costs are spread among its subscribers, constitutes an insurance contract; and (2) whether a recently enacted statute, Iowa Code § 505.22 (1997), exempts the newsletter from regulation and taxation by the state. The district court ruled that the newsletter plan was not insurance, and in any event, section 505.22 exempts it from the jurisdiction of insurance regulators. We affirm.

I. Facts and Prior Proceedings.

Barberton Rescue Mission of Barberton, Ohio, is a nonprofit corporation…