Full Text of HB3909 99th General Assembly
HB3909enr 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning regulation.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Property Fire Loss Act is amended by | 5 | | changing Section 1 as follows:
| 6 | | (215 ILCS 145/1) (from Ch. 73, par. 1153)
| 7 | | Sec. 1.
(a) The Fire Marshal, the director of the | 8 | | Department of Insurance
or personnel from any other authorized | 9 | | fire department or
law enforcement agency charged with the | 10 | | responsibility of investigating
a fire loss or potential fire | 11 | | loss, may request any insurance company that
has investigated | 12 | | or is investigating a fire loss or potential fire loss
of real | 13 | | or personal property to release any factual information in its
| 14 | | possession which is pertinent to this type of loss or potential | 15 | | loss and
has some relationship to the loss or potential loss | 16 | | itself. The company
shall release the information and cooperate | 17 | | with any official authorized to
request such information | 18 | | pursuant to this Section. The information shall
include, but is | 19 | | not limited to:
| 20 | | (1) Any insurance policy relevant to a fire loss or | 21 | | potential fire loss
under investigation and any application for | 22 | | such a policy;
| 23 | | (2) Policy premium payment records;
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| 1 | | (3) History of previous claims made by the insured for fire | 2 | | loss;
| 3 | | (4) Material relating to the investigation of the loss or | 4 | | potential
loss, including statements of any person, proof of | 5 | | loss, and any other
relevant evidence.
| 6 | | (b) If an insurance company has reason to believe that a | 7 | | fire loss
to its insured's real or personal property was caused | 8 | | by other than
accidental means, the company shall notify the | 9 | | Fire Marshal, the director
of the Department of Insurance or | 10 | | any other appropriate law enforcement
agency charged with the | 11 | | responsibility to investigate fire losses and
furnish such | 12 | | persons with all relative material acquired during its
| 13 | | investigation of the fire loss, cooperate with and take such | 14 | | reasonable
action as may be requested by any law enforcement | 15 | | agency, and cooperate
with the Court and administrative | 16 | | agencies of the State, and any official
from the Fire Marshal's | 17 | | office, the office of the director of the
Department of | 18 | | Insurance or any law enforcement agency charged with the
| 19 | | responsibility to investigate the fire. Such insurance company | 20 | | may request
officials and departmental and agency personnel | 21 | | receiving information on
fire losses or potential fire losses | 22 | | to release information relative to any
investigation it has | 23 | | made concerning any such fire loss or potential loss
reported | 24 | | by such company. Subject to the provisions of subsection (a) of | 25 | | this Section and subparagraphs
paragraphs (i), (iii), (iv), | 26 | | (v), (vi), and (vii) of paragraph (d) and (viii) of subsection |
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| 1 | | (1) (c) of
Section 7 of the Freedom of Information Act, such | 2 | | insurance company shall
have the right to receive, within a | 3 | | reasonable time, not to exceed 30 days
after the receipt of | 4 | | such request, the relevant information requested.
| 5 | | (c) In the absence of malice, no insurance company, or | 6 | | person who
furnishes information on its behalf, or authorized | 7 | | person, department or
agency as defined in subsection (a) who | 8 | | releases information, is liable for
damages in a civil action | 9 | | or subject to criminal prosecution for any oral
or written | 10 | | statement made or any other action taken that is necessary to
| 11 | | supply information required pursuant to this Section.
| 12 | | (d) The officials and departmental and agency personnel | 13 | | receiving
any information furnished pursuant to this Section | 14 | | shall hold the
information in confidence until such time as its | 15 | | release is required
pursuant to this Section or a criminal or | 16 | | civil proceeding.
| 17 | | (e) Any official referred to in paragraph (a) of this | 18 | | Section may be
required to testify as to any information in his | 19 | | possession regarding
the fire loss of real or personal property | 20 | | in any civil action in which
any person seeks recovery under a | 21 | | policy against an insurance company
for the fire loss.
| 22 | | (f) As used in this Section, "insurance company" includes | 23 | | the
Illinois Fair Plan Underwriting Association, and all | 24 | | district, county and
township mutual insurance companies.
| 25 | | (g) (1) No person shall intentionally or knowingly refuse | 26 | | to release
any information properly requested, pursuant to |
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| 1 | | paragraph (a) of this Section.
| 2 | | (2) No person shall refuse to make the necessary | 3 | | notification of a
fire loss pursuant to paragraph (b) of this | 4 | | Section.
| 5 | | (3) No person shall refuse to supply to the proper | 6 | | authorities
pertinent information required to be furnished | 7 | | pursuant to paragraph (b)
of this Section.
| 8 | | (4) No person shall fail to hold in confidence information | 9 | | required
to be held in confidence by paragraph (d) of this | 10 | | Section.
| 11 | | (h) Whoever violates paragraph (g) (1), (2), (3) or (4) of | 12 | | this
Section is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor and is subject | 13 | | to a fine not
to exceed $100. It shall not be considered a | 14 | | violation of this Section
if an insurance company in good | 15 | | faith, believes it has done everything
required of it by this | 16 | | Statute.
| 17 | | (i) A fire department or law enforcement agency that has | 18 | | investigated
or is investigating a fire loss or potential fire | 19 | | loss of real or personal
property may release to an insurer of | 20 | | such property any factual information,
including statements, | 21 | | in its possession which is pertinent or related to
the type of | 22 | | loss or potential loss.
| 23 | | (Source: P.A. 86-1021.)
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