093_HB3547enr

 
HB3547 Enrolled                      LRB093 06686 JLS 06820 b

 1        AN ACT concerning insurance.

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

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

 6        (215 ILCS 5/155.22a)
 7        Sec. 155.22a. Coverage for subjects of abuse.
 8        (a)  No  company  authorized to transact life, health, or
 9    disability income, or property and casualty insurance in this
10    State may:
11             (1)  Deny, refuse to issue, refuse to renew,  refuse
12        to  reissue,  cancel, or otherwise terminate an insurance
13        policy or restrict coverage on an individual because that
14        individual is or has been the subject of abuse or because
15        that individual seeks  or  has  sought:  (i)  medical  or
16        psychological  treatment for abuse; or (ii) protection or
17        shelter from abuse;
18             (2)  Charge a different rate for the  same  coverage
19        for  an  insurance  policy  because an individual insured
20        under such policy has a history of or  is  a  subject  of
21        abuse;
22             (3)  Deny  a  claim by an insured as a result of his
23        or her status as being or having been a subject of abuse,
24        except as otherwise permitted or required by the laws  of
25        this State; or
26             (4)  Ask  an  insured  or an applicant for insurance
27        whether that individual is or has been a subject of abuse
28        or whether that  individual  seeks  or  has  sought:  (i)
29        medical   or  psychological  treatment  specifically  for
30        abuse; or (ii) protection or shelter from abuse.
31        (b)  No company authorized to transact life,  health,  or
 
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 1    disability income, or property and casualty insurance in this
 2    State   may   fail  to  maintain  strict  confidentiality  of
 3    information, as defined  in  the  Insurance  Information  and
 4    Privacy  Protection  Article  of  this  Code,  relating to an
 5    applicant's or insured's abuse status  or  to  a  medical  or
 6    psychological   condition   that   the   company   knows   is
 7    abuse-related.   Disclosure of such abuse-related information
 8    shall be subject to the disclosure limitations and conditions
 9    contained in Section 1014 of this Code.
10        (c)  Nothing  in  this  Section  shall  be  construed  to
11    prohibit a company  specified  in  subsection  (a)  from  (i)
12    refusing  to insure, refusing to continue to insure, limiting
13    the amount, extent, or  kind  of  coverage  available  to  an
14    individual,  or  charging  a  different  rate  for  the  same
15    coverage on the basis of that individual's physical or mental
16    condition   regardless   of  the  underlying  cause  of  such
17    condition; (ii) declining to issue a  life  insurance  policy
18    insuring  an  individual  who  is  or has been the subject of
19    abuse if the  perpetrator of the abuse is  the  applicant  or
20    would  be  the  owner  of  the  insurance  policy;  or  (iii)
21    inquiring  about a physical or mental condition, even if that
22    condition was caused by or is related in any manner to abuse.
23        (d)  As  used  in  this  Section,   "abuse"   means   the
24    occurrence  of  one  or  more  of  the following acts between
25    family members,  current  or  former  household  members,  or
26    current or former intimate partners:
27             (1)  Attempting    to    cause   or   intentionally,
28        knowingly,  or   recklessly   causing   another   person,
29        including a minor child, to be harassed or intimidated or
30        subject  to  bodily  injury,  physical harm, rape, sexual
31        assault, or involuntary sexual intercourse;  or
32             (2)  Knowingly engaging in a course  of  conduct  or
33        repeatedly  committing acts without proper authority that
34        place the person toward  whom  such  acts  are  directed,
 
HB3547 Enrolled             -3-      LRB093 06686 JLS 06820 b
 1        including  a  minor child, in a reasonable fear of bodily
 2        injury or physical harm; or
 3             (3)  Subjecting another person,  including  a  minor
 4        child, to false imprisonment.
 5        (e)  No  company  specified in subsection (a) above shall
 6    be held civilly or criminally liable for any cause of  action
 7    that  may be brought because of compliance with this Section.
 8    Nothing  in  this  Section,  however,  shall   preclude   the
 9    jurisdiction  of  any  administrative agency to carry out its
10    statutory authority.
11    (Source: P.A. 90-245, eff. 1-1-98.)

12        (215 ILCS 5/155.22b)
13        Sec. 155.22b.  Rating, claims handling, and  underwriting
14    decisions.
15        (a)  No company issuing a policy of property and casualty
16    insurance  may  use  the  fact  that  an applicant or insured
17    incurred bodily injury as a result  of  a  battery  or  other
18    violent  act  committed  against  him  or  her by a spouse or
19    person in the same household as a sole reason for  a  rating,
20    underwriting, or claims handling decision.
21        (b)    If   a   policy  excludes  property  coverage  for
22    intentional acts, the insurer may  not  deny  payment  to  an
23    innocent co-insured who did not cooperate in or contribute to
24    the  creation  of the loss if the loss arose out of a pattern
25    of criminal domestic violence and the perpetrator of the loss
26    is criminally  prosecuted  for  the  act  causing  the  loss.
27    Payment  to  the innocent co-insured may be limited to his or
28    her ownership interest in the  property  as  reduced  by  any
29    payments to a mortgagor or other secured interest.
30    (Source: P.A. 90-700, eff. 8-7-98.)