Sen. William R. Haine
Filed: 4/30/2009
|
|||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 418
| ||||||
2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 418 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following: | ||||||
4 | "Section 5. The Use of Credit Information in Personal | ||||||
5 | Insurance Act is amended by changing Section 20 as follows:
| ||||||
6 | (215 ILCS 157/20)
| ||||||
7 | Sec. 20. Use of credit information. | ||||||
8 | (a) An insurer authorized to do business
in this State that | ||||||
9 | uses credit information to underwrite or rate risks shall
not:
| ||||||
10 | (1) Use an insurance score that is calculated using | ||||||
11 | income, gender,
address, ethnic group, religion, marital | ||||||
12 | status, or nationality of the consumer
as a factor.
| ||||||
13 | (2) Deny, cancel, or nonrenew a policy of personal | ||||||
14 | insurance solely on
the basis of credit information, | ||||||
15 | without consideration of any other applicable
underwriting | ||||||
16 | factor independent of credit information and not expressly
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | prohibited by item (1). An insurer shall not be considered | ||||||
2 | to have denied,
cancelled, or nonrenewed a policy if | ||||||
3 | coverage is available through an
affiliate. If an insurer | ||||||
4 | denies, cancels, or does not renew a policy of personal | ||||||
5 | insurance based on credit information, it must provide the | ||||||
6 | affected party with a notice as described in Section 35 of | ||||||
7 | this Act and an opportunity for the affected party to | ||||||
8 | explain its credit information under the procedures | ||||||
9 | outlined in Section 22 of this Act.
| ||||||
10 | (3) Base an insured's renewal rates for personal | ||||||
11 | insurance solely upon
credit information, without | ||||||
12 | consideration of any other applicable factor
independent | ||||||
13 | of credit information. An insurer shall not be considered | ||||||
14 | to
have based rates solely on credit information if | ||||||
15 | coverage is available in a
different tier of the same | ||||||
16 | insurer.
| ||||||
17 | (4) Take an adverse action against a consumer solely | ||||||
18 | because he or she
does not have a credit card account, | ||||||
19 | without consideration of any other
applicable factor | ||||||
20 | independent of credit information.
| ||||||
21 | (5) Consider an absence of credit information or an | ||||||
22 | inability to calculate
an insurance score in underwriting | ||||||
23 | or rating personal insurance, unless the
insurer does one | ||||||
24 | of the following:
| ||||||
25 | (A) Treats the consumer as otherwise filed with the
| ||||||
26 | Department, if the insurer presents information that |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | such
an absence or inability relates to the risk for | ||||||
2 | the insurer and submits a
filing certification form | ||||||
3 | signed by an officer for the insurer certifying that
| ||||||
4 | such treatment is actuarially justified.
| ||||||
5 | (B) Treats the consumer as if the applicant or | ||||||
6 | insured had neutral
credit information, as defined by | ||||||
7 | the insurer.
| ||||||
8 | (C) Excludes the use of credit information as a | ||||||
9 | factor and uses only
other underwriting criteria.
| ||||||
10 | (6) Take an adverse action against a consumer based on | ||||||
11 | credit
information, unless an insurer obtains and uses a | ||||||
12 | credit report issued or an
insurance score calculated | ||||||
13 | within 90 days from the date the policy is first
written or | ||||||
14 | renewal is issued.
| ||||||
15 | (7) (Blank). Use credit information unless not later | ||||||
16 | than every 36 months
following the last time that the | ||||||
17 | insurer obtained current credit information
for the | ||||||
18 | insured, the insurer recalculates the insurance score or | ||||||
19 | obtains an
updated credit report. Regardless of the other | ||||||
20 | requirements of this Section:
| ||||||
21 | (A) At annual renewal, upon the request of a | ||||||
22 | consumer or the consumer's
agent, the insurer shall | ||||||
23 | re-underwrite and re-rate the policy based upon a
| ||||||
24 | current credit report or insurance score. An insurer | ||||||
25 | need not recalculate the
insurance score or obtain the | ||||||
26 | updated credit report of a consumer more
frequently |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | than once in a 12-month period.
| ||||||
2 | (B) The insurer shall have the discretion to obtain | ||||||
3 | current credit
information upon any renewal before the | ||||||
4 | expiration of 36 months, if
consistent with its | ||||||
5 | underwriting guidelines.
| ||||||
6 | (C) An insurer is not required to obtain current | ||||||
7 | credit information for
an insured, despite the | ||||||
8 | requirements of subitem (A) of item (7) of this Section
| ||||||
9 | if one of the following applies:
| ||||||
10 | (a) The insurer is treating the consumer as | ||||||
11 | otherwise filed with
the Department.
| ||||||
12 | (b) The insured is in the most | ||||||
13 | favorably-priced tier of the insurer,
within a | ||||||
14 | group of affiliated insurers. However, the insurer | ||||||
15 | shall have the
discretion to order credit | ||||||
16 | information, if consistent with its underwriting
| ||||||
17 | guidelines.
| ||||||
18 | (c) Credit was not used for underwriting or | ||||||
19 | rating the insured when
the policy was initially | ||||||
20 | written. However, the insurer shall have the
| ||||||
21 | discretion to use credit for underwriting or | ||||||
22 | rating the insured upon renewal,
if consistent | ||||||
23 | with its underwriting guidelines.
| ||||||
24 | (d) The insurer re-evaluates the insured | ||||||
25 | beginning no later than 36
months after inception | ||||||
26 | and thereafter based upon other underwriting or |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | rating
factors, excluding credit information.
| ||||||
2 | (8) Use the following as a negative factor in any | ||||||
3 | insurance scoring
methodology or in reviewing credit | ||||||
4 | information for the purpose of underwriting
or rating a | ||||||
5 | policy of personal insurance:
| ||||||
6 | (A) Credit inquiries not initiated by the consumer | ||||||
7 | or inquiries
requested by the consumer for his or her | ||||||
8 | own credit information.
| ||||||
9 | (B) Inquiries relating to insurance coverage, if | ||||||
10 | so identified on a
consumer's credit report.
| ||||||
11 | (C) Collection accounts with a medical industry | ||||||
12 | code, if so identified
on the consumer's credit report.
| ||||||
13 | (D) Multiple lender inquiries, if coded by the | ||||||
14 | consumer reporting agency
on the consumer's credit | ||||||
15 | report as being from the home mortgage industry and
| ||||||
16 | made within 30 days of one another, unless only one | ||||||
17 | inquiry is considered.
| ||||||
18 | (E) Multiple lender inquiries, if coded by the | ||||||
19 | consumer reporting agency
on the consumer's credit | ||||||
20 | report as being from the automobile lending industry
| ||||||
21 | and made within 30 days of one another, unless only one | ||||||
22 | inquiry is considered. | ||||||
23 | (b) An insurer authorized to do business
in this State that | ||||||
24 | uses credit information to underwrite or rate risks shall, at | ||||||
25 | annual renewal upon the request of an insured or an insured's | ||||||
26 | agent, re-underwrite and re-rate the insured's personal |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | insurance policy based on a current credit report or insurance | ||||||
2 | score unless one of the following applies: | ||||||
3 | (1) The insurer's treatment of the consumer is | ||||||
4 | otherwise approved by the Department. | ||||||
5 | (2) The insured is in the most favorably priced tier of | ||||||
6 | the insurer, within a group of affiliated insurers. | ||||||
7 | (3) Credit information was not used for underwriting or | ||||||
8 | rating the insured when the personal insurance policy was | ||||||
9 | initially written. | ||||||
10 | (4) The insurer reevaluates the insured at least every | ||||||
11 | 36 months after a personal insurance policy is issued based | ||||||
12 | on underwriting or rating factors other than credit | ||||||
13 | information. | ||||||
14 | (5) The insurer has recalculated an insurance score or | ||||||
15 | obtained an updated credit report of a consumer in the | ||||||
16 | previous 12-month period. | ||||||
17 | An insurer that uses credit information to underwrite or rate | ||||||
18 | risks may obtain current credit information upon the renewal of | ||||||
19 | a personal insurance policy when renewal occurs more frequently | ||||||
20 | than every 36 months if consistent with the insurer's | ||||||
21 | underwriting guidelines.
| ||||||
22 | (Source: P.A. 93-114, eff. 10-1-03; 93-477, eff. 10-1-03.)
| ||||||
23 | Section 10. The Public Utilities Act is amended by adding | ||||||
24 | Section 8-101.5 as follows: |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | (220 ILCS 5/8-101.5 new) | ||||||
2 | Sec. 8-101.5. Use of credit information of prospective and | ||||||
3 | existing customers. A public utility may not deny, cancel, or | ||||||
4 | nonrenew utility service solely on
the basis of credit | ||||||
5 | information of prospective or existing customers. If a public | ||||||
6 | utility denies, cancels, or does not renew service based on | ||||||
7 | credit information, it must provide the affected party with an | ||||||
8 | explanation for the public utility's action and an opportunity | ||||||
9 | for the affected party to explain its credit information. This | ||||||
10 | Section does not apply to a telecommunications carrier or any | ||||||
11 | of its affiliates. | ||||||
12 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
13 | becoming law.".
|