Public Act 90-0340 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0340
HB1428 Enrolled LRB9003980LDdv
AN ACT to amend the Illinois Insurance Code by changing
Section 154.6.
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 Section 154.6 as follows:
(215 ILCS 5/154.6) (from Ch. 73, par. 766.6)
Sec. 154.6. Acts constituting improper claims practice.)
Any of the following acts by a company, if committed without
just cause and in violation of Section 154.5, constitutes an
improper claims practice:
(a) Knowingly misrepresenting to claimants and insureds
relevant facts or policy provisions relating to coverages at
issue;
(b) Failing to acknowledge with reasonable promptness
pertinent communications with respect to claims arising under
its policies;
(c) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards
for the prompt investigations and settlement of claims
arising under its policies;
(d) Not attempting in good faith to effectuate prompt,
fair and equitable settlement of claims submitted in which
liability has become reasonably clear;
(e) Compelling policyholders to institute suits to
recover amounts due under its policies by offering
substantially less than the amounts ultimately recovered in
suits brought by them;
(f) Engaging in activity which results in a
disproportionate number of meritorious complaints against the
insurer received by the Insurance Department;
(g) Engaging in activity which results in a
disproportionate number of lawsuits to be filed against the
insurer or its insureds by claimants;
(h) Refusing to pay claims without conducting a
reasonable investigation based on all available information;
(i) Failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within
a reasonable time after proof of loss statements have been
completed;
(j) Attempting to settle a claim for less than the
amount to which a reasonable person would believe the
claimant was entitled, by reference to written or printed
advertising material accompanying or made part of an
application or establishing unreasonable caps or limits on
paint or materials when estimating vehicle repairs;
(k) Attempting to settle claims on the basis of an
application which was altered without notice to, or knowledge
or consent of, the insured;
(l) Making a claims payment to a policyholder or
beneficiary omitting the coverage under which each payment is
being made;
(m) Delaying the investigation or payment of claims by
requiring an insured, a claimant, or the physicians of either
to submit a preliminary claim report and then requiring
subsequent submission of formal proof of loss forms,
resulting in the duplication of verification;
(n) Failing in the case of the denial of a claim or the
offer of a compromise settlement to promptly provide a
reasonable and accurate explanation of the basis in the
insurance policy or applicable law for such denial or
compromise settlement;
(o) Failing to provide forms necessary to present claims
within 15 working days of a request with such explanations as
are necessary to use them effectively;
(p) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards
to verify that a repairer designated by the insurance company
to provide an estimate, perform repairs, or engage in any
other service in connection with an insured loss on a vehicle
is duly licensed under Section 5-301 of the Illinois Vehicle
Code;
(q) Failing to provide as a persistent tendency a
notification on any written estimate prepared by an insurance
company in connection with an insured loss that Illinois law
requires that vehicle repairers must be licensed in
accordance with Section 5-301 of the Illinois Vehicle Code;
(r) Engaging in any other acts which are in substance
equivalent to any of the foregoing.
(Source: P.A. 84-1308.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.