Sec. 21.36.125. Unfair claim settlement practices.
(a) A person may not commit any of the
following acts or practices:
(1) misrepresent facts or policy provisions
relating to coverage of an insurance policy;
(2) fail to acknowledge and act promptly
upon communications regarding a claim arising under an insurance policy;
(3) fail to adopt and implement reasonable
standards for prompt investigation of claims;
(4) refuse to pay a claim without a
reasonable investigation of all of the available information and an explanation
of the basis for denial of the claim or for an offer of compromise settlement;
(5) fail to affirm or deny coverage of
claims within a reasonable time of the completion of proof-of-loss statements;
(6) fail to attempt in good faith to make
prompt and equitable settlement of claims in which liability is reasonably
clear;
(7) engage in a pattern or practice of
compelling insureds to litigate for recovery of amounts due under insurance
policies by offering substantially less than the amounts ultimately recovered
in actions brought by those insureds;
(8) compel an insured or third-party
claimant in a case in which liability is clear to litigate for recovery of an
amount due under an insurance policy by offering an amount that does not have
an objectively reasonable basis in law and fact and that has not been
documented in the insurer's file;
(9) attempt to make an unreasonably low
settlement by reference to printed advertising matter accompanying or included
in an application;
(10) attempt to settle a claim on the basis
of an application that has been altered without the consent of the insured;
(11) make a claims payment without including
a statement of the coverage under which the payment is made;
(12) make known to an insured or third-party
claimant a policy of appealing from an arbitration award in favor of an insured
or third-party claimant for the purpose of compelling the insured or
third-party claimant to accept a settlement or compromise less than the amount
awarded in arbitration;
(13) delay investigation or payment of
claims by requiring submission of unnecessary or substantially repetitive
claims reports and proof-of-loss forms;
(14) fail to promptly settle claims under
one portion of a policy for the purpose of influencing settlements under other
portions of the policy;
(15) fail to promptly provide a reasonable
explanation of the basis in the insurance policy in relation to the facts or
applicable law for denial of a claim or for the offer of a compromise
settlement; or
(16) offer a form of settlement or pay a
judgment in any manner prohibited by
AS 21.89.030 ;
(17) violate a provision
contained in AS 21.07.
(b) The provisions of this
section do not create or imply a private cause of action for a violation of
this section.
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2. Unfair Trade Practices Act
Sec. 21.36.120. Unfair discrimination and rebates
prohibited in property and casualty insurance.
(a) A property, casualty, or surety insurer
or its employee or representative, or an agent, or solicitor may not pay,
allow, give, or offer to pay, allow, or give, directly or indirectly, as an
inducement to insurance or after insurance has been effected, a rebate,
discount, abatement, credit, or reduction of the premium named in the policy of
insurance, or a special favor or advantage in the dividends or other benefits
to accrue thereon, or any valuable consideration or inducement, not specified
in the policy, except to the extent provided for in an applicable filing with
the director as provided by law.
(b) An insured named in a policy, or an
employee of the insured may not knowingly receive or accept directly or
indirectly, a rebate, discount, abatement, credit, or reduction of premium, or
special favor or advantage or valuable consideration or inducement.
(c) An insurer may not make or permit an
unfair discrimination between insureds or property having like insuring or risk
characteristics, in the premium or rates charged for insurance, or in the
dividends or other benefits payable thereon, or in any other of the terms and
conditions of the insurance.
(d) Nothing in this section may be construed
as prohibiting the payment of commissions or other compensation to persons duly
transacting business under AS 21.27, or as prohibiting an insurer from allowing
or returning to its participating policyholders, members, or subscribers,
lawful dividends, savings, or unabsorbed premium deposits.
Sec. 21.36.122. Premium financing.
A person licensed under AS 21.27 may not
(1) enter into any insurance transaction in
which the premium is financed by other than the licensee unless the person
providing the financing is licensed under and in compliance with AS 06.40 or is
exempted from licensure under
AS 06.40.020 ; or
(2) finance premiums or
extend credit to persons purchasing insurance except as provided in regulations
adopted by the director; the director shall adopt regulations establishing the
conditions under which licensees may extend credit or finance premiums except
that in no event may the regulations permit a rate of interest on amounts lent
or credit extended greater than that provided in
AS 06.40.120 .
Sec. 21.36.210. Limits on cancellation.
(a) An insurer may not exercise its right to
cancel a policy of personal automobile insurance except for the following
reasons:
(1) nonpayment of premium; or
(2) the driver's license or motor vehicle
registration of either the named insured or of an operator who resides in the
same household as the named insured or who customarily operates a motor vehicle
insured under the policy has been under suspension or revocation during the
policy period or, if the policy is a renewal, during its policy period or the
180 days immediately preceding its effective date; this paragraph does not
apply to revocation as described under
AS 21.89.027 .
(b) During the policy period, a modification
of automobile physical damage coverage, except coverage for loss caused by
collision, whereby provision is made for the application of a deductible amount
not exceeding $100 is not a cancellation of the coverage or of the policy.
(c) [Repealed, Sec. 47 ch 29
SLA
1987].
(d) This section does not apply to
(1) the failure to renew a policy, except as
to coverage in force for less than 12 months;
(2) a policy that has been in effect less
than 60 days at the time notice of cancellation is mailed or delivered by the
insurer, unless it is a renewal policy.
(e) [Repealed, Sec. 47 ch 29
SLA
1987].
(f) An insurer may not exercise its right to
cancel a policy of personal insurance other than personal automobile insurance,
except for the following reasons:
(1) nonpayment of premiums, including
nonpayment of additional premiums, calculated in accordance with the current
rating manual of the insurer, justified by a physical change in the insured
property or a change in its occupancy or use;
(2) conviction of the insured of a crime
having as one of its necessary elements an act increasing a hazard insured
against;
(3) discovery of fraud or material
misrepresentation made by the insured or a representative of the insured in
obtaining the insurance or by the insured in pursuing a claim under the policy;
(4) discovery of a grossly negligent act or
omission by the insured that substantially increases the hazards insured
against; or
(5) physical changes in the insured property
that result in the property becoming uninsurable.
Sec. 21.36.212. Prohibited denial of claim for causation.
An insurer may not deny a claim if a risk,
hazard, or contingency insured against is the dominant cause of a loss and the
denial occurs because an excluded risk, hazard, or contingency is also in a
chain of causes but operates on a secondary basis.
Sec. 21.36.220. Notice of cancellation.
(a) An insurer may not exercise its right to
cancel a personal insurance policy unless, for a named insured who is
(1) less than 70 years of age, a written
notice of cancellation is mailed to the named insured as required by
AS 21.36.260 at least 30 days before the effective date of
cancellation; however, if cancellation is for nonpayment of premium, the notice
shall be mailed to the named insured as required by
AS 21.36.260 at least 20 days before the effective date of
cancellation, and, if cancellation is for a reason described in
AS 21.36.210 (a)(2), (f)(2), or (f)(3), the notice shall be
mailed to the named insured as required by
AS 21.36.260 at least 10 days before the effective date of
cancellation; and
(2) 70 years of age or older, a written
notice of cancellation is mailed to the named insured and, if the named insured
has made a written request to the insurer, to the named insured's designee as
required by
AS 21.36.260 at least 30 days before the effective date of
cancellation; however, if cancellation is for nonpayment of premium, the notice
shall be mailed to the named insured and, if the named insured has made a
written request to the insurer, to the named insured's designee as required by
AS 21.36.260 at least 20 days before the effective date of
cancellation, and, if cancellation is for a reason described in
AS 21.36.210 (a)(2), (f)(2), or (f)(3), the notice shall be
mailed to the named insured and, if the named insured has made a written
request to the insurer, to the named insured's designee as required by
AS 21.36.260 at least 10 days before the effective date of
cancellation; an insurer who provides a personal insurance policy to an insured
who is 70 years of age or older shall annually give written notice to the
insured of the insured's right to have a designee receive notice as provided in
this paragraph.
Sec. 21.36.165. Anticoercion and antitying.
(a) A person may
not
(1) require, as a
condition to the lending of money or extension of credit, or a renewal of the
loan or extension of credit, that the obligee of the money or credit negotiate
a policy or contract of insurance through any particular person or group of
persons;
(2) disapprove the
insurance policy provided by a borrower for the protection of property securing
credit or a loan if disapproval is based on other than reasonable standards
uniformly applied and relating to the extent of coverage required and the
financial soundness and the services of the insurer; the standards may not
discriminate against a particular type of insurer or call for the disapproval
of a policy containing coverage in addition to that required;
(3) unless charges
are required when the person handling the insurance transaction is a licensee,
require a consumer, insurer, broker, or agent to pay a separate charge for
handling an insurance policy required as security for a loan on real property,
or to pay a separate charge to substitute the insurance policy of one insurer
for that of another, except that interest may be charged on premium loans or
premium advancements in accordance with the security instrument.
(b) A person shall
(1) use separate
documents for an insurance transaction, other than credit insurance or flood
insurance, and for a credit transaction; and
(2) maintain
separate and distinct records relating to insurance transactions, including
consumer complaint information, and make the records available to the director
for inspection upon notice.
(c) A person may
not include insurance premiums in a primary credit transaction without the
consent of the consumer.
(d) Nothing in
this section prohibits a person from informing a consumer or prospective
consumer that insurance is required in order to obtain a loan or credit, that
loan or credit approval is contingent on the procurement of acceptable
insurance by the consumer, or that insurance is available from the person.
Sec. 21.36.170. Interlocking ownership, management.
(a) An insurer may
retain, invest in, or acquire the whole or a part of the capital stock of
another insurer or insurers, or have a common management with another insurer
or insurers, unless the retention, investment, acquisition, or common
management is inconsistent with a provision of this title, or unless by reason
thereof the business of the insurers with the public is conducted in a manner
that substantially lessens competition generally in the insurance business or
tends to create a monopoly.
(b) A person
otherwise qualified may be director of two or more insurers that are
competitors, unless the effect is to lessen substantially competition between
insurers generally or tends materially to create a monopoly.
Sec. 21.36.180. Illegal dealing in premiums. [Repealed, Sec. 22
ch 149 SLA 1984].
Repealed or
Renumbered
Sec. 21.36.185. Maintenance of complaint handling records.
An insurer shall maintain a complete record of all the
complaints received by the insurer since the date of the insurer's last market
conduct examination under
AS 21.06.120 or for four years, whichever occurs first. This record must
indicate the total number of complaints, the classification of each complaint
by line of insurance, the nature of each complaint, the disposition of each
complaint, and the time it took to process each complaint. For purposes of this
section, "complaint" means any written communication primarily expressing a
grievance.
Sec. 21.36.190. Fictitious groups.
(a) An insurer,
whether an authorized or unauthorized insurer, may not make available through a
rating plan or form, property, casualty, or surety insurance to a firm,
corporation, or association of individuals, a preferred rate or premium based
upon a fictitious group of the firm, corporation, or association of
individuals.
(b) A form or plan
of insurance covering a group or combination of persons or risks may not be
written or delivered inside or outside this state to cover persons or risks in
this state at a preferred rate or on a form other than that offered to persons
not in the group or combination and to the public generally, unless the form,
plan of insurance, and the rates or premiums to be charged have been submitted
to and approved by the director as being not unfairly discriminatory and not
otherwise in conflict with (a) of this section or with AS 21.39 to the extent
that AS 21.39 is, by its terms, applicable to it.
(c) This section
does not apply to mortgage guaranty insurance, life insurance, health
insurance, or annuity contracts.
(d) This section
does not apply to workers' compensation insurance when issued to an association
of employers formed for purposes other than the purchase of insurance and that
(1) has a
constitution and bylaws;
(2) incorporates a
safety program;
(3) as a group has
preferred characteristics over similar risks written on an individual basis;
and
(4) has filed and
received approval from the director for the rating program to be applied to the
group.
(e) This section
does not apply to insurance coverage under a joint insurance arrangement
authorized by AS 21.76.
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3. Imitation Crash Parts Regulations
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4. Anti-Steering Regulations
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5. Timely Notification
Sec. 21.36.125. Unfair claim settlement practices.
(a) A person may not commit any of the
following acts or practices:
(2) fail to acknowledge and act promptly
upon communications regarding a claim arising under an insurance policy;
(3) fail to adopt and implement reasonable
standards for prompt investigation of claims;
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6. Timely Payment
Sec. 21.36.125. Unfair claim settlement practices.
(a) A person may not commit any of the
following acts or practices:
(13) delay investigation or payment of
claims by requiring submission of unnecessary or substantially repetitive
claims reports and proof-of-loss forms;
(14) fail to promptly settle claims under
one portion of a policy for the purpose of influencing settlements under other
portions of the policy;
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7. False & Misleading Advertising
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8. False Use of Insurer’s Name
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9. Total Losses
more>>
10. Consumer Sales Practices Acts
more>>
11. Consumer Auto Repair Practices Acts
more>>
12. Telemarketing laws
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13. Home Sales Act
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14. Licensing Adjusters
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15. Diminished Value
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