HB6649 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 21501 RPM 51172 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB6649

Introduced , by Rep. Karen May

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

215 ILCS 5/143.11c new
215 ILCS 5/154.6	from Ch. 73, par. 766.6
215 ILCS 5/155	from Ch. 73, par. 767

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that no company may cancel, terminate, or refuse to renew any policy of property and casualty insurance during the pendency of a claim in which the primary residence of the policyholder is or comes to be uninhabitable, unoccupied, or under construction or has yet to be permanently repaired. Provides that any of the following acts by an insurer shall constitute improper claims practice: (1) paying an appraiser, contractor, or vendor involved in providing services or estimates for appraising the value of any loss for repairing a policyholder's home; (2) compelling a policyholder as to which appraiser, vendor, or contractor the policyholder must use for the repair; (3) failing to reimburse a policyholder within 30 days after receiving proof of reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses; or (4) denying a policyholder's request for reimbursement without a written explanation within 30 days after a policyholder's request. Eliminates the $60,000 limit on the part of the taxable costs a court may allow in any action by or against a company where there is in issue the liability of a company on a policy or policies of insurance or the amount of the loss payable thereunder or where there is an unreasonable delay in settling a claim, and it appears to the court that such action or delay is vexatious and unreasonable. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Insurance Code is amended by adding Section 143.11c and by changing Sections 154.6 and 155 as follows:

(215 ILCS 5/143.11c new)

Sec. 143.11c. Cancellation of policy during pendency of a claim. No company authorized to do business in this State may cancel, terminate, or refuse to renew any policy of property and casualty insurance during the pendency of a claim in which the primary residence of the policyholder is or comes to be uninhabitable, unoccupied, or under construction or has yet to be permanently repaired.

(215 ILCS 5/154.6) (from Ch. 73, par. 766.6)

Sec. 154.6. Acts constituting improper claims practice. Any of the following acts by a company, if committed without just cause and in violation of Section 154.5, constitutes an improper claims practice:

(a) Knowingly misrepresenting to claimants and insureds relevant facts or policy provisions relating to coverages at issue;

(b) Failing to acknowledge with reasonable promptness pertinent communications with respect to claims arising under its policies;

(c) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards for the prompt investigations and settlement of claims arising under its policies;

(d) Not attempting in good faith to effectuate prompt, fair and equitable settlement of claims submitted in which liability has become reasonably clear;

(e) Compelling policyholders to institute suits to recover amounts due under its policies by offering substantially less than the amounts ultimately recovered in suits brought by them;

(f) Engaging in activity which results in a disproportionate number of meritorious complaints against the insurer received by the Insurance Department;

(g) Engaging in activity which results in a disproportionate number of lawsuits to be filed against the insurer or its insureds by claimants;

(h) Refusing to pay claims without conducting a reasonable investigation based on all available information;

(i) Failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within a reasonable time after proof of loss statements have been completed;

(j) Attempting to settle a claim for less than the amount to which a reasonable person would believe the claimant was entitled, by reference to written or printed advertising material accompanying or made part of an application or establishing unreasonable caps or limits on paint or materials when estimating vehicle repairs;

(k) Attempting to settle claims on the basis of an application which was altered without notice to, or knowledge or consent of, the insured;

(l) Making a claims payment to a policyholder or beneficiary omitting the coverage under which each payment is being made;

(m) Delaying the investigation or payment of claims by requiring an insured, a claimant, or the physicians of either to submit a preliminary claim report and then requiring subsequent submission of formal proof of loss forms, resulting in the duplication of verification;

(n) Failing in the case of the denial of a claim or the offer of a compromise settlement to promptly provide a reasonable and accurate explanation of the basis in the insurance policy or applicable law for such denial or compromise settlement;

(o) Failing to provide forms necessary to present claims within 15 working days of a request with such explanations as are necessary to use them effectively;

(p) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards to verify that a repairer designated by the insurance company to provide an estimate, perform repairs, or engage in any other service in connection with an insured loss on a vehicle is duly licensed under Section 5-301 of the Illinois Vehicle Code;

(q) Failing to provide as a persistent tendency a notification on any written estimate prepared by an insurance company in connection with an insured loss that Illinois law requires that vehicle repairers must be licensed in accordance with Section 5-301 of the Illinois Vehicle Code;

(q-5) Offering or agreeing to pay an appraiser, contractor, or vendor involved in providing services or estimates for appraising the value of any loss for repairing, restoring, or reconstructing a policyholder's home;

(q-10) Compelling a policy holder as to which appraiser, vendor, or contractor the policyholder must use for the repair, restoration, or reconstruction of the policyholder's home;

(q-15) Failing to reimburse a policyholder for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the policyholder for goods or services that are covered by the insurance policy within 30 days after receipt of proof of those expenses;

(q-20) Denying a policyholder's request for reimbursement and failing to provide a written explanation, within 30 days after receipt of a policyholder's request, that sets forth a good faith basis for denying the specific item for which the policyholder requested reimbursement;

(r) Engaging in any other acts which are in substance equivalent to any of the foregoing.

(Source: P.A. 90-340, eff. 8-8-97.)

(215 ILCS 5/155) (from Ch. 73, par. 767)

Sec. 155. Attorney fees.

(1) In any action by or against a company wherein there is in issue the liability of a company on a policy or policies of insurance or the amount of the loss payable thereunder, or for an unreasonable delay in settling a claim, and it appears to the court that such action or delay is vexatious and unreasonable, the court may allow as part of the taxable costs in the action reasonable attorney fees, other costs, plus an amount not to exceed any one of the following amounts:

(a) 60% of the amount which the court or jury finds such party is entitled to recover against the company, exclusive of all costs;

(b) (blank); $60,000;

(c) the excess of the amount which the court or jury finds such party is entitled to recover, exclusive of costs, over the amount, if any, which the company offered to pay in settlement of the claim prior to the action.

(2) Where there are several policies insuring the same insured against the same loss whether issued by the same or by different companies, the court may fix the amount of the allowance so that the total attorney fees on account of one loss shall not be increased by reason of the fact that the insured brings separate suits on such policies.

(Source: P.A. 93-485, eff. 1-1-04.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.