98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB1773

 

Introduced 2/15/2013, by Sen. William R. Haine

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
215 ILCS 5/143.33 new

    Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Sets forth a provision concerning electronic notices and documents. Provides that subject to certain provisions, any notice to a party or any other document required under applicable law in an insurance transaction or that is to serve as evidence of insurance coverage may be delivered, stored, and presented by electronic means. Provides that an insurer may deliver by electronic means standard property and casualty policy documents and endorsements that do not contain personally identifiable information without the affirmative consent of a party so long as the insurer complies with certain conditions. Provides that delivery of a notice or document in accordance with the provision concerning electronic notices and documents shall be considered equivalent to any delivery method required under applicable law. Sets forth provisions concerning consent, validity, verification, and applicability.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Insurance Code is amended by adding
5Section 143.33 as follows:
 
6    (215 ILCS 5/143.33 new)
7    Sec. 143.33. Electronic notices and documents.
8    (a) In this Section, the following words have the following
9meanings:
10        "Delivered by electronic means" means:
11            (A) delivery to an electronic mail address at which
12        a party has consented to receive notices or documents;
13            (B) posting on an electronic network or site
14        accessible via the Internet, mobile application,
15        computer, mobile device, tablet, or any other
16        electronic device, together with separate notice to a
17        party directed to the electronic mail address at which
18        the party has consented to receive notice of the
19        posting; or
20            (C) for purposes of subsection (c) of this Section
21        only, posting on the insurer's public Internet
22        website, together with separate notice to a party in
23        the manner in which the insurer customarily

 

 

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1        communicates with the party.
2        "Party" means any recipient of any notice or document
3    required as part of an insurance transaction, including,
4    but not limited to, an applicant, an insured, a
5    policyholder, or an annuity contract holder.
6    (b) Subject to subsections (c) and (e) of this Section, any
7notice to a party or any other document required under
8applicable law in an insurance transaction or that is to serve
9as evidence of insurance coverage may be delivered, stored, and
10presented by electronic means.
11    (c) An insurer may deliver by electronic means standard
12property and casualty policy documents and endorsements that do
13not contain personally identifiable information without the
14affirmative consent of a party so long as the insurer complies
15with the following conditions:
16        (1) the policy and endorsements must be easily
17    accessible and remain that way for as long as the policy is
18    in force;
19        (2) after the expiration of the policy, the insurer
20    must archive its expired policies and endorsements for a
21    period of 5 years and make them available upon request;
22        (3) the policies and endorsements must be posted in a
23    manner that enables the insured to print and save the
24    policy and endorsements using programs or applications
25    that are widely available on the Internet and free to use;
26        (4) the insurer provides notice, in the manner it

 

 

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1    customarily communicates with the insured, at the time of
2    issuance of the initial policy forms and any renewal forms,
3    of a method by which insureds may obtain, upon request and
4    without charge, a paper or electronic copy of their policy
5    or endorsements;
6        (5) on each declarations page issued to an insured, the
7    insurer must clearly identify the exact policy and
8    endorsement forms purchased by the insured; and
9        (6) the insurer provides notice in the manner it
10    customarily communicates with the insured of any changes to
11    the forms or endorsements, and of the insured's right to
12    obtain, upon request and without charge, a paper or
13    electronic copy of the forms or endorsements.
14    (d) Delivery of a notice or document in accordance with
15this Section shall be considered equivalent to any delivery
16method required under applicable law, including delivery by
17first class mail; first class mail, postage prepaid; certified
18mail; certificate of mail; or certificate of mailing.
19    (e) Except as described in subsection (c) of this Section,
20a notice or document may be delivered by electronic means by an
21insurer to a party under this Section if the party has
22affirmatively consented to that method of delivery and has not
23withdrawn the consent.
24    (f) This Section does not affect requirements related to
25content or timing of any notice or document required under
26applicable law.

 

 

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1    (g) If a provision of this Code or applicable law requiring
2a notice or document to be provided to a party expressly
3requires verification or acknowledgment of receipt of the
4notice or document, the notice or document may be delivered by
5electronic means only if the method used provides for
6verification or acknowledgment of receipt.
7    (h) The legal effectiveness, validity, or enforceability
8of any contract or policy of insurance executed by a party may
9not be denied solely because of the failure to obtain
10electronic consent or confirmation of consent of the party.
11    (i) A withdrawal of consent by a party does not affect the
12legal effectiveness, validity, or enforceability of a notice or
13document delivered by electronic means to the party before the
14withdrawal of consent is effective. A withdrawal of consent by
15a party is effective within a reasonable period of time after
16receipt of the withdrawal by the insurer.
17    (j) This Section does not apply to a notice or document
18delivered by an insurer in an electronic form before the
19effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General
20Assembly to a party who, before that date, has consented to
21receive notice or document in an electronic form otherwise
22allowed by law.
23    (k) If the consent of a party to receive certain notices or
24documents in an electronic form is on file with an insurer
25before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th
26General Assembly and an insurer intends to deliver additional

 

 

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1notices or documents other than those described in subsection
2(c) of this Section to the party in an electronic form, then
3prior to delivering the additional notices or documents
4electronically, the insurer shall notify the party of the
5following:
6        (1) the notices or documents that may be delivered by
7    electronic means under this Section that were not
8    previously delivered electronically; and
9        (2) the party's right to withdraw consent to have
10    notices or documents delivered by electronic means.
11    For purposes of subsection (c) of this Section only, if the
12consent of a party to receive certain notices or documents in
13an electronic form is on file with an insurer before the
14effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General
15Assembly, and pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section an
16insurer intends to deliver standard property and casualty
17insurance polices and endorsements that do not contain
18personally identifiable information to the party in an
19electronic form, the insurer has given sufficient notice under
20this Section if it meets the notice requirements of subsection
21(c) of this Section.
22    (l) Except as otherwise provided by law, if an oral
23communication or a recording of an oral communication from a
24party can be reliably stored and reproduced by an insurer, the
25oral communication or recording may qualify as a notice or
26document delivered by electronic means for purposes of this

 

 

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1Section. If a provision of this Code or applicable law requires
2a signature or notice or document to be notarized,
3acknowledged, verified, or made under oath, the requirement is
4satisfied if the electronic signature of the person authorized
5to perform those acts, together with all other information
6required to be included by the provision, is attached to or
7logically associated with the signature, notice, or document.
8    (m) This Section may not be construed to modify, limit, or
9supersede the provisions of the federal Electronic Signatures
10in Global and National Commerce Act, Public Law 106-229, as
11amended.