(a) Any domestic life insurance company may establish one or more separate accounts and may allocate to such separate account or accounts, in accordance with the terms of a written agreement, any amounts paid to the company in connection with a pension, retirement, or profit-sharing plan, which is established by or in behalf of any group listed in Code Section 33-27-1, which are to be applied to provide benefits payable in fixed or variable dollar amounts.

(b) The amounts allocated to each account and accumulations thereon may be invested and reinvested in any class of investments which may be authorized in the written agreement without regard to any requirements or limitations prescribed by the laws of this state governing the investments of domestic life insurance companies, provided that, to the extent that the company's reserve liability with regard to benefits guaranteed as to amount and duration and funds guaranteed as to principal amount or stated rate of interest is maintained in any separate account, a portion of the assets of such separate account at least equal to such reserve liability shall be invested in accordance with the laws of this state governing the investment of reserves of domestic life insurance companies, as set forth in this article. The investments in such separate account or accounts shall not be taken into account in applying the investment limitations applicable to other investments of the company.

(c) The income, if any, and gains and losses realized or unrealized on each account shall be credited to or charged against the amounts allocated to the account in accordance with the written agreement, without regard to other income, gains, or losses of the company.

(d) Assets allocated to a separate account shall be valued at their market value on the date of valuation or, if there is no readily available market, in accordance with the terms of the applicable written agreement, provided that the portion of the assets of such separate account at least equal to the company's reserve liability with regard to the guaranteed benefits and funds referred to in subsection (b) of this Code section, if any, shall be valued in accordance with the rules otherwise applicable to the company's assets.

(e) Amounts allocated to a separate account in the exercise of the power granted by this Code section shall be owned by the company, and the company shall not be, nor hold itself out to be, a trustee with respect to those amounts.

(f) If the agreement provides for payment of benefits in variable amounts, any contract entered into pursuant to this chapter and delivered in this state providing for such variable benefits shall be a group annuity contract. Such contract shall:

(1) Cover at least ten persons at the time it is entered into;

(2) Be for the purpose of funding a pension, retirement, or profit-sharing plan or agreement which meets the requirements for qualification under Section 401, 403, or 414 of the United States Internal Revenue Code, as now or hereafter amended, or any corresponding provisions of prior or subsequent United States revenue laws; and (3) Prohibit the allocation to the separate account of any payment or contribution made by any employee.

The contract shall contain a statement of the essential features of the procedure to be followed by the company in determining the dollar amounts of such variable benefits. The contract and any group certificate issued under the contract shall state that such dollar amounts may decrease or increase and shall contain on its first page, in a prominent position, a statement that the benefits under the contract are on a variable basis.

(g) No domestic life insurance company and no foreign or Canadian life insurance company admitted to transact business in this state shall be authorized to deliver within this state any contract entered into pursuant to this article and providing benefits in variable amounts until said company has satisfied the Commissioner that its condition or methods of operation in connection with the issuance of such contracts will not be such as would render its operation hazardous to the public or its policyholders in this state. In determining the qualification of a company requesting authority to deliver the contracts in this state, the Commissioner shall consider, among other things:

(1) The history and financial condition of the company;

(2) The character, responsibility, and general fitness of the officers and directors of the company; and

(3) In the case of a foreign or Canadian company, whether the regulations provided by the state of its domicile or that province in which its head office is located provides a degree of protection to policyholders and the public which is substantially equal to that provided by this Code section and the rules and regulations issued thereunder.

(h) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the Commissioner shall have sole authority to issue such reasonable rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Code section.

(i) Nothing in this Code section shall be deemed to repeal any provision of Code Section 33-25-9 and no contract or agreement made pursuant to this Code section, or policy or certificate issued under this Code section, shall be construed to violate Code Section 33-25-9.