Public Act 93-0200
HB3547 Enrolled LRB093 06686 JLS 06820 b
AN ACT concerning insurance.
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
changing Sections 155.22a and 155.22b as follows:
(215 ILCS 5/155.22a)
Sec. 155.22a. Coverage for subjects of abuse.
(a) No company authorized to transact life, health, or
disability income, or property and casualty insurance in this
State may:
(1) Deny, refuse to issue, refuse to renew, refuse
to reissue, cancel, or otherwise terminate an insurance
policy or restrict coverage on an individual because that
individual is or has been the subject of abuse or because
that individual seeks or has sought: (i) medical or
psychological treatment for abuse; or (ii) protection or
shelter from abuse;
(2) Charge a different rate for the same coverage
for an insurance policy because an individual insured
under such policy has a history of or is a subject of
abuse;
(3) Deny a claim by an insured as a result of his
or her status as being or having been a subject of abuse,
except as otherwise permitted or required by the laws of
this State; or
(4) Ask an insured or an applicant for insurance
whether that individual is or has been a subject of abuse
or whether that individual seeks or has sought: (i)
medical or psychological treatment specifically for
abuse; or (ii) protection or shelter from abuse.
(b) No company authorized to transact life, health, or
disability income, or property and casualty insurance in this
State may fail to maintain strict confidentiality of
information, as defined in the Insurance Information and
Privacy Protection Article of this Code, relating to an
applicant's or insured's abuse status or to a medical or
psychological condition that the company knows is
abuse-related. Disclosure of such abuse-related information
shall be subject to the disclosure limitations and conditions
contained in Section 1014 of this Code.
(c) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to
prohibit a company specified in subsection (a) from (i)
refusing to insure, refusing to continue to insure, limiting
the amount, extent, or kind of coverage available to an
individual, or charging a different rate for the same
coverage on the basis of that individual's physical or mental
condition regardless of the underlying cause of such
condition; (ii) declining to issue a life insurance policy
insuring an individual who is or has been the subject of
abuse if the perpetrator of the abuse is the applicant or
would be the owner of the insurance policy; or (iii)
inquiring about a physical or mental condition, even if that
condition was caused by or is related in any manner to abuse.
(d) As used in this Section, "abuse" means the
occurrence of one or more of the following acts between
family members, current or former household members, or
current or former intimate partners:
(1) Attempting to cause or intentionally,
knowingly, or recklessly causing another person,
including a minor child, to be harassed or intimidated or
subject to bodily injury, physical harm, rape, sexual
assault, or involuntary sexual intercourse; or
(2) Knowingly engaging in a course of conduct or
repeatedly committing acts without proper authority that
place the person toward whom such acts are directed,
including a minor child, in a reasonable fear of bodily
injury or physical harm; or
(3) Subjecting another person, including a minor
child, to false imprisonment.
(e) No company specified in subsection (a) above shall
be held civilly or criminally liable for any cause of action
that may be brought because of compliance with this Section.
Nothing in this Section, however, shall preclude the
jurisdiction of any administrative agency to carry out its
statutory authority.
(Source: P.A. 90-245, eff. 1-1-98.)
(215 ILCS 5/155.22b)
Sec. 155.22b. Rating, claims handling, and underwriting
decisions.
(a) No company issuing a policy of property and casualty
insurance may use the fact that an applicant or insured
incurred bodily injury as a result of a battery or other
violent act committed against him or her by a spouse or
person in the same household as a sole reason for a rating,
underwriting, or claims handling decision.
(b) If a policy excludes property coverage for
intentional acts, the insurer may not deny payment to an
innocent co-insured who did not cooperate in or contribute to
the creation of the loss if the loss arose out of a pattern
of criminal domestic violence and the perpetrator of the loss
is criminally prosecuted for the act causing the loss.
Payment to the innocent co-insured may be limited to his or
her ownership interest in the property as reduced by any
payments to a mortgagor or other secured interest.
(Source: P.A. 90-700, eff. 8-7-98.)