Senate Bill No. 631
(By Senators Minard and Plymale)
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[Introduced March 18, 2009; referred to the Committee on Banking
and Insurance; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §33-6A-1 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the cancellation of an insurance
policy for failure of consideration to be paid by the insured
upon initial issuance of the insurance policy.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §33-6A-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6A. CANCELLATION OR NONRENEWAL OF AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY
POLICIES.
§33-6A-1. Cancellation prohibited except for specified reasons;
notice.
No insurer once having issued or delivered a policy providing
automobile liability insurance for a private passenger automobile
may, after the policy has been in effect for sixty days, or in case
of renewal effective immediately, issue or cause to issue a notice of cancellation during the term of the policy except for one or
more of the reasons specified in this section:
(a) The named insured fails to make payments of premium for
the policy or any installment of the premium when due;
(b) The policy is obtained through material misrepresentation;
(c) The insured violates any of the material terms and
conditions of the policy;
(d) The named insured or any other operator, either residing
in the same household or who customarily operates an automobile
insured under the policy:
(1) Has had his or her operator's license suspended or revoked
during the policy period including suspension or revocation for
failure to comply with the provisions of article five-a, chapter
seventeen-c of this code, regarding consent for a chemical test for
intoxication:
Provided, That when a license is suspended for sixty
days by the Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles because
a person drove a motor vehicle while under the age of twenty-one
years with an alcohol concentration in his or her blood of two
hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, but less than eight
hundredths of one percent, by weight, pursuant to subsection (l),
section two of said article, the suspension
shall may not be
grounds for cancellation; or
(2) Is or becomes subject to epilepsy or heart attacks and the
individual cannot produce a certificate from a physician testifying to his or her ability to operate a motor vehicle;
(e) The named insured or any other operator, either residing
in the same household or who customarily operates an automobile
insured under such policy, is convicted of or forfeits bail during
the policy period for any of the following reasons:
(1) Any felony or assault involving the use of a motor
vehicle;
(2) Negligent homicide arising out of the operation of a motor
vehicle;
(3) Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of
alcohol or of any controlled substance or while having an alcohol
concentration in his or her blood of eight hundredths of one
percent or more, by weight;
(4) Leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident in which the
insured is involved without reporting it as required by law;
(5) Theft of a motor vehicle or the unlawful taking of a motor
vehicle;
(6) Making false statements in an application for a motor
vehicle operator's license;
(7) Three or more moving traffic violations committed within
a period of twelve months, each of which results in three or more
points being assessed on the driver's record by the Division of
Motor Vehicles, whether or not the insurer renewed the policy
without knowledge of all such violations. Notice of any cancellation made pursuant to this subsection shall be mailed to
the named insured either during the current policy period or during
the first full policy period following the date that the third
moving traffic violation is recorded by the Division of Motor
Vehicles.
Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this section to the
contrary, no insurer may cancel a policy of automobile liability
insurance without first giving the insured thirty days' notice of
its intention to cancel:
Provided, That
cancellation of the
insurance policy
is voidable from the effective date and time of
the policy issued by the insurer
if the insurer cancels the policy
for failure of consideration to be paid by the insured upon initial
issuance of the insurance policy
and provides written notice to the
insured of the voided policy within fifteen days of receipt of
notice of the failure of consideration. If the insurer fails to
provide such written notice to the insured, then the cancellation
of the policy for failure of consideration is effective upon the
expiration of ten days' notice of cancellation to the insured.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify that an
insurance policy should be voidable from the date of its issuance
if an insured fails to provide consideration for the policy.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.