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| [ Engrossed ] | [ Enrolled ] | [ House Amendment 002 ] |
90_HB1428
215 ILCS 5/154.6 from Ch. 73, par. 766.6
Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that
establishing arbitrary caps or limits on paint, materials, or
labor when estimating vehicles repairs constitutes improper
claims practice. Effective immediately.
LRB9003980LDdv
LRB9003980LDdv
1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Insurance Code by changing
2 Section 154.6.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Illinois Insurance Code is amended by
6 changing Section 154.6 as follows:
7 (215 ILCS 5/154.6) (from Ch. 73, par. 766.6)
8 Sec. 154.6. Acts constituting improper claims practice.)
9 Any of the following acts by a company, if committed without
10 just cause and in violation of Section 154.5, constitutes an
11 improper claims practice:
12 (a) Knowingly misrepresenting to claimants and insureds
13 relevant facts or policy provisions relating to coverages at
14 issue;
15 (b) Failing to acknowledge with reasonable promptness
16 pertinent communications with respect to claims arising under
17 its policies;
18 (c) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards
19 for the prompt investigations and settlement of claims
20 arising under its policies;
21 (d) Not attempting in good faith to effectuate prompt,
22 fair and equitable settlement of claims submitted in which
23 liability has become reasonably clear;
24 (e) Compelling policyholders to institute suits to
25 recover amounts due under its policies by offering
26 substantially less than the amounts ultimately recovered in
27 suits brought by them;
28 (f) Engaging in activity which results in a
29 disproportionate number of meritorious complaints against the
30 insurer received by the Insurance Department;
31 (g) Engaging in activity which results in a
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1 disproportionate number of lawsuits to be filed against the
2 insurer or its insureds by claimants;
3 (h) Refusing to pay claims without conducting a
4 reasonable investigation based on all available information;
5 (i) Failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within
6 a reasonable time after proof of loss statements have been
7 completed;
8 (j) Attempting to settle a claim for less than the
9 amount to which a reasonable person would believe the
10 claimant was entitled, by reference to written or printed
11 advertising material accompanying or made part of an
12 application or establishing arbitrary caps or limits on
13 paint, materials, or labor when estimating vehicle repairs;
14 (k) Attempting to settle claims on the basis of an
15 application which was altered without notice to, or knowledge
16 or consent of, the insured;
17 (l) Making a claims payment to a policyholder or
18 beneficiary omitting the coverage under which each payment is
19 being made;
20 (m) Delaying the investigation or payment of claims by
21 requiring an insured, a claimant, or the physicians of either
22 to submit a preliminary claim report and then requiring
23 subsequent submission of formal proof of loss forms,
24 resulting in the duplication of verification;
25 (n) Failing in the case of the denial of a claim or the
26 offer of a compromise settlement to promptly provide a
27 reasonable and accurate explanation of the basis in the
28 insurance policy or applicable law for such denial or
29 compromise settlement;
30 (o) Failing to provide forms necessary to present claims
31 within 15 working days of a request with such explanations as
32 are necessary to use them effectively;
33 (p) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards
34 to verify that a repairer designated by the insurance company
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1 to provide an estimate, perform repairs, or engage in any
2 other service in connection with an insured loss on a vehicle
3 is duly licensed under Section 5-301 of the Illinois Vehicle
4 Code;
5 (q) Failing to provide as a persistent tendency a
6 notification on any written estimate prepared by an insurance
7 company in connection with an insured loss that Illinois law
8 requires that vehicle repairers must be licensed in
9 accordance with Section 5-301 of the Illinois Vehicle Code;
10 (r) Engaging in any other acts which are in substance
11 equivalent to any of the foregoing.
12 (Source: P.A. 84-1308.)
13 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
14 becoming law.