HB2617 S JUD AM #1
Graham 4841
The Committee on the Judiciary moved to amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
ARTICLE 6. THE INSURANCE POLICY.
§33-6-31d. Form for making offer of optional uninsured and underinsured coverage.
(a) Optional limits of
uninsured motor vehicle coverage and underinsured motor vehicle coverage
required by §33-6-31 of this code shall be made available to the named insured
at the time of initial application for liability coverage and upon any request
of the named insured on a form prepared and made available by the Insurance
Commissioner. The contents of the form shall be as prescribed by the
commissioner and shall specifically inform the named insured of the coverage
offered and the rate calculation therefor for the coverage,
including, but not limited to, all levels and amounts of such the
coverage available and the number of vehicles which will be subject to the
coverage. The commissioner shall provide for the use of electronic means of
delivery and electronic signing when issuing the prescribed form. The
form shall be made available for use on or before the effective date of this
section. The form shall allow any named insured to waive any or all of the
coverage offered.
(b) Any insurer who issues
a motor vehicle insurance policy in this state shall provide the form to each
person who applies for the issuance of such a policy by
delivering the form to the applicant or by mailing the form to the applicant. together
with the applicant's initial premium notice Insurers may deliver the
form by electronic means. Delivery by “electronic means” includes delivery of
the form to an electronic mail address at which an applicant or
policyholder has consented to receive notices or documents, by posting on an
electronic network or site accessible via the Internet, electronic device, or
mobile application, at or from which the applicant or policyholder has
consented to receive delivery, or by any other delivery method that has been
consented to by the applicant or policyholder. Any document delivered
electronically satisfies any font, size, color, spacing, or other format
requirements that are established for printed documents, provided that the
format in the document delivered electronically has reasonably similar
proportions or emphasis for the characters relative to the rest of the
electronic document. The applicant shall complete, date, and sign the form
and return the form to the insurer within 30 days after receipt thereof of
the form. Any signature executed in conformity with the Uniform
Electronic Transactions Act in §39A-1-1 et seq. of this code is
enforceable as provided by that act. No An insurer or agent thereof
of the insurer is not liable for payment of any damages
applicable under any optional uninsured or underinsured coverage authorized by
§33-6-31 of this code for any incident which occurs from the date the form was
mailed or delivered to the applicant until the insurer receives the form and
accepts payment of the appropriate premium for the coverage requested therein
in the form from the applicant: Provided, That if prior to the
insurer's receipt of the executed form the insurer issues a policy to the
applicant which provides for such optional uninsured or underinsured
coverage, the insurer is liable for payment of claims against such the
optional coverage up to the limits provided therefor in such in the
policy. The contents of a form described in this section which has been signed
by an applicant creates a presumption that such the applicant and
all named insureds received an effective offer of the optional coverages
described in this section and that such the applicant exercised a
knowing and intelligent election or rejection as the case may be of such
the offer as specified in the form. Such The election or
rejection is binding on all persons insured under the policy.
(c) Any insurer who has
issued a motor vehicle insurance policy in this state which is in effect on the
effective date of this section shall mail or otherwise deliver the form to any
person who is designated in the policy as a named insured. A named insured
shall complete, date and sign the form and return the form to the insurer
within 30 days after receipt thereof. No insurer or agent thereof is liable for
payment of any damages in any amount greater than any limits of such coverage,
if any, provided by the policy in effect on the date the form was mailed or
delivered to such named insured for any incident which occurs from the date the
form was mailed or delivered to such named insured until the insurer receives
the form and accepts payment of the appropriate premium for the coverage requested
therein from the applicant. The contents of a form described in this section
which has been signed by any named insured creates a presumption that all named
insureds under the policy received an effective offer of the optional coverages
described in this section and that all such named insured exercised a knowing
and intelligent election or rejection as the case may be of such offer as
specified in the form. Such election or rejection is binding on all persons
insured under the policy.
(d)(c) Failure
of the applicant or a named insured to return the form described in this
section to the insurer as required by this section within the time periods
specified in this section creates a presumption that such the person
received an effective offer of the optional coverages described in this section
and that such the person exercised a knowing and intelligent
rejection of such the offer. Such The rejection is
binding on all persons insured under the policy.
(e)(d) The
insurer shall make such the forms available to any named insured
who requests different coverage limits on or after the effective date of this
section. No An insurer is not required to make such
the form available or notify any person of the availability of such
the optional coverages authorized by this section except as required by
this section.
(f)(e)
Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this article six of this
chapter to the contrary, including §33-6-31f of this code, for insurance
policies in effect on December 31, 2015, insurers are not required to offer or
obtain new uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage offer forms as described
in this section on any insurance policy to comply with the amount of the
minimum required financial responsibility limits set forth in §17D-4-2(b) of
this code. All such offer forms that were executed prior to January 1,
2016, shall remain in full force and effect.
(f) If an insurer offers to place an insured with an affiliate of the insurer, the insurer shall make available a new uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage offer form, in the manner provided by and pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section. A named insured shall complete, date, and sign the form as provided by subsection (b) of this section and return the form to the insurer within 30 days after receipt of the form. If an insured does not return the form within 30 days, then the last form previously signed by the insured for the insurer or any affiliate governs the amount of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage provided by the newly issuing insurer and remains binding on all persons insured under the policy.
Adopted
Rejected