Senate Bill No. 3
(By Senator Kimble)
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[Introduced February 12, 1997; referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article two, chapter thirty-three of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
seventeen-a, relating to insurance; insurance commissioner;
and providing that disputes or controversies between persons
insured by the same insurance company be submitted to
arbitration by an independent arbitrator.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article two, chapter thirty-three of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
seventeen-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. INSURANCE COMMISSIONER.
§33-2-17a. Arbitration mandated in certain disputes or controversies.
In addition to the authority established under the rules
promulgated by the director, the office of consumer advocacy is
authorized to require that a controversy or dispute of any kind
involving two or more policyholders with the same insurance
company be submitted to arbitration by an independent arbitrator,
either in the manner provided in article ten, chapter fifty-five
of this code or as agreed upon by the parties to the controversy,
or as determined by the office of consumer advocacy, if
authorized by the parties.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require arbitration by
an independent arbitrator of disputes of any kind between persons
who are insured by the same insurance company.
§33-2-17a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.