West Virginia

1. Unfair Claims Practices Act

(9) Unfair claim settlement practices. -- No person shall commit or perform with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice any of the following:

(a) Misrepresenting pertinent facts or insurance policy provisions relating to coverages at issue;

(b) Failing to acknowledge and act reasonably promptly upon communications with respect to claims arising under insurance policies;

(c) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards for the prompt investigation of claims arising under insurance policies;

(d) Refusing to pay claims without conducting a reasonable investigation based upon all available information;

(e) Failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within a reasonable time after proof of loss statements have been completed;

(f) Not attempting in good faith to effectuate prompt, fair and equitable settlements of claims in which liability has become reasonably clear;

(g) Compelling insureds to institute litigation to recover amounts due under an insurance policy by offering substantially less than the amounts ultimately recovered in actions brought by such insureds, when such insureds have made claims for amounts reasonably similar to the amounts ultimately recovered;

(h) Attempting to settle a claim for less than the amount to which a reasonable man would have believed he was entitled by reference to written or printed advertising material accompanying or made part of an application;

(i) Attempting to settle claims on the basis of an application which was altered without notice to, or knowledge or consent of the insured;

(j) Making claims payments to insureds or beneficiaries not accompanied by a statement setting forth the coverage under which payments are being made;

(k) Making known to insureds or claimants a policy of appealing from arbitration awards in favor of insureds or claimants for the purpose of compelling them to accept settlements or compromises less than the amount awarded in arbitration;

(l) Delaying the investigation or payment of claims by requiring an insured, claimant or the physician of either to submit a preliminary claim report and then requiring the subsequent submission of formal proof of loss forms, both of which submissions contain substantially the same information;

(m) Failing to promptly settle claims, where liability has become reasonably clear, under one portion of the insurance policy coverage in order to influence settlements under other portions of the insurance policy coverage;

(n) Failing 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.

(o) Failing to notify the first party claimant and the provider(s) of services covered under accident and sickness insurance and hospital and medical service corporation insurance policies whether the claim has been accepted or denied and if denied, the reasons therefor, within fifteen calendar days from the filing of the proof of loss: Provided, That should benefits due the claimant be assigned, notice to the claimant shall not be required: Provided, however, That should the benefits be payable directly to the claimant, notice to the health care provider shall not be required. If the insurer needs more time to investigate the claim, it shall so notify the first party claimant in writing within fifteen calendar days from the date of the initial notification and every thirty calendar days, thereafter; but in no instance shall a claim remain unsettled and unpaid for more than ninety calendar days from the first party claimant's filing of the proof of loss unless there is, as determined by the insurance commissioner, (1) a legitimate dispute as to coverage, liability or damages; or (2) if the claimant has fraudulently caused or contributed to the loss. In the event that the insurer fails to pay the claim in full within ninety calendar days from the claimant's filing of the proof of loss, except for exemptions provided above, there shall be assessed against the insurer and paid to the insured a penalty which will be in addition to the amount of the claim and assessed as interest on such at the then current prime rate plus one percent. Any penalty paid by an insurer pursuant to this section shall not be a consideration in any rate filing made by such insurer.

(10) Failure to maintain complaint handling procedures. -- No insurer shall fail to maintain a complete record of all the complaints which it has received since the date of its last examination under section nine, article two of this chapter. 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 subsection, "complaint" shall mean any written communication primarily expressing a grievance.

more>> http://www.legis.state.wv.us/scripts/as_web5.exe?Command=Doc&File=code5chap&DocID=26175049&Request=%5bCHAPTER+33.%5d 

2. Unfair Trade Practices Act

§33-11-4. Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices defined.

The following are hereby defined as unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the business of insurance:

(1) Misrepresentation and false advertising of insurance policies. -- No person shall make, issue, circulate, or cause to be made, issued or circulated, any estimate, circular, statement, sales presentation, omission, or comparison which:

(a) Misrepresents the benefits, advantages, conditions or terms of any insurance policy; or

(b) Misrepresents the dividends or share of the surplus to be received on any insurance policy; or

(c) Make any false or misleading statements as to the dividends or share of surplus previously paid on any insurance policy; or

(d) Is misleading or is a misrepresentation as to the financial condition of any person, or as to the legal reserve system upon which any life insurer operates; or

(e) Uses any name or title of any insurance policy or class of insurance policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof; or

(f) Is a misrepresentation for the purpose of inducing or tending to induce the lapse, forfeiture, exchange, conversion or surrender of any insurance policy; or

(g) Is a misrepresentation for the purpose of effecting a pledge or assignment of or effecting a loan against any insurance policy; or

(h) Misrepresents any insurance policy as being shares of stock.

(2) False information and advertising generally. -- No person shall make, publish, disseminate, circulate or place before the public, or cause, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated or placed before the public, in a newspaper, magazine or other publication, or in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter or poster or over any radio or television station, or in any other way, an advertisement, announcement or statement containing any assertion, 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.

(3) Defamation. -- No person shall make, publish, disseminate or circulate, directly or indirectly, or aid, abet or encourage the making, publishing, disseminating or circulating of any oral or written statement or any pamphlet, circular, article or literature which is false, or maliciously critical of or derogatory to the financial condition of any person and which is calculated to injure such person.

(4) Boycott, coercion and intimidation. -- No person shall enter into any agreement to commit, or by any concerted action commit, any act of boycott, coercion or intimidation resulting in or tending to result in unreasonable restraint of, or monopoly in, the business of insurance.

(5) False statements and entries. -- (a) No person shall knowingly file with any supervisory or other public official, or knowingly make, publish, disseminate, circulate or deliver to any person, or place before the public, or knowingly cause directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, delivered to any person or placed before the public, any false material statement of fact as to the financial condition of a person.

(b) No person shall knowingly make any false entry of a material fact in any book, report or statement of any person or knowingly omit 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) Stock operations and advisory board contracts. -- No person shall issue or deliver or permit 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.

(7) Unfair discrimination. -- (a) No person shall make or permit 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.

(b) No person shall make or permit 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 accident and sickness insurance or in the benefits payable thereunder, or in any of the terms or conditions of such contract, or in any other manner whatever.

(c) As to kinds of insurance other than life and accident and sickness, no person shall make or permit any unfair discrimination in favor of particular persons, or between insureds or subjects of insurance having substantially like insuring, risk and exposure factors or expense elements, in the terms or conditions of any insurance contract, or in the rate or amount of premium charge therefor. This paragraph shall not apply as to any premium or premium rate in effect pursuant to article twenty of this chapter.

(8) Rebates. -- (a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, no person shall knowingly permit or offer to make or make any contract of life insurance, life annuity, or accident and sickness insurance, or agreement as to such contract other than as plainly expressed in the insurance contract issued thereon, or pay or allow or give or offer to pay, allow or give, directly or indirectly, as inducement to such insurance or annuity, 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 or inducement whatever not specified in the contract; or give or sell, or purchase or offer to give, sell or purchase as inducement to such insurance contract or annuity or in connection therewith, any stocks, bonds, or other securities of any insurance company or other corporation, association, or partnership, or any dividends or profits accrued thereon, or anything of value whatsoever not specified in the contract.

(b) Nothing in subdivision seven or paragraph (a) of subdivision eight of this section shall be construed as including within the definition of unfair discrimination or rebates any of the following practices:

(i) In the case of any contract of life insurance or life annuity, paying bonuses to policyholders or otherwise abating their premiums in whole or in part out of surplus accumulated from nonparticipating insurance: Provided, That any such bonuses or abatement of premiums shall be fair and equitable to policyholders and for the best interests of the insurer and its policyholders;

(ii) In the case of life insurance policies issued on the industrial debit plan, making allowance to policyholders who have continuously for a specified period made premium payments directly to an office of the insurer in an amount which fairly represents the saving in collection expenses;

(iii) Readjustment of the rate of premium for a group insurance policy based on the loss or expense thereunder, at the end of the first or any subsequent policy year of insurance thereunder, which may be made retroactive only for such policy year;

(iv) Issuing life or accident and sickness policies on a salary savings or payroll deduction plan at a reduced rate commensurate with the savings made by the use of such plan.

(c) With respect to insurance other than life, accident and sickness, ocean marine or marine protection and indemnity insurance, no person shall knowingly charge, demand or receive a premium for such insurance except in accordance with an applicable filing on file with the commissioner. No such person shall pay, allow or give, directly or indirectly, either as an inducement to insurance or after insurance has been effected, any rebate, discount, abatement, credit or reduction of the premium named in a policy of insurance, or any special favor or advantage in the dividends or other benefits to accrue thereon, or any valuable consideration or inducement whatever, not specified in the policy of insurance, except to the extent provided for in an applicable filing. No insured named in a policy of insurance, nor any relative, representative or employee of such insured shall knowingly receive or accept directly or indirectly, any such rebate, discount, abatement, credit or reduction of premium, or any such special favor or advantage or valuable consideration or inducement. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the payment of commissions or other compensation to duly licensed agents and brokers, nor as prohibiting any insurer from allowing or returning to its participating policyholders, members or subscribers, dividends, savings or unabsorbed premium deposits. As used in this section the word "insurance" includes suretyship and the word "policy" includes bond.

more>> http://www.legis.state.wv.us/scripts/as_web5.exe?Command=Doc&File=code5chap&DocID=26175049&Request=%5bCHAPTER+33.%5d 

3. Imitation Crash Parts Regulations 

ARTICLE 6B. CONSUMER PROTECTION--AUTOMOTIVE CRASH PARTS.

§46A-6B-1. Legislative declaration.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares as a matter of public policy that the purposes of this article are to require disclosure to motor vehicle owners of information on certain replacement crash parts for repairs to their motor vehicles and to prevent both motor vehicle body shops and insurance companies from requiring the use of aftermarket crash parts for repair unless the motor vehicle owner consents in writing at the time of the repair.

§46A-6B-2. Definitions.

As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meaning defined:

(a) "Aftermarket crash parts" means crash parts:

(1) Manufactured by a person other than the original manufacturer of the motor vehicle to be repaired; and

(2) For which the original manufacturer of the motor vehicle has not authorized the use of its name or trademark by the manufacturer of the crash parts;

(b) "Code" means the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended;

(c) "Crash parts" means exterior or interior sheet metal or fiberglass panels and parts that form the superstructure or body of a motor vehicle, including, but not limited to, fenders, bumpers, quarter panels, door panels, hoods, grills, fire walls, permanent roofs, wheel wells and front and rear lamp display panels;

(d) "Genuine crash parts" means crash parts:

(1) Manufactured by or for the original manufacturer of the motor vehicle to be repaired; and

(2) That are authorized to carry the name or trademark of the original manufacturer of the motor vehicle;

(e) "Motor vehicle" has the meaning stated in section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of this code; and

(f) "Motor vehicle body shop" means any person or business establishment that removes, replaces, reconditions or repairs sheet metal or fiberglass motor vehicle crash parts.

§46A-6B-3. Genuine and aftermarket crash parts.

For all motor vehicles requiring repair by motor vehicle body shops in the year of their manufacture or in the two succeeding years thereafter, motor vehicle body shops must use genuine crash parts sufficient to maintain the manufacturer's warranty for fit, finish, structural integrity, corrosion resistance, dent resistance and crash performance unless the motor vehicle owner consents in writing at the time of the repair to the use of aftermarket crash parts. No insurance company may require the use of aftermarket crash parts when negotiating repairs of the motor vehicle with any repairer for a period of three years, the year the motor vehicle was manufactured and the two succeeding years thereafter, unless the motor vehicle owner consents in writing at the time of the repair to the use of aftermarket crash parts.

§46A-6B-4. Notices and written statements to be provided to vehicle owner.

(a) Effective the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, before beginning repair work on crash parts, a motor vehicle body shop shall:

(1) Provide a list to the vehicle owner of the replacement crash parts that the body shop intends to use in making repairs;

(2) Specify whether the replacement parts are genuine crash parts; and

(3) Identify the manufacturer of the parts if the replacements parts are aftermarket crash parts.

(b) If the replacement crash parts to be used by the body shop in the repair work are aftermarket crash parts, the body shop shall include with its estimate the following written statement: "THIS ESTIMATE HAS BEEN PREPARED BASED ON THE USE OF AFTERMARKET CRASH PARTS THAT ARE NOT MANUFACTURED BY THE ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER OF THE VEHICLE OR BY A MANUFACTURER AUTHORIZED BY THE ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER TO USE ITS NAME OR TRADEMARK. THE USE OF AN AFTERMARKET CRASH PART MAY INVALIDATE ANY REMAINING WARRANTIES OF THE ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER ON THAT CRASH PART."

(c) The notices and statements required under this section shall be made in writing in a clear and conspicuous manner on a separate piece of paper in ten-point capital type.

(d) This section may not be construed to replace or alter any provision under article six or any other provision of this chapter.

§46A-6B-5. Other remedies available.

This article does not:

(a) Prohibit a person from filing an action for damages against a body shop; or

(b) Require a person first to exhaust any administrative remedy he may have.

§46A-6B-6. Violation of article an unfair method of competition or deceptive act or practice; penalty.

A violation of any provision of this article is an unfair or deceptive act or practice within the meaning of section one hundred two, article six of this chapter and is subject to the enforcement and penalty provisions contained in this chapter.

more>> http://www.legis.state.wv.us/scripts/as_web5.exe?Command=Doc&File=code5chap&DocID=31106765&Request=%5bCHAPTER+46A.%5d  

4. Anti-Steering Regulations 

ARTICLE 6D. MOTOR VEHICLE REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT REFERRALS.

§33-6D-1. Required use of particular companies or locations providing automobile glass replacement or repair services or products prohibited.

No insurer issuing or renewing in this state any motor vehicle insurance policy, nor any agent or adjuster thereof, may require the insured or any person making a claim under such policy to use a particular company or location to obtain automobile glass replacement or repair services or products insured, in whole or in part, by that policy.

§33-6D-2. Intimidation, coercion and other acts prohibited; permissive agreements.

No such insurer, agent or adjuster may engage in any act or practice of intimidation, coercion or threat for or against any such insured or claimant to use a particular company or location to obtain automobile glass replacement or repair services or products covered, in whole or in part, by the insurance policy: Provided, That nothing contained in this article shall prohibit an insurer, agent or adjuster from entering into an agreement or arrangement with any company regarding automobile glass prices or services for the repair or replacement of automobile glass.

§33-6D-3. Permissible referrals; freedom of choice; payment of costs at prevailing market rates.

(a) Nothing contained in this article prohibits any insurer, agent or adjuster from providing to an insured or claimant a list that includes the names of automobile glass companies or locations that are reasonably close and convenient to the insured or claimant, and with which the insurer may have made special arrangements with respect to automobile glass prices or services.

(b) If an insurer, agent or adjuster provides an insured or claimant with a list of automobile glass companies or locations, such insurer, agent or adjuster shall advise the insured or claimant that he or she may use any other automobile glass company or location of his or her choice.

(c) All insurers shall fully and promptly pay the cost of automobile glass replacement or repair services or products from any nonlisted automobile glass company or location, less any applicable deductible amount payable by the insured according to the terms of the insurance policy, at no less than the prevailing market price charged by other automobile glass companies or locations providing comparable services or products in the same geographic area within the state.

(d) No automobile glass company or location may waive insurance deductibles or offer rebates, discounts or other incentives for automobile glass repair which is being reimbursed by insurance. An insurer may limit payment of all glass claims to a glass company or location that has violated this provision to the lowest competitive price. The glass company or location may not seek reimbursement for any amounts not paid directly from the insured or claimant.

more>> http://www.legis.state.wv.us/scripts/as_web5.exe?Command=Doc&File=code5chap&DocID=26175049&Request=%5bCHAPTER+33.%5d 

5. Timely Notification

§33-6B-4. Notification.

In the event of a declination, the insurer shall, within thirty days of the receipt of the written nonbinding application or written request for coverage provide the applicant reasons for such declination.

upadtes>> http://www.legis.state.wv.us/scripts/as_web5.exe?Command=Doc&File=code5chap&DocID=26175049&Request=%5bCHAPTER+33.%5d 

(9) Unfair claim settlement practices. -- No person shall commit or perform with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice any of the following:

(b) Failing to acknowledge and act reasonably promptly upon communications with respect to claims arising under insurance policies;

(c) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards for the prompt investigation of claims arising under insurance policies;

(d) Refusing to pay claims without conducting a reasonable investigation based upon all available information;

(e) Failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within a reasonable time after proof of loss statements have been completed;

more>> http://www.legis.state.wv.us/scripts/as_web5.exe?Command=Doc&File=code5chap&DocID=26175049&Request=%5bCHAPTER+33.%5d 

6. Timely Payment

(9) Unfair claim settlement practices. -- No person shall commit or perform with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice any of the following:

(m) Failing to promptly settle claims, where liability has become reasonably clear, under one portion of the insurance policy coverage in order to influence settlements under other portions of the insurance policy coverage; 

Timely payment as part of unfair trade practices

If the insurer needs more time to investigate the claim, it shall so notify the first party claimant in writing within fifteen calendar days from the date of the initial notification and every thirty calendar days, thereafter; but in no instance shall a claim remain unsettled and unpaid for more than ninety calendar days from the first party claimant's filing of the proof of loss unless there is, as determined by the insurance commissioner,

updates>> http://www.legis.state.wv.us/scripts/as_web5.exe?Command=Doc&File=code5chap&DocID=26175049&Request=%5bCHAPTER+33.%5d 

7. False & Misleading Advertising

(2) False information and advertising generally. -- No person shall make, publish, disseminate, circulate or place before the public, or cause, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated or placed before the public, in a newspaper, magazine or other publication, or in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter or poster or over any radio or television station, or in any other way, an advertisement, announcement or statement containing any assertion, 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. 

more>> http://www.legis.state.wv.us/scripts/as_web5.exe?Command=Doc&File=code5chap&DocID=26175049&Request=%5bCHAPTER+33.%5d 

8. False Use of Insurer’s Name

(1) Misrepresentation and false advertising of insurance policies. -- No person shall make, issue, circulate, or cause to be made, issued or circulated, any estimate, circular, statement, sales presentation, omission, or comparison which:

(e) Uses any name or title of any insurance policy or class of insurance policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof;

more>> http://www.legis.state.wv.us/scripts/as_web5.exe?Command=Doc&File=code5chap&DocID=26175049&Request=%5bCHAPTER+33.%5d 

9. Total Losses

more>> 

10. Consumer Sales Practices Acts

§33-11A-5. Licensure requirement for insurance sales.

Solicitation for the purchase or sale of any insurance product by any person, including an employee or agent of a financial institution, shall be conducted only by individuals who have complied with all applicable state insurance licensing and appointment laws and regulations and who have been issued an agent or broker's license pursuant to chapter thirty-three of this code.

§33-11A-6. Insurance sales separate from loan transaction.

(a) Solicitation for the purchase or sale of insurance by a financial institution shall be conducted only by individuals whose responsibilities do not include loan transactions or other transactions involving the extension of credit: Provided, That for a financial institution location having three or less individuals with lending authority, solicitation for the sale of insurance may be conducted by an individual with responsibilities for loan transactions or other transactions involving the extension of credit, as long as the individual primarily responsible for making the specific loan or extension of credit is not the same individual engaged in the solicitation of the purchase or sale of insurance for that same transaction.

(b) In the event that in any small office, the same individual is the licensed agent or broker and the sole individual with lending authority, the commissioner may grant a waiver of the requirements of this section upon a written request. Such request shall include documentation that, due to the small office staff, compliance is not possible, and include identification of other steps which will be taken to minimize the customer confusion prohibited by this article.

§33-11A-7. Referrals by unlicensed persons allowed.

A person who is not licensed to sell insurance may refer a customer who seeks to purchase, or seeks an opinion or advice on, any insurance product to a person, or provide the phone number of a person, who sells or provides opinions or advice on such product, only if the person making the referral receives no fee or only a nominal fee for such referral and such fee is not based on the customer's application for or purchase of insurance.

§33-11A-8. Tying of products prohibited.

(a) No person shall require or imply that the purchase of an insurance product from a financial institution by a customer or prospective customer of the institution is required as a condition of the lending of money or extension of credit.

(b) No financial institution may offer an insurance product in combination with its other products, unless all the products are available separately from the financial institution.

§33-11A-9. Disclosures.

(a) A financial institution soliciting the purchase of or selling insurance, and any person soliciting the purchase of or selling insurance on the premises of, in connection with a product offering of, or using a name identifiable with, a financial institution, shall prominently disclose to customers, in writing, in clear and concise language, including in any advertisement or promotional material, and orally during any customer contact, that insurance offered, recommended, sponsored, or sold:

(1) Is not a deposit;

(2) Is not insured by the federal deposit insurance corporation or, where applicable, the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund;

(3) Is not guaranteed by any insured depository institution; and

(4) Where appropriate, involves investment risk, including potential loss of principal.

(b) Any financial institution engaged in the making of loans or other extensions of credit and the sale of insurance shall prominently disclose to customers in writing, in clear and concise language, that the insurance product may be purchased from an agent or broker of the customer's choice, and the customer's choice of another insurance provider will not affect the customer's credit relationship with the person. For purposes of this subsection, loans and extensions of credit shall not include financing in connection with the insurance product offered or sold.

(c) Any person required under subsections (a) or (b) of this section to make disclosures to a customer shall obtain a written acknowledgment of receipt by the customer of such disclosures, including the date of receipt and the customer's name, address, and account number, prior to or at the time of any application for insurance sold by the person. Such acknowledgment shall be in a separate document.

(d) The commissioner may grant a waiver of the requirements of this section to any person required to give the disclosures required by this section solely because that person has a name identifiable with a financial institution upon a written request by such person demonstrating that his, her or its customers would not reasonably benefit from, or might in fact be confused by, these required disclosures.

§33-11A-10. Timing of insurance solicitation.

(a) No individual who is an employee or agent of a financial institution, or of a subsidiary or affiliate thereof, may, directly or indirectly, make an insurance-related referral to or solicit the purchase of any insurance from a customer knowing that such customer has applied for a loan or extension of credit from that financial institution before such time as the customer has received a written commitment with respect to such loan or extension of credit, or, in the event that no written commitment has or will be issued in connection with the loan or extension of credit, before such time as the customer receives notification of approval of the loan or extension of credit by the financial institution and the financial institution creates a written record of the loan or extension of credit approval.

(b) This provision shall not prohibit any individual subject to subsection (a) above from:

(1) Informing a customer that insurance is required in connection with a loan; or

(2) Contacting persons in the course of direct or mass mailing to a group of persons in a manner that bears no relation to the person's loan application or credit decision.

§33-11A-11. Insurance in connection with a loan.

(a) If insurance is required as a condition of obtaining a loan, the credit and insurance transactions shall be completed independently and through separate documents.

(b) A loan for premiums on required insurance shall not be included in the primary credit without the written consent of the customer.

(c) No title insurance shall be issued until the title insurance company has obtained a title opinion of an attorney licensed to practice law in West Virginia, which attorney is not an employee, agent, or owner of the insured bank or its affiliates. Said attorney shall have conducted or cause to have conducted under the attorney's direct supervision a reasonable examination of the title. In no event shall the authority of a state-chartered bank to sell title insurance exceed the authority of a nationally chartered bank to do so.

§33-11A-12. Prohibition of discrimination against agents or brokers.

(a) No financial institution may, in connection with a loan or extension of credit that requires a borrower to obtain insurance, reject an insurance policy because such policy has been issued or underwritten by any person who is not affiliated with such financial institution.

(b) No financial institution may impose any requirement on any insurance agent or broker who is not affiliated with the financial institution that is not imposed on any insurance agent or broker who is affiliated with such financial institution.

(c) No financial institution may, unless otherwise authorized by any applicable federal or state law, require any debtor, insurer, broker, or agent to pay a separate charge in connection with the handling of insurance that is required under a contract, if such insurance is sold by an agent or broker not affiliated with the financial institution.

(d) No financial institution may offer, as a package of products any products which are not insurance products in connection with insurance products, on a discounted basis, when compared with the pricing of each of the products when offered separately: Provided, That this prohibition does not apply to:

(1) Annuity products;

(2) The packaging of noninsurance products on a discounted basis; or

(3) The packaging of insurance products on a discounted basis to the extent permitted by the anti-rebating statute contained in section four, article eleven of this chapter.

(e) All of the prohibitions contained in this section shall be subject to other applicable laws, rules and regulations relating to the pricing of insurance products and the products of financial institutions.

more>> http://www.legis.state.wv.us/scripts/as_web5.exe?Command=Doc&File=code5chap&DocID=26175049&Request=%5bCHAPTER+33.%5d 

11. Consumer Auto Repair Practices Acts

more>> 

12. Telemarketing laws

more>> 

13. Home Sales Act

§46A-2-132. Home solicitation; buyer's right to cancel; notice.

In addition to any other right to revoke an offer, a buyer shall have the right to cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day after the day on which he has signed an agreement or offer to purchase. Cancellation shall become effective when the buyer gives written notice of his intention to cancel to the seller at the address stated in the agreement or offer to purchase. Notice of such cancellation, if given by mail, is given when it is deposited in a mailbox properly addressed and postage prepaid. Such notice of cancellation given by the buyer need not take any particular form and shall be sufficient if it indicates by any form of written expression the intention of the buyer not to be bound by the home solicitation sale. Notwithstanding any above-mentioned provision, a buyer may not cancel a home solicitation sale where he has requested and the seller has provided goods or services without delay because of a bona fide emergency and either the seller has in good faith made a substantial beginning of performance of the agreement before the buyer has given notice of cancellation, or in the case of goods, such goods cannot be returned to the seller in substantially as good condition as when they were received by the buyer.

more>> http://www.legis.state.wv.us/scripts/as_web5.exe?Command=Doc&File=code5chap&DocID=31106765&Request=%5bCHAPTER+46A.%5d 

14. Licensing Adjusters

more>> 

15. Diminished Value

§33-6-33. Value of motor vehicle involved in claim.

Insurance companies doing business in this state shall use the most recent publication of an "official used car guide" approved by the insurance commissioner as a guide for setting the minimum value of any motor vehicle involved in a claim settlement arising from a motor vehicle accident. In addition to any cash settlement value so agreed to by the claimant, there shall be added an amount equal to five percent of such cash settlement value so established as reimbursement to the claimant for the excise tax imposed under section four, article three, chapter seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia.

more>> http://www.legis.state.wv.us/scripts/as_web5.exe?Command=Doc&File=code5chap&DocID=26175049&Request=%5bCHAPTER+33.%5d