HB0142ham001 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. La Shawn K. Ford

Filed: 4/19/2021

10200HB0142ham001 LRB102 10163 BMS 25504 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 142

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 142 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Illinois Insurance Code is amended by adding Section 155.47 as follows:

(215 ILCS 5/155.47 new)

Sec. 155.47. First-party claimant reimbursement study.

(a) Since first-party claimants occasionally have property and casualty claims denied in whole or in part and subsequently obtain a payment in excess of the initial offer of the insurer, the Department shall perform a study of whether the claimants shall be entitled to reimbursement of their reasonable costs incurred to substantiate the claim. The study of the Illinois insurance claims process shall be submitted to the General Assembly by January 1, 2022.

(b) The Department study shall compare median payments on new and reopened claims where the insured had representation to claims where the insured did not.

(c) The Department study shall take a representative sample of claims and examine the type of representation for the insured, including representation by a public adjuster, attorney, or none; the nature of the claim, including whether catastrophic or non-catastrophic; the severity of the loss; the insured value of the property; the report year; the date the policyholder noticed the loss; the dollar value of the insurers' initial offer to a policyholder; the last amount paid to a policyholder; the payment date; and the city and county in which the property was located.

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