Bill Title: To prohibit an insurer's use of a credit score, credit history, or credit report in fixing a premium rate for, or the terms and conditions of, an insurance policy, or in determining whether to issue, continue, or renew an insurance policy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-09-01 - To Insurance, Commerce, & Labor
[SB163 Detail]Download: Ohio-2009-SB163-Introduced.html
As Introduced
128th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2009-2010 |
| |
Cosponsors:
Senators Miller, D., Sawyer, Strahorn, Smith
A BILL
| To amend section 3901.21 of the Revised Code to | 1 |
|
prohibit an insurer's use of a credit score, | 2 |
|
credit history, or
credit report in fixing a | 3 |
|
premium rate for, or the
terms and conditions of, | 4 |
|
an insurance policy, or
in determining whether to | 5 |
|
issue, continue, or
renew an insurance policy. | 6 |
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 3901.21 of the Revised Code be | 7 |
amended to read as follows: | 8 |
Sec. 3901.21. The following are hereby defined as unfair
and
| 9 |
deceptive acts or practices in the business of insurance:
| 10 |
(A) Making, issuing, circulating, or causing or permitting
to
| 11 |
be made, issued, or circulated, or preparing with intent to so
| 12 |
use, any estimate, illustration, circular, or statement
| 13 |
misrepresenting the terms of any policy issued or to be issued or
| 14 |
the benefits or advantages promised thereby or the dividends or
| 15 |
share of the surplus to be received thereon, or making any false
| 16 |
or misleading statements as to the dividends or share of surplus
| 17 |
previously paid on similar policies, or making any misleading
| 18 |
representation or any misrepresentation as to the financial
| 19 |
condition of any insurer as shown by the last preceding verified
| 20 |
statement made by it to the insurance department of this state,
or
| 21 |
as to the legal reserve system upon which any life insurer
| 22 |
operates, or using any name or title of any policy or class of
| 23 |
policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof, or making any
| 24 |
misrepresentation or incomplete comparison to any person for the
| 25 |
purpose of inducing or tending to induce such person to purchase,
| 26 |
amend, lapse, forfeit, change, or surrender insurance.
| 27 |
Any written statement concerning the premiums for a policy
| 28 |
which refers to the net cost after credit for an assumed
dividend,
| 29 |
without an accurate written statement of the gross
premiums, cash
| 30 |
values, and dividends based on the insurer's
current dividend
| 31 |
scale, which are used to compute the net cost
for such policy, and
| 32 |
a prominent warning that the rate of
dividend is not guaranteed,
| 33 |
is a misrepresentation for the
purposes of this division.
| 34 |
(B) Making, publishing, disseminating, circulating, or
| 35 |
placing before the public or causing, directly or indirectly, to
| 36 |
be made, published, disseminated, circulated, or placed before
the
| 37 |
public, in a newspaper, magazine, or other publication, or in
the
| 38 |
form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter, or poster, or
over
| 39 |
any radio station, or in any other way, or preparing with
intent
| 40 |
to so use, an advertisement, announcement, or statement
containing
| 41 |
any assertion, representation, or statement, with
respect to the
| 42 |
business of insurance or with respect to any
person in the conduct
| 43 |
of the person's insurance business,
which is untrue,
deceptive, or
| 44 |
misleading.
| 45 |
(C) Making, publishing, disseminating, or circulating,
| 46 |
directly or indirectly, or aiding, abetting, or encouraging the
| 47 |
making, publishing, disseminating, or circulating, or preparing
| 48 |
with intent to so use, any statement, pamphlet, circular,
article,
| 49 |
or literature, which is false as to the financial
condition of an
| 50 |
insurer and which is calculated to injure any
person engaged in
| 51 |
the business of insurance.
| 52 |
(D) Filing with any supervisory or other public official,
or
| 53 |
making, publishing, disseminating, circulating, or delivering
to
| 54 |
any person, or placing before the public, or causing directly
or
| 55 |
indirectly to be made, published, disseminated, circulated,
| 56 |
delivered to any person, or placed before the public, any false
| 57 |
statement of financial condition of an insurer.
| 58 |
Making any false entry in any book, report, or statement of
| 59 |
any insurer with intent to deceive any agent or examiner lawfully
| 60 |
appointed to examine into its condition or into any of its
| 61 |
affairs, or any public official to whom such insurer is required
| 62 |
by law to report, or who has authority by law to examine into its
| 63 |
condition or into any of its affairs, or, with like intent,
| 64 |
willfully omitting to make a true entry of any material fact
| 65 |
pertaining to the business of such insurer in any book, report,
or
| 66 |
statement of such insurer, or mutilating, destroying,
suppressing,
| 67 |
withholding, or concealing any of its records.
| 68 |
(E) Issuing or delivering or permitting agents, officers,
or
| 69 |
employees to issue or deliver agency company stock or other
| 70 |
capital stock or benefit certificates or shares in any common-law
| 71 |
corporation or securities or any special or advisory board
| 72 |
contracts or other contracts of any kind promising returns and
| 73 |
profits as an inducement to insurance.
| 74 |
(F) Making or permitting any unfair discrimination among
| 75 |
individuals of the same class and equal expectation of life in
the
| 76 |
rates charged for any contract of life insurance or of life
| 77 |
annuity or in the dividends or other benefits payable thereon, or
| 78 |
in any other of the terms and conditions of such contract.
| 79 |
(G)(1) Except as otherwise expressly provided by law,
| 80 |
knowingly permitting or offering to make or making any contract
of
| 81 |
life insurance, life annuity or accident and health insurance,
or
| 82 |
agreement as to such contract other than as plainly expressed
in
| 83 |
the contract issued thereon, or paying or allowing, or giving
or
| 84 |
offering to pay, allow, or give, directly or indirectly, as
| 85 |
inducement to such insurance, or annuity, any rebate of premiums
| 86 |
payable on the contract, or any special favor or advantage in the
| 87 |
dividends or other benefits thereon, or any valuable
consideration
| 88 |
or inducement whatever not specified in the
contract; or giving,
| 89 |
or selling, or purchasing, or offering to
give, sell, or purchase,
| 90 |
as inducement to such insurance or
annuity or in connection
| 91 |
therewith, any stocks, bonds, or other
securities, or other
| 92 |
obligations of any insurance company or
other corporation,
| 93 |
association, or partnership, or any dividends
or profits accrued
| 94 |
thereon, or anything of value whatsoever not
specified in the
| 95 |
contract.
| 96 |
(2) Nothing in division (F) or division (G)(1) of this
| 97 |
section shall be construed as prohibiting any of the following
| 98 |
practices: (a) in the case of any contract of life insurance or
| 99 |
life annuity, paying bonuses to policyholders or otherwise
abating
| 100 |
their premiums in whole or in part out of surplus
accumulated from
| 101 |
nonparticipating insurance, provided that any
such bonuses or
| 102 |
abatement of premiums shall be fair and equitable
to policyholders
| 103 |
and for the best interests of the company and
its policyholders;
| 104 |
(b) in the case of life insurance policies
issued on the
| 105 |
industrial debit plan, making allowance to
policyholders who have
| 106 |
continuously for a specified period made
premium payments directly
| 107 |
to an office of the insurer in an
amount which fairly represents
| 108 |
the saving in collection expenses;
(c) readjustment of the rate of
| 109 |
premium for a group insurance
policy based on the loss or expense
| 110 |
experience thereunder, at the
end of the first or any subsequent
| 111 |
policy year of insurance
thereunder, which may be made retroactive
| 112 |
only for such policy
year.
| 113 |
(H) Making, issuing, circulating, or causing or permitting
to
| 114 |
be made, issued, or circulated, or preparing with intent to so
| 115 |
use, any statement to the effect that a policy of life insurance
| 116 |
is, is the equivalent of, or represents shares of capital stock
or
| 117 |
any rights or options to subscribe for or otherwise acquire
any
| 118 |
such shares in the life insurance company issuing that policy
or
| 119 |
any other company.
| 120 |
(I) Making, issuing, circulating, or causing or permitting
to
| 121 |
be made, issued or circulated, or preparing with intent to so
| 122 |
issue, any statement to the effect that payments to a
policyholder
| 123 |
of the principal amounts of a pure endowment are
other than
| 124 |
payments of a specific benefit for which specific
premiums have
| 125 |
been paid.
| 126 |
(J) Making, issuing, circulating, or causing or permitting
to
| 127 |
be made, issued, or circulated, or preparing with intent to so
| 128 |
use, any statement to the effect that any insurance company was
| 129 |
required to change a policy form or related material to comply
| 130 |
with Title XXXIX of the Revised Code or any regulation of the
| 131 |
superintendent of insurance, for the purpose of inducing or
| 132 |
intending to induce any policyholder or prospective policyholder
| 133 |
to purchase, amend, lapse, forfeit, change, or surrender
| 134 |
insurance.
| 135 |
(K) Aiding or abetting another to violate this section.
| 136 |
(L) Refusing to issue any policy of insurance, or
canceling
| 137 |
or declining to renew such policy because of the sex or
marital
| 138 |
status of the applicant, prospective insured, insured, or
| 139 |
policyholder.
| 140 |
(M)(1) Making or permitting any unfair discrimination between
| 141 |
individuals of the same class and of essentially the same hazard
| 142 |
in the amount of premium, policy fees, or rates charged for any
| 143 |
policy or contract of insurance, other than life insurance, or in
| 144 |
the benefits payable thereunder, or in underwriting standards and
| 145 |
practices or eligibility requirements, or in any of the terms or
| 146 |
conditions of such contract, or in any other manner whatever.
| 147 |
(2) Considering an individual's credit score, credit report, | 148 |
or credit
history
in determining a premium, policy fee, or rate | 149 |
charged
for, in
setting the coverage provided by, benefits | 150 |
payable under,
or other
terms and conditions of, or in refusing | 151 |
to issue,
canceling, or
refusing to renew, any policy or | 152 |
contract of
insurance. | 153 |
For purposes of division (M)(2) of this section, "credit | 154 |
score," "credit report," and "credit
history" mean any written, | 155 |
oral, or other communication of any
information bearing on a | 156 |
consumer's creditworthiness, credit
standing, or credit capacity. | 157 |
(N) Refusing to make available disability income insurance
| 158 |
solely because the applicant's principal occupation is that of
| 159 |
managing a household.
| 160 |
(O) Refusing, when offering maternity benefits under any
| 161 |
individual or group sickness and accident insurance policy, to
| 162 |
make maternity benefits available to the policyholder for the
| 163 |
individual or individuals to be covered under any comparable
| 164 |
policy to be issued for delivery in this state, including family
| 165 |
members if the policy otherwise provides coverage for family
| 166 |
members. Nothing in this division shall be construed to prohibit
| 167 |
an insurer from imposing a reasonable waiting period for such
| 168 |
benefits under an individual sickness
and accident insurance
| 169 |
policy
issued to an individual who is not a federally eligible
| 170 |
individual or a
nonemployer-related group sickness and accident
| 171 |
insurance policy, but in no
event shall such waiting period exceed
| 172 |
two hundred seventy days.
| 173 |
For purposes of division
(O) of this section, "federally
| 174 |
eligible individual" means an eligible individual as defined in
45
| 175 |
C.F.R.
148.103.
| 176 |
(P) Using, or permitting to be used, a pattern settlement
as
| 177 |
the basis of any offer of settlement. As used in this
division,
| 178 |
"pattern settlement" means a method by which liability
is
| 179 |
routinely imputed to a claimant without an investigation of
the
| 180 |
particular occurrence upon which the claim is based and by
using a
| 181 |
predetermined formula for the assignment of liability
arising out
| 182 |
of occurrences of a similar nature. Nothing in this
division shall
| 183 |
be construed to prohibit an insurer from
determining a claimant's
| 184 |
liability by applying formulas or
guidelines to the facts and
| 185 |
circumstances disclosed by the
insurer's investigation of the
| 186 |
particular occurrence upon which a
claim is based.
| 187 |
(Q) Refusing to insure, or refusing to continue to insure,
or
| 188 |
limiting the amount, extent, or kind of life or sickness and
| 189 |
accident insurance or annuity coverage available to an
individual,
| 190 |
or charging an individual a different rate for the
same coverage
| 191 |
solely because of blindness or partial blindness.
With respect to
| 192 |
all other conditions, including the underlying
cause of blindness
| 193 |
or partial blindness, persons who are blind or
partially blind
| 194 |
shall be subject to the same standards of sound
actuarial
| 195 |
principles or actual or reasonably anticipated
actuarial
| 196 |
experience as are sighted persons. Refusal to insure
includes, but
| 197 |
is not limited to, denial by an insurer of
disability insurance
| 198 |
coverage on the grounds that the policy
defines "disability" as
| 199 |
being presumed in the event that the
eyesight of the insured is
| 200 |
lost. However, an insurer may exclude
from coverage disabilities
| 201 |
consisting solely of blindness or
partial blindness when such
| 202 |
conditions existed at the time the
policy was issued. To the
| 203 |
extent that the provisions of this
division may appear to conflict
| 204 |
with any provision of section
3999.16 of the Revised Code, this
| 205 |
division applies.
| 206 |
(R)(1) Directly or indirectly offering to sell, selling,
or
| 207 |
delivering, issuing for delivery, renewing, or using or
otherwise
| 208 |
marketing any policy of insurance or insurance product
in
| 209 |
connection with or in any way related to the grant of a
student
| 210 |
loan guaranteed in whole or in part by an agency or
commission of
| 211 |
this state or the United States, except insurance
that is required
| 212 |
under federal or state law as a condition for
obtaining such a
| 213 |
loan and the premium for which is included in
the fees and charges
| 214 |
applicable to the loan; or, in the case of
an insurer or insurance
| 215 |
agent, knowingly permitting any lender
making such loans to engage
| 216 |
in such acts or practices in
connection with the insurer's or
| 217 |
agent's insurance business.
| 218 |
(2) Except in the case of a violation of division (G) of
this
| 219 |
section, division (R)(1) of this section does not apply to
either
| 220 |
of the following:
| 221 |
(a) Acts or practices of an insurer, its agents,
| 222 |
representatives, or employees in connection with the grant of a
| 223 |
guaranteed student loan to its insured or the insured's spouse or
| 224 |
dependent children where such acts or practices take place more
| 225 |
than ninety days after the effective date of the insurance;
| 226 |
(b) Acts or practices of an insurer, its agents,
| 227 |
representatives, or employees in connection with the
solicitation,
| 228 |
processing, or issuance of an insurance policy or
product covering
| 229 |
the student loan borrower or the borrower's
spouse or
dependent
| 230 |
children, where such acts or practices take place more
than one
| 231 |
hundred eighty days after the date on which the borrower
is
| 232 |
notified that the student loan was approved.
| 233 |
(S) Denying coverage, under any health insurance or health
| 234 |
care policy, contract, or plan providing family coverage, to any
| 235 |
natural or adopted child of the named insured or subscriber
solely
| 236 |
on the basis that the child does not reside in the
household of
| 237 |
the named insured or subscriber.
| 238 |
(T)(1) Using any underwriting standard or engaging in any
| 239 |
other act or
practice that, directly or indirectly, due solely to
| 240 |
any health status-related
factor in relation to one or more
| 241 |
individuals, does either of the following:
| 242 |
(a) Terminates or fails to renew an existing individual
| 243 |
policy, contract, or
plan of health benefits, or a health benefit
| 244 |
plan issued to an employer, for
which an individual would
| 245 |
otherwise be eligible;
| 246 |
(b) With respect to a health benefit plan issued to an
| 247 |
employer,
excludes or causes the exclusion of an individual from
| 248 |
coverage under an
existing employer-provided policy, contract, or
| 249 |
plan of health benefits.
| 250 |
(2) The superintendent of insurance may adopt rules in
| 251 |
accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for purposes of
| 252 |
implementing division (T)(1)
of this section.
| 253 |
(3) For purposes of division (T)(1) of this
section, "health
| 254 |
status-related factor" means any of the
following:
| 255 |
(b) Medical condition, including both physical
and mental
| 257 |
illnesses;
| 258 |
(c) Claims experience;
| 259 |
(d) Receipt of health care;
| 260 |
(f) Genetic information;
| 262 |
(g) Evidence of insurability, including
conditions arising
| 263 |
out of acts of domestic violence;
| 264 |
(U) With respect to a health benefit plan issued to a small
| 266 |
employer, as
those terms are defined in section 3924.01 of the
| 267 |
Revised Code, negligently or
willfully placing coverage for
| 268 |
adverse risks with a certain carrier, as
defined in section
| 269 |
3924.01 of the Revised Code.
| 270 |
(V) Using any program, scheme, device, or other unfair act
or
| 271 |
practice that, directly or indirectly, causes or results in
the
| 272 |
placing of coverage for adverse risks with another carrier,
as
| 273 |
defined in section 3924.01 of the Revised Code.
| 274 |
(W) Failing to comply with section 3923.23, 3923.231,
| 275 |
3923.232, 3923.233, or 3923.234 of the Revised Code by engaging
in
| 276 |
any unfair, discriminatory reimbursement practice.
| 277 |
(X) Intentionally establishing an unfair premium for, or
| 278 |
misrepresenting the cost of, any insurance policy financed under
a
| 279 |
premium finance agreement of an insurance premium finance
company.
| 280 |
(Y)(1)(a) Limiting coverage under, refusing to issue,
| 281 |
canceling,
or refusing to renew, any individual policy or contract
| 282 |
of life
insurance, or limiting coverage under or refusing to issue
| 283 |
any individual
policy or contract of health insurance, for the
| 284 |
reason that the insured or
applicant for insurance is or has
been
| 285 |
a victim of domestic violence;
| 286 |
(b) Adding a surcharge or rating factor to a premium of any
| 287 |
individual policy or contract of life or health insurance for the
| 288 |
reason that
the insured or applicant for insurance is or has been
| 289 |
a victim of domestic
violence;
| 290 |
(c) Denying coverage under, or limiting coverage under, any
| 291 |
policy or
contract of life or health insurance, for the reason
| 292 |
that a claim under the
policy or contract arises from an incident
| 293 |
of domestic violence;
| 294 |
(d) Inquiring, directly or indirectly, of an insured under,
| 295 |
or of an
applicant for, a policy or contract of life or health
| 296 |
insurance, as to whether
the insured or applicant is or has been a
| 297 |
victim of domestic violence,
or inquiring as to whether the
| 298 |
insured or applicant has sought shelter or
protection from
| 299 |
domestic violence or has sought medical or psychological
treatment
| 300 |
as a victim of domestic violence.
| 301 |
(2) Nothing in division (Y)(1) of this section shall be
| 302 |
construed to
prohibit an insurer from inquiring as to, or from
| 303 |
underwriting or rating a
risk on the basis of, a person's physical
| 304 |
or mental condition, even if the
condition has been caused by
| 305 |
domestic violence, provided that all of the
following apply:
| 306 |
(a) The insurer routinely considers the condition in
| 307 |
underwriting or
in rating risks, and does so in the same manner
| 308 |
for a victim of domestic
violence as for an insured or applicant
| 309 |
who is not a victim of domestic
violence;
| 310 |
(b) The insurer does not refuse to issue any policy or
| 311 |
contract of life or
health insurance or cancel or refuse to
renew
| 312 |
any policy or contract of life insurance, solely on the basis of
| 313 |
the
condition, except where such refusal to issue, cancellation,
| 314 |
or refusal
to renew is based on sound actuarial principles or is
| 315 |
related to actual or
reasonably anticipated experience;
| 316 |
(c) The insurer does not consider a person's status as being
| 317 |
or as
having been a victim of domestic violence, in itself, to be
| 318 |
a physical or
mental condition;
| 319 |
(d) The underwriting or rating of a risk on the basis of the
| 320 |
condition
is not used to evade the intent of division (Y)(1) of
| 321 |
this section,
or
of any other provision of the Revised Code.
| 322 |
(3)(a) Nothing in division (Y)(1) of this section shall
be
| 323 |
construed to
prohibit an insurer from refusing to issue a policy
| 324 |
or contract of life
insurance insuring the life of a person who is
| 325 |
or has been a victim of
domestic violence if the person who
| 326 |
committed the act of domestic violence is
the applicant for the
| 327 |
insurance or would be the owner of the insurance policy
or
| 328 |
contract.
| 329 |
(b) Nothing in division (Y)(2) of this section
shall be
| 330 |
construed to permit an insurer to cancel or refuse to
renew any
| 331 |
policy or contract of health insurance in violation of
the "Health
| 332 |
Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996," 110 Stat.
| 333 |
1955, 42 U.S.C.A.
300gg-41(b), as amended, or in a manner that
| 334 |
violates or is inconsistent with any provision of the
Revised Code
| 335 |
that implements the "Health
Insurance Portability and
| 336 |
Accountability
Act of 1996."
| 337 |
(4) An insurer is immune from any civil or
criminal liability
| 338 |
that otherwise might be incurred or imposed as a result of
any
| 339 |
action taken by the insurer to comply with division
(Y) of this
| 340 |
section.
| 341 |
(5) As used in division (Y) of this section,
"domestic
| 342 |
violence" means any of the following acts:
| 343 |
(a) Knowingly causing or attempting to cause physical harm to
| 344 |
a
family
or household member;
| 345 |
(b) Recklessly causing serious physical harm to a family or
| 346 |
household
member;
| 347 |
(c) Knowingly causing, by threat of force, a family or
| 348 |
household
member to believe that the person will cause imminent
| 349 |
physical harm to the
family or household member.
| 350 |
For the purpose of division (Y)(5) of this
section,
"family
| 351 |
or household member" has the same meaning as in section 2919.25 of
| 352 |
the Revised Code.
| 353 |
Nothing in division (Y)(5)
of this section shall be
construed
| 354 |
to require, as a condition to the application of division
(Y) of
| 355 |
this section, that
the act described in division (Y)(5) of this
| 356 |
section be the basis of
a
criminal prosecution.
| 357 |
(Z) Disclosing a coroner's records by an insurer in violation
| 358 |
of section 313.10 of the Revised Code.
| 359 |
(AA) Making, issuing, circulating, or causing or permitting
| 360 |
to be made, issued, or circulated any statement or representation
| 361 |
that a life insurance policy or annuity is a contract for the
| 362 |
purchase of funeral goods or services.
| 363 |
With respect to private passenger automobile insurance, no
| 364 |
insurer shall charge different premium rates to persons residing
| 365 |
within the limits of any municipal corporation based solely on
the
| 366 |
location of the residence of the insured within those limits.
| 367 |
The enumeration in sections 3901.19 to 3901.26 of the
Revised
| 368 |
Code of specific unfair or deceptive acts or practices in
the
| 369 |
business of insurance is not exclusive or restrictive or
intended
| 370 |
to limit the powers of the superintendent of insurance
to adopt
| 371 |
rules to implement this section, or to take action under
other
| 372 |
sections of the Revised Code.
| 373 |
This section does not prohibit the sale of shares of any
| 374 |
investment company registered under the "Investment Company Act
of
| 375 |
1940," 54 Stat. 789, 15 U.S.C.A. 80a-1, as amended, or any
| 376 |
policies, annuities, or other contracts described in section
| 377 |
3907.15 of the Revised Code.
| 378 |
As used in this section, "estimate," "statement,"
| 379 |
"representation," "misrepresentation," "advertisement," or
| 380 |
"announcement" includes oral or written occurrences.
| 381 |
Section 2. That existing section 3901.21 of the Revised Code | 382 |
is hereby repealed. | 383 |