Full Text of SB1636 098th General Assembly
SB1636 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014 SB1636 Introduced 2/13/2013, by Sen. John G. Mulroe SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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215 ILCS 5/143a | from Ch. 73, par. 755a |
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Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that with respect to damages and the coverage regarding uninsured and hit and run motor vehicle coverage, any decision made by the arbitrators shall be binding (now, any decision made by the arbitrators shall be binding for the amount of
damages not exceeding $50,000 for bodily injury to or
death of any one person, $100,000 for bodily injury to or death of 2 or more
persons in any one motor vehicle accident,
or the corresponding policy limits for bodily injury or death, whichever is
less). Provides the changes made by this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly apply to all policies of
insurance amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on and after the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning insurance.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Illinois Insurance Code is amended by | 5 | | changing Section 143a as follows:
| 6 | | (215 ILCS 5/143a) (from Ch. 73, par. 755a)
| 7 | | Sec. 143a. Uninsured and hit and run motor vehicle | 8 | | coverage.
| 9 | | (1) No policy insuring against
loss resulting from | 10 | | liability imposed by law for bodily injury or death
suffered by | 11 | | any person arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use
of | 12 | | a motor vehicle that is designed for use on public highways and | 13 | | that
is either required to be registered in this State or is | 14 | | principally garaged
in this State shall be renewed, delivered, | 15 | | or issued for delivery
in this State unless coverage is | 16 | | provided therein or
supplemental thereto, in limits for bodily | 17 | | injury or death set forth in
Section 7-203 of the Illinois | 18 | | Vehicle Code for the
protection of persons insured thereunder | 19 | | who are legally entitled to
recover damages from owners or | 20 | | operators of uninsured motor vehicles and
hit-and-run motor | 21 | | vehicles because of bodily injury, sickness or
disease, | 22 | | including death, resulting therefrom. Uninsured motor vehicle
| 23 | | coverage does not apply to bodily injury, sickness, disease, or |
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| 1 | | death resulting
therefrom, of an insured while occupying a | 2 | | motor vehicle owned by, or furnished
or available for the | 3 | | regular use of the insured, a resident spouse or resident
| 4 | | relative, if that motor vehicle is not described in the policy | 5 | | under which a
claim is made or is not a newly acquired or | 6 | | replacement motor vehicle covered
under the terms of the | 7 | | policy. The limits for any coverage for any vehicle
under the | 8 | | policy may not be aggregated with the limits for any similar
| 9 | | coverage, whether provided by the same insurer or another | 10 | | insurer, applying to
other motor vehicles, for purposes of | 11 | | determining the total limit of insurance
coverage available for | 12 | | bodily injury or death suffered by a person in any one
| 13 | | accident. No
policy shall be renewed, delivered, or issued for | 14 | | delivery in this
State unless it is provided therein that any | 15 | | dispute
with respect to the coverage and the amount of damages | 16 | | shall be submitted
for arbitration to the
American Arbitration | 17 | | Association and be subject to its rules for the conduct
of | 18 | | arbitration hearings
as to all matters except medical opinions. | 19 | | As to medical opinions, if the
amount of damages being sought | 20 | | is equal to or less than the amount provided for
in Section | 21 | | 7-203 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, then the current American
| 22 | | Arbitration Association Rules shall apply. If the amount being | 23 | | sought in an
American Arbitration Association case exceeds that | 24 | | amount as set forth in
Section 7-203 of the Illinois Vehicle | 25 | | Code, then the Rules of Evidence that
apply in the circuit | 26 | | court for placing medical opinions into evidence shall
govern. |
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| 1 | | Alternatively, disputes with respect to damages and the | 2 | | coverage shall
be
determined in the
following
manner: Upon the | 3 | | insured requesting arbitration, each party to the
dispute shall | 4 | | select an arbitrator and the 2 arbitrators so named
shall | 5 | | select a third arbitrator. If such arbitrators are not selected
| 6 | | within 45 days from such request, either party may request that | 7 | | the
arbitration be submitted to the American Arbitration | 8 | | Association.
Any decision made by the arbitrators shall be | 9 | | binding for the amount of
damages not exceeding $50,000 for | 10 | | bodily injury to or
death of any one person, $100,000 for | 11 | | bodily injury to or death of 2 or more
persons in any one motor | 12 | | vehicle accident,
or the corresponding policy limits for bodily | 13 | | injury or death, whichever is
less .
All 3-person arbitration | 14 | | cases proceeding in accordance with any uninsured
motorist
| 15 | | coverage conducted in this State in
which the claimant is only | 16 | | seeking monetary damages up to the limits
set forth in Section | 17 | | 7-203 of the Illinois Vehicle Code
shall be subject to the | 18 | | following rules:
| 19 | | (A) If at least 60 days' written
notice of the | 20 | | intention to offer the following documents in evidence is | 21 | | given
to every other party, accompanied by a copy of the | 22 | | document, a party may offer
in evidence, without foundation | 23 | | or other proof:
| 24 | | (1) bills, records, and reports of hospitals, | 25 | | doctors, dentists,
registered nurses, licensed | 26 | | practical nurses, physical therapists, and other
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| 1 | | healthcare providers;
| 2 | | (2) bills for drugs, medical appliances, and | 3 | | prostheses;
| 4 | | (3) property repair bills or estimates, when | 5 | | identified and itemized
setting forth the charges for | 6 | | labor and material used or proposed for use in
the | 7 | | repair of the property;
| 8 | | (4) a report of the rate of earnings and time lost | 9 | | from work or lost
compensation prepared by an employer;
| 10 | | (5) the written opinion of an opinion witness, the | 11 | | deposition of a
witness, and the statement of a witness | 12 | | that the witness would be allowed to
express if | 13 | | testifying in person, if the opinion or statement is | 14 | | made by
affidavit or by
certification as provided in | 15 | | Section 1-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure;
| 16 | | (6) any other document not specifically covered by | 17 | | any of the foregoing
provisions that is otherwise | 18 | | admissible under the rules of evidence.
| 19 | | Any party receiving a notice under this paragraph (A) | 20 | | may apply to the
arbitrator or panel of arbitrators, as the | 21 | | case may be, for the issuance of a
subpoena directed to the | 22 | | author or maker or custodian of the document that is
the | 23 | | subject of the notice, requiring the person subpoenaed to | 24 | | produce copies of
any additional documents as may be | 25 | | related to the subject matter of the
document that is the | 26 | | subject of the notice. Any such subpoena shall be issued
in |
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| 1 | | substantially similar form and served by notice as provided | 2 | | by Illinois
Supreme Court Rule 204(a)(4). Any such subpoena | 3 | | shall be returnable not
less than 5 days before the | 4 | | arbitration hearing.
| 5 | | (B) Notwithstanding the provisions of Supreme Court | 6 | | Rule 213(g), a party
who proposes to use a written opinion | 7 | | of an expert or opinion witness or the
testimony of
an | 8 | | expert or opinion witness at the hearing may do so provided | 9 | | a written notice
of that
intention is given to every other | 10 | | party not less than 60 days prior to the date
of hearing, | 11 | | accompanied by a statement containing the identity of the
| 12 | | witness, his or her qualifications, the subject matter, the | 13 | | basis of the
witness's conclusions,
and his or her opinion.
| 14 | | (C) Any other party may subpoena the author or maker of | 15 | | a document
admissible under this subsection, at that | 16 | | party's expense, and examine the
author
or maker as if | 17 | | under cross-examination. The provisions of Section 2-1101 | 18 | | of
the
Code of Civil Procedure shall be applicable to | 19 | | arbitration hearings, and it
shall be the duty of a party | 20 | | requesting the subpoena to modify the form to show
that the | 21 | | appearance is set before an arbitration panel and to give | 22 | | the time and
place set for the hearing.
| 23 | | (D) The provisions of Section 2-1102 of the Code of | 24 | | Civil Procedure shall
be
applicable to arbitration | 25 | | hearings under this subsection.
| 26 | | (2) No policy insuring
against loss resulting from |
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| 1 | | liability imposed by law for property damage
arising out of the | 2 | | ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle shall
be | 3 | | renewed, delivered, or issued for delivery in this State with | 4 | | respect
to any private passenger or recreational motor vehicle | 5 | | that is
designed for use on public highways and that is either | 6 | | required to be
registered in this State or is principally | 7 | | garaged in this State and
is not covered by collision insurance | 8 | | under the provisions of such
policy, unless coverage is made | 9 | | available in the amount of the actual
cash value of the motor | 10 | | vehicle described in the policy or $15,000
whichever is less, | 11 | | subject to a $250 deductible, for the protection of
persons | 12 | | insured thereunder who are legally entitled to recover damages | 13 | | from
owners or operators of uninsured motor vehicles and | 14 | | hit-and-run motor
vehicles because of property damage to the | 15 | | motor vehicle described in the
policy.
| 16 | | There shall be no liability imposed under the uninsured | 17 | | motorist
property damage coverage required by this subsection | 18 | | if the owner or
operator of the at-fault uninsured motor | 19 | | vehicle or hit-and-run motor
vehicle cannot be identified. This | 20 | | subsection shall not apply to any
policy which does not provide | 21 | | primary motor vehicle liability insurance for
liabilities | 22 | | arising from the maintenance, operation, or use of a
| 23 | | specifically insured motor vehicle.
| 24 | | Each insurance company providing motor vehicle property | 25 | | damage liability
insurance shall advise applicants of the | 26 | | availability of uninsured motor
vehicle property damage |
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| 1 | | coverage, the premium therefor, and provide a brief
description | 2 | | of the coverage. Each insurer, with respect to the initial
| 3 | | renewal, reinstatement, or reissuance of a policy of motor | 4 | | vehicle property
damage liability insurance shall provide
| 5 | | present policyholders with the same information in writing. | 6 | | That information
need be given only once and shall not be | 7 | | required in any subsequent renewal,
reinstatement or | 8 | | reissuance, substitute, amended, replacement or
supplementary | 9 | | policy. No written rejection shall be required, and
the absence | 10 | | of a premium payment for uninsured motor vehicle property | 11 | | damage
shall constitute conclusive proof that the applicant or | 12 | | policyholder has
elected not to accept uninsured motorist | 13 | | property damage coverage.
| 14 | | An insurance company issuing uninsured motor vehicle
| 15 | | property damage coverage may provide that:
| 16 | | (i) Property damage losses recoverable thereunder | 17 | | shall be limited to
damages caused by the actual physical | 18 | | contact of an uninsured motor vehicle
with the insured | 19 | | motor vehicle.
| 20 | | (ii) There shall be no coverage for loss of use of the | 21 | | insured motor
vehicle and no coverage for loss or damage to | 22 | | personal property located in
the insured motor vehicle.
| 23 | | (iii) Any claim submitted shall include the name and | 24 | | address of the
owner of the at-fault uninsured motor | 25 | | vehicle, or a registration number and
description of the | 26 | | vehicle, or any other available information to
establish |
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| 1 | | that there is no applicable motor vehicle property damage | 2 | | liability
insurance.
| 3 | | Any dispute with respect to the coverage and the amount of
| 4 | | damages shall be submitted for
arbitration to the American | 5 | | Arbitration Association and be subject to its
rules for the | 6 | | conduct of arbitration hearings or for determination in
the | 7 | | following manner: Upon the insured requesting arbitration, | 8 | | each party
to the dispute shall select an arbitrator and the 2 | 9 | | arbitrators so named
shall select a third arbitrator. If such | 10 | | arbitrators are not selected
within 45 days from such request, | 11 | | either party may request that the
arbitration be submitted to | 12 | | the American Arbitration Association.
Any arbitration | 13 | | proceeding under this subsection seeking recovery for
property | 14 | | damages shall be
subject to the following rules:
| 15 | | (A) If at least 60 days' written
notice of the | 16 | | intention to offer the following documents in evidence is | 17 | | given
to every other party, accompanied by a copy of the | 18 | | document, a party may offer
in evidence, without foundation | 19 | | or other proof:
| 20 | | (1) property repair bills or estimates, when | 21 | | identified and itemized
setting forth the charges for | 22 | | labor and material used or proposed for use in
the | 23 | | repair of the property;
| 24 | | (2) the written opinion of an opinion witness, the | 25 | | deposition of a
witness, and the statement of a witness | 26 | | that the witness would be allowed to
express if |
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| 1 | | testifying in person, if the opinion or statement is | 2 | | made by
affidavit or by
certification as provided in | 3 | | Section 1-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure;
| 4 | | (3) any other document not specifically covered by | 5 | | any of the foregoing
provisions that is otherwise | 6 | | admissible under the rules of evidence.
| 7 | | Any party receiving a notice under this paragraph (A) | 8 | | may apply to the
arbitrator or panel of arbitrators, as the | 9 | | case may be, for the issuance of a
subpoena directed to the | 10 | | author or maker or custodian of the document that is
the | 11 | | subject of the notice, requiring the person subpoenaed to | 12 | | produce copies of
any additional documents as may be | 13 | | related to the subject matter of the
document that is the | 14 | | subject of the notice. Any such subpoena shall be issued
in | 15 | | substantially similar form and served by notice as provided | 16 | | by Illinois
Supreme Court Rule 204(a)(4). Any such subpoena | 17 | | shall be returnable not
less than 5 days before the | 18 | | arbitration hearing.
| 19 | | (B) Notwithstanding the provisions of Supreme Court | 20 | | Rule 213(g), a party
who proposes to use a written opinion | 21 | | of an expert or opinion witness or the
testimony of
an | 22 | | expert or opinion witness at the hearing may do so provided | 23 | | a written notice
of that
intention is given to every other | 24 | | party not less than 60 days prior to the date
of hearing, | 25 | | accompanied by a statement containing the identity of the
| 26 | | witness, his or her qualifications, the subject matter, the |
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| 1 | | basis of the
witness's conclusions,
and his or her opinion.
| 2 | | (C) Any other party may subpoena the author or maker of | 3 | | a document
admissible under this subsection, at that | 4 | | party's expense, and examine the
author
or maker as if | 5 | | under cross-examination. The provisions of Section 2-1101 | 6 | | of
the
Code of Civil Procedure shall be applicable to | 7 | | arbitration hearings, and it
shall be the duty of a party | 8 | | requesting the subpoena to modify the form to show
that the | 9 | | appearance is set before an arbitration panel and to give | 10 | | the time and
place set for the hearing.
| 11 | | (D) The provisions of Section 2-1102 of the Code of | 12 | | Civil Procedure shall
be
applicable to arbitration | 13 | | hearings under this subsection.
| 14 | | (3) For the purpose of the coverage the term "uninsured | 15 | | motor
vehicle" includes, subject to the terms and conditions of | 16 | | the coverage,
a motor vehicle where on, before or after the | 17 | | accident date the
liability insurer thereof is unable to make | 18 | | payment with respect to the
legal liability of its insured | 19 | | within the limits specified in the policy
because of the entry | 20 | | by a court of competent jurisdiction of an order of
| 21 | | rehabilitation or liquidation by reason of insolvency on or | 22 | | after the
accident date. An insurer's extension of coverage, as | 23 | | provided in this
subsection, shall be applicable to all | 24 | | accidents occurring after July
1, 1967 during a policy period | 25 | | in which its insured's uninsured motor
vehicle coverage is in | 26 | | effect. Nothing in this Section may be construed
to prevent any |
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| 1 | | insurer from extending coverage under terms and
conditions more | 2 | | favorable to its insureds than is required by this Section.
| 3 | | (4) In the event of payment to any person under the | 4 | | coverage
required by this Section and subject to the terms and | 5 | | conditions of the
coverage, the insurer making the payment | 6 | | shall, to the extent thereof,
be entitled to the proceeds of | 7 | | any settlement or judgment resulting from
the exercise of any | 8 | | rights of recovery of the person against any person
or | 9 | | organization legally responsible for the property damage, | 10 | | bodily
injury or death for which the payment is made, including | 11 | | the proceeds
recoverable from the assets of the insolvent | 12 | | insurer. With respect to
payments made by reason of the | 13 | | coverage described in subsection (3), the
insurer making such | 14 | | payment shall not be entitled to any right of recovery
against | 15 | | the tort-feasor in excess of the proceeds recovered from the | 16 | | assets
of the insolvent insurer of the tort-feasor.
| 17 | | (5) This amendatory Act of 1967 shall not be construed to | 18 | | terminate
or reduce any insurance coverage or any right of any | 19 | | party under this
Code in effect before July 1, 1967. This | 20 | | amendatory Act of 1990 shall not
be construed to terminate or | 21 | | reduce any insurance coverage or any right of
any party under | 22 | | this Code in effect before its effective date.
| 23 | | (6) Failure of the motorist from whom the claimant is | 24 | | legally
entitled to recover damages to file the appropriate | 25 | | forms with the
Safety Responsibility Section of the Department | 26 | | of Transportation within
120 days of the accident date shall |
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| 1 | | create a rebuttable presumption that
the motorist was uninsured | 2 | | at the time of the injurious occurrence.
| 3 | | (7) An insurance carrier may upon good cause require the
| 4 | | insured to commence a legal action against the owner or | 5 | | operator of an
uninsured motor vehicle before good faith | 6 | | negotiation with the carrier. If
the action is commenced at the | 7 | | request of the insurance carrier, the
carrier shall pay to the | 8 | | insured, before the action is commenced, all court
costs, jury | 9 | | fees and sheriff's fees arising from the action.
| 10 | | The changes made by this amendatory Act of 1997 apply to | 11 | | all policies of
insurance amended, delivered, issued, or | 12 | | renewed on and after the effective
date of this amendatory Act | 13 | | of 1997.
| 14 | | (8) The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 98th | 15 | | General Assembly apply to all policies of
insurance amended, | 16 | | delivered, issued, or renewed on and after the effective
date | 17 | | of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly. | 18 | | (Source: P.A. 93-485, eff. 1-1-04.)
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