Public Act 93-0200

HB3547 Enrolled                      LRB093 06686 JLS 06820 b

    AN ACT concerning insurance.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  5.  The  Illinois  Insurance  Code is amended by
changing Sections 155.22a and 155.22b as follows:

    (215 ILCS 5/155.22a)
    Sec. 155.22a. Coverage for subjects of abuse.
    (a)  No company authorized to transact life,  health,  or
disability income, or property and casualty insurance in this
State may:
         (1)  Deny,  refuse to issue, refuse to renew, refuse
    to reissue, cancel, or otherwise terminate  an  insurance
    policy or restrict coverage on an individual because that
    individual is or has been the subject of abuse or because
    that  individual  seeks  or  has  sought:  (i) medical or
    psychological treatment for abuse; or (ii) protection  or
    shelter from abuse;
         (2)  Charge  a  different rate for the same coverage
    for an insurance policy  because  an  individual  insured
    under  such  policy  has  a history of or is a subject of
    abuse;
         (3)  Deny a claim by an insured as a result  of  his
    or her status as being or having been a subject of abuse,
    except  as otherwise permitted or required by the laws of
    this State; or
         (4)  Ask an insured or an  applicant  for  insurance
    whether that individual is or has been a subject of abuse
    or  whether  that  individual  seeks  or  has sought: (i)
    medical  or  psychological  treatment  specifically   for
    abuse; or (ii) protection or shelter from abuse.
    (b)  No  company  authorized to transact life, health, or
disability income, or property and casualty insurance in this
State  may  fail  to  maintain  strict   confidentiality   of
information,  as  defined  in  the  Insurance Information and
Privacy Protection Article  of  this  Code,  relating  to  an
applicant's  or  insured's  abuse  status  or to a medical or
psychological   condition   that   the   company   knows   is
abuse-related.  Disclosure of such abuse-related  information
shall be subject to the disclosure limitations and conditions
contained in Section 1014 of this Code.
    (c)  Nothing  in  this  Section  shall  be  construed  to
prohibit  a  company  specified  in  subsection  (a) from (i)
refusing to insure, refusing to continue to insure,  limiting
the  amount,  extent,  or  kind  of  coverage available to an
individual,  or  charging  a  different  rate  for  the  same
coverage on the basis of that individual's physical or mental
condition  regardless  of  the  underlying  cause   of   such
condition;  (ii)  declining  to issue a life insurance policy
insuring an individual who is or  has  been  the  subject  of
abuse  if  the   perpetrator of the abuse is the applicant or
would  be  the  owner  of  the  insurance  policy;  or  (iii)
inquiring about a physical or mental condition, even if  that
condition was caused by or is related in any manner to abuse.
    (d)  As   used   in   this  Section,  "abuse"  means  the
occurrence of one or  more  of  the  following  acts  between
family  members,  current  or  former  household  members, or
current or former intimate partners:
         (1)  Attempting   to   cause    or    intentionally,
    knowingly,   or   recklessly   causing   another  person,
    including a minor child, to be harassed or intimidated or
    subject to bodily injury,  physical  harm,  rape,  sexual
    assault, or involuntary sexual intercourse;  or
         (2)  Knowingly  engaging  in  a course of conduct or
    repeatedly committing acts without proper authority  that
    place  the  person  toward  whom  such acts are directed,
    including a minor child, in a reasonable fear  of  bodily
    injury or physical harm; or
         (3)  Subjecting  another  person,  including a minor
    child, to false imprisonment.
    (e)  No company specified in subsection (a)  above  shall
be  held civilly or criminally liable for any cause of action
that may be brought because of compliance with this  Section.
Nothing   in   this  Section,  however,  shall  preclude  the
jurisdiction of any administrative agency to  carry  out  its
statutory authority.
(Source: P.A. 90-245, eff. 1-1-98.)

    (215 ILCS 5/155.22b)
    Sec.  155.22b.  Rating, claims handling, and underwriting
decisions.
    (a)  No company issuing a policy of property and casualty
insurance may use the  fact  that  an  applicant  or  insured
incurred  bodily  injury  as  a  result of a battery or other
violent act committed against him  or  her  by  a  spouse  or
person  in  the same household as a sole reason for a rating,
underwriting, or claims handling decision.
    (b)   If  a  policy  excludes   property   coverage   for
intentional  acts,  the  insurer  may  not deny payment to an
innocent co-insured who did not cooperate in or contribute to
the creation of the loss if the loss arose out of  a  pattern
of criminal domestic violence and the perpetrator of the loss
is  criminally  prosecuted  for  the  act  causing  the loss.
Payment to the innocent co-insured may be limited to  his  or
her  ownership  interest  in  the  property as reduced by any
payments to a mortgagor or other secured interest.
(Source: P.A. 90-700, eff. 8-7-98.)