§ 1171.5. Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices defined
Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated StatutesTitle 40 P.S. InsuranceEffective: September 5, 2006
Effective: September 5, 2006
40 P.S. § 1171.5
§ 1171.5. Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices defined
(2) Making, issuing, publishing or circulating in any manner an advertisement, announcement or statement containing any representation or statement with respect to the business of insurance or with respect to any person in the conduct of his insurance business which is untrue, deceptive or misleading.
(5) Knowingly filing with any supervisory or other public official, or knowingly making, issuing, publishing or circulating any false material statement of fact as to the financial condition of a person, or knowingly making any false entry of a material fact in any book, report or statement of any person, or knowingly omitting to make a true entry of any material fact pertaining to the business of such person in any book, report or statement of such person.
(6) Issuing or delivering or permitting agents, officers or employees to issue or deliver agency company stock or other capital stock, or benefit certificates or shares in any common-law corporation, or securities or any special or advisory board contracts or other contracts of any kind promising returns and profits as an inducement to insurance.
(i) Making or permitting any unfair discrimination between individuals of the same class and equal expectation of life in the rates charged for any contract of life insurance or of life annuity or in the dividends or other benefits payable thereon, or in any other of the terms and conditions of such contract; or
(ii) Making or permitting any unfair discrimination between individuals of the same class and of essentially the same hazard in the amount of premium, policy, fees or rates charged for any policy or contract of insurance or in the benefits payable thereunder, or in any of the terms or conditions of such contract, or in any other manner whatever.
(iii) Making or permitting any unfair discrimination between individuals of the same class and essentially the same hazard with regard to underwriting standards and practices or eligibility requirements by reason of race, religion, nationality or ethnic group, age, sex, family size, occupation, place of residence or marital status. The terms “underwriting standards and practices” or “eligibility rules” do not include the promulgation of rates if made or promulgated in accordance with the appropriate rate regulatory act of this commonwealth and regulations promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to such act.
(8) Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, knowingly permitting or offering to make or making any contract of insurance, or agreement as to such contract other than as plainly expressed in the insurance contract issued thereon, or paying or allowing, or giving or offering to pay, allow or give as inducement to such insurance, any rebate of premiums payable on the contract, or any special favor or advantage in the dividends or other benefits thereon, or any valuable consideration, inducement or anything of value whatsoever which is not specified in the contract.
(9) Cancelling any policy of insurance covering owner-occupied private residential properties or personal property of individuals that has been in force for sixty days or more or refusing to renew any such policy unless the policy was obtained through material misrepresentation, fraudulent statements, omissions or concealment of fact material to the acceptance of the risk or to the hazard assumed by the company; or there has been a substantial change or increase in hazard in the risk assumed by the company subsequent to the date the policy was issued; or there is a substantial increase in hazards insured against by reason of wilful or negligent acts or omissions by the insured; or the insured has failed to pay any premium when due whether such premium is payable directly to the company or its agent or indirectly under any premium finance plan or extension of credit; or for any other reasons approved by the commissioner pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner. No cancellation or refusal to renew by any person shall be effective unless a written notice of the cancellation or refusal to renew is received by the insured either at the address shown in the policy or at a forwarding address. Such notice shall:
(v) Advise the insured of his possible eligibility for insurance under the act of July 31, 1968 (P.L. 738, No. 233), known as “The Pennsylvania Fair Plan Act,”1 or the Pennsylvania Assigned Risk Plan.
(11) Failure of any person to maintain a complete record of all the complaints which it has received during the preceding four years. This record shall indicate the total number of complaints, their classification by line of insurance, the nature of each complaint, the disposition of these complaints and the time it took to process each complaint. For purposes of this paragraph, “complaint” means any written communication primarily expressing a grievance.
(D) With respect to a policy of a private passenger automobile, a policy covering owner-occupied private residential property or a policy covering personal property of individuals, refusing to pay an insured for losses arising out of abuse to that insured under a property and casualty insurance policy or contract to the extent of the insured's legal interest in the covered property if the loss is caused by the intentional act of another insured or using other exclusions or limitations which the commissioner has determined unreasonably restrict the ability of victims of abuse to be indemnified for such losses. When an insured submits a claim for losses pursuant to this subsection, the insurer shall provide to the insured a notice stating:
(V) that, after an insurer has paid a loss as a result of the claim, the insurer may nonrenew coverage or impose a surcharge as to the insured alleged to have caused the loss as long as the nonrenewal or surcharge imposition is not done prior to the later of six months following payment of the claim or the policy's renewal date; and
(1) In the case of any contract of life insurance or life annuity, paying bonuses to policyholders or otherwise abating their premiums out of surplus accumulated from nonparticipating insurance if any such bonuses or abatement of premiums are fair and equitable to policyholders and for the best interests of the company and its policyholders;
(3) To any policy of insurance which has been in effect less than sixty days, including any notice of termination period, unless it is a renewal policy. Any declination of coverage within the sixty-day period provided in this clause shall, for purposes of review by the insurance commissioner, be deemed a refusal to write and shall not be subject to the provisions of subsection (a)(9) of this section.
Credits
1974, July 22, P.L. 589, No. 205, § 5, imd. effective. Amended 1984, July 6, P.L. 605, No. 124, § 1, effective in 60 days; 1996, April 4, P.L. 100, No. 24, § 2, imd. effective; 2006, July 7, P.L. 363, No. 78, § 2, effective in 60 days [Sept. 5, 2006].
Footnotes
40 P.S. § 1600.101 et seq.
40 P.S. § 1171.5, PA ST 40 P.S. § 1171.5
Current through Act 10 of the 2024 Regular Session. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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