ENROLLED
H. B. 2580
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chambers, and Delegates Ashley,
Staton, Rowe, Phillips and Michael)
[Passed April 10, 1993; in effect from passage.]
AN ACT to amend article six, 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
thirty-one-d; and to amend article twelve of said chapter by
adding thereto a new section, designated section thirty-one,
all relating to uninsured and underinsured insurance
coverage.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article six, 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
thirty-one-d; and that article twelve of said chapter be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated section thirty-one,
all to read as follows:
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 andunderinsured motor vehicle coverage required by section thirty-
one of this article 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, including, but not limited to, all
levels and amounts of such coverage available and the number of
vehicles which will be subject to the coverage. 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 policy by delivering the form to the
applicant or by mailing the form to the applicant together with
the applicant's initial premium notice. The applicant shall
complete, date and sign the form and return the form to the
insurer within thirty days after receipt thereof. No insurer or
agent thereof is liable for payment of any damages applicable
under any optional uninsured or underinsured coverage authorized
by section thirty-one of this article 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
from the applicant:
Provided,
That if prior to the insurer's
receipt of the executed form the insurer issues a policy to theapplicant which provides for such optional uninsured or
underinsured coverage, the insurer shall be liable for payment of
claims against such optional coverage up to the limits provided
therefor in such policy. The contents of a form described in
this section which has been signed by an applicant shall create
a presumption that such applicant and all named insureds received
an effective offer of the optional coverages described in this
section and that such applicant 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 shall
be 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 thirty 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 shall create
a presumption that all named insureds under the policy received
an effective offer of the optional coverages described in thissection 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) 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 person received an effective
offer of the optional coverages described in this section and
that such person exercised a knowing and intelligent rejection of
such offer. Such rejection is binding on all persons insured
under the policy.
(e) The insurer shall make such forms available to any named
insured who requests different coverage limits on or after the
effective date of this section. No insurer is required to make
such form available or notify any person of the availability of
such optional coverages authorized by this section except as
required by this section.
ARTICLE 12. AGENTS, BROKERS, SOLICITORS AND EXCESS LINE.
§33-12-31. Termination of contractual relationship prohibited.
No insurance company may cancel, refuse to renew or
otherwise terminate a written contractual relationship with any
insurance agent who has been employed or appointed pursuant to
that written contract by such insurance company as a result of
any analysis of a loss ratio resulting from claims paid under the
provisions of an endorsement for uninsured and underinsured motor
vehicle coverage issued pursuant to the provisions of section
thirty-one, article six of this chapter, nor may any provision ofthat contract, including the provisions for compensation therein,
operate to deter or discourage the insurance agent from selling
and writing endorsements for optional uninsured or underinsured
motor vehicle coverage.
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