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| [ House Amendment 001 ] |
90_HB1502
215 ILCS 5/143.30 from Ch. 73, par. 755.30
215 ILCS 5/154.6 from Ch. 73, par. 766.6
Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Prohibits an
insurance company from requiring (during the year of
manufacture of a motor vehicle or the 2 succeeding years) the
use of crash parts not manufactured by or for the
manufacturer of the motor vehicle. Prohibits restrictions on
the choice of an auto body repair facility. Effective
immediately.
LRB9002302JSmg
LRB9002302JSmg
1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Insurance Code by changing
2 Sections 143.30 and 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 Sections 143.30 and 154.6 as follows:
7 (215 ILCS 5/143.30) (from Ch. 73, par. 755.30)
8 Sec. 143.30. Selection of glass replacement or glass
9 repair companies, crash parts, and auto repair body
10 facilities.
11 (a) With reference to every policy of automobile
12 insurance as defined in Section 143.13(a):
13 (1)(a) An automobile insurer authorized to do
14 business in this State shall not unreasonably restrict
15 access to automobile glass repair or replacement
16 facilities or auto body repair facilities by its
17 policyholders.
18 (2)(b) An automobile insurer may enter into an
19 agreement or agreements with automobile glass repair or
20 replacement facilities for the purpose of containing the
21 cost of automobile glass repair or replacement claims and
22 with auto body repair facilities for the purpose of
23 containing the cost of repair claims.
24 (3)(c) An insurer, or a producer acting on its
25 behalf, shall disclose to an insured, either orally or in
26 writing, that the insured may freely choose an automobile
27 glass repair or replacement facility or an auto body
28 repair facility.
29 (4)(d) No such insurance company, producer, or
30 adjuster may engage in any act or practice of
31 intimidation, coercion, or threat against any insured
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1 person to use a particular facility to provide repair
2 such services, glass replacement, or crash parts.
3 (5)(e) If a policyholder selects an automobile
4 glass repair or replacement facility or auto body repair
5 facility, the insurer shall provide payment to the
6 facility based on a competitive price, as established by
7 that insurer through competitive bids or market surveys
8 to determine a fair and reasonable market price for
9 similar services. Reasonable deviation from this market
10 price is allowed based on the facts in each case.
11 (b) For a motor vehicle requiring repair by an auto body
12 repair facility in the year of its manufacture or in the 2
13 succeeding years, an auto body repair facility must use
14 genuine crash parts sufficient to maintain the manufacturer's
15 warranty for fit, finish, structural integrity, corrosion
16 resistance, dent resistance, and crash performance unless the
17 motor vehicle owner consents in writing at the time of repair
18 to the use of aftermarket crash parts. An insurance company
19 may not require the use of aftermarket crash parts when
20 negotiating repairs of a motor vehicle with an auto body
21 repair facility during the year the motor vehicle was
22 manufactured and the 2 succeeding years unless the motor
23 vehicle owner consents in writing at or before the time of
24 the negotiation to the use of aftermarket crash parts.
25 (c) As used in this Section, "crash part" means a
26 replacement for any of the nonmechanical sheet metal or
27 plastic parts that generally constitute the exterior of a
28 motor vehicle and "aftermarket crash part" means a crash part
29 not made for or by the manufacturer of the motor vehicle.
30 (Source: P.A. 87-1110.)
31 (215 ILCS 5/154.6) (from Ch. 73, par. 766.6)
32 Sec. 154.6. Acts constituting improper claims practice.)
33 Any of the following acts by a company, if committed without
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1 just cause and in violation of Section 154.5, constitutes an
2 improper claims practice:
3 (a) Knowingly misrepresenting to claimants and insureds
4 relevant facts or policy provisions relating to coverages at
5 issue;
6 (b) Failing to acknowledge with reasonable promptness
7 pertinent communications with respect to claims arising under
8 its policies;
9 (c) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards
10 for the prompt investigations and settlement of claims
11 arising under its policies;
12 (d) Not attempting in good faith to effectuate prompt,
13 fair and equitable settlement of claims submitted in which
14 liability has become reasonably clear;
15 (e) Compelling policyholders to institute suits to
16 recover amounts due under its policies by offering
17 substantially less than the amounts ultimately recovered in
18 suits brought by them;
19 (f) Engaging in activity which results in a
20 disproportionate number of meritorious complaints against the
21 insurer received by the Insurance Department;
22 (g) Engaging in activity which results in a
23 disproportionate number of lawsuits to be filed against the
24 insurer or its insureds by claimants;
25 (h) Refusing to pay claims without conducting a
26 reasonable investigation based on all available information;
27 (i) Failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within
28 a reasonable time after proof of loss statements have been
29 completed;
30 (j) Attempting to settle a claim for less than the
31 amount to which a reasonable person would believe the
32 claimant was entitled, by reference to written or printed
33 advertising material accompanying or made part of an
34 application;
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1 (k) Attempting to settle claims on the basis of an
2 application which was altered without notice to, or knowledge
3 or consent of, the insured;
4 (l) Making a claims payment to a policyholder or
5 beneficiary omitting the coverage under which each payment is
6 being made;
7 (m) Delaying the investigation or payment of claims by
8 requiring an insured, a claimant, or the physicians of either
9 to submit a preliminary claim report and then requiring
10 subsequent submission of formal proof of loss forms,
11 resulting in the duplication of verification;
12 (n) Failing in the case of the denial of a claim or the
13 offer of a compromise settlement to promptly provide a
14 reasonable and accurate explanation of the basis in the
15 insurance policy or applicable law for such denial or
16 compromise settlement;
17 (o) Failing to provide forms necessary to present claims
18 within 15 working days of a request with such explanations as
19 are necessary to use them effectively;
20 (p) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards
21 to verify that a repairer designated by the insurance company
22 to provide an estimate, perform repairs, or engage in any
23 other service in connection with an insured loss on a vehicle
24 is duly licensed under Section 5-301 of the Illinois Vehicle
25 Code;
26 (q) Failing to provide as a persistent tendency a
27 notification on any written estimate prepared by an insurance
28 company in connection with an insured loss that Illinois law
29 requires that vehicle repairers must be licensed in
30 accordance with Section 5-301 of the Illinois Vehicle Code;
31 (r) Failing to comply with the provisions of Section
32 143.30 regarding the choice of an auto body repair facility
33 and the use of crash parts;
34 (s)(r) Engaging in any other acts which are in substance
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1 equivalent to any of the foregoing.
2 (Source: P.A. 84-1308.)
3 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
4 becoming law.