MS Insurance Bill of Rights
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| Commissioner Mike Chaney and his pledge to protect us. He has refused to form a Committee to study adopting an Insurance Bill of Rights similar to Texas and other states |
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Sunday, July 29, 2007
Insurance is hottest seat in the state
By ANITA LEE
calee@sunherald.com
Chaney vs. English
Chaney, a legislator since 1993, believes consumers should be able to track an insurance company's claims payment record on the Mississippi Department of Insurance Web site: doi.state.ms.us. He said the department should rank insurance companies based on the number of claims filed and paid.
He also supports a stronger policyholder's bill of rights. A bill of rights Dale put into place provides homeowners a checklist of what their insurance policy covers and lists rights to which policyholders already are entitled.
In the Legislature, Chaney worked for approval of stronger building codes and for a program that will allow the state wind pool to reduce rates for those who build to stronger standards. He also says he would work with other states that face similar insurance issues to form a coalition that would be in a better bargaining position than Mississippi alone.
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The MS Insurance Bill of Rights is a bill to improve our rights...
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed my home. Only a slab remained. I had a Homeowners Insurance Policy. My home was in a non-flood zone.
After filing my initial claim, I was only paid $1000 for my loss. They offered me $5000 for Loss of Use, but I refused the check because I thought it was not a fair payment on my Homeowners Claim. Initially, I was not offered anything on contents and structure. In my opinion, the insurance company ignored the wind damage evidence that destroyed my home.
This Bill of Rights will assure we have some basic rights the Insurance Companies cannot take away from us. I will try to get this Bill of Rights passed into law in 2008. We must make it harder for insurance companies to deny initial claims after a disaster.
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| My home after Katrina |
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MISSISSIPPI INSURANCE POLICYHOLDER BILL OF RIGHTS
This Bill of Rights is a summary of your rights and does not become a part of your policy. The Insurance Commissioner adopted the Bill of Rights and requires insurance companies doing business in the Mississippi to provide you a copy when they issue your policy.
Your state law gives you certain rights regarding insurance companies providing residential insurance property coverage, including renters/tenants insurance and mobile home/manufactured housing property coverage that are regulated within your state. This Bill of Rights identifies your rights specified by this statute, but it does not include all your rights. If your agent, company or adjuster tells you that one of these rights does not apply to you, contact The Mississippi Department of Insurance at ###-##-####.
You have the right to call your Mississippi Department of Insurance free of charge at to learn more about:
· Your rights as an insurance consumer;
· The license status of an insurance company or agent;
· The financial condition of an insurance company;
· The complaint ratio and type of consumer complaints filed against an insurance company;
· The use of credit information by insurance companies, including which insurance companies use it and access to each company's credit scoring model;
· An insurance company's rates filed with the state;
· An insurance company's underwriting guidelines
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE YOU BUY INSURANCE
1. PROHIBITED STATEMENTS. Your insurance company or agent is prohibited from making false, misleading, or deceptive statements to you relating to insurance.
2. LENDER-REQUIRED INSURANCE. A lender cannot require you to purchase insurance on your property in an amount that exceeds the replacement cost of the property and its contents as a condition of financing or providing other financing arrangements for the property, regardless of the amount of the mortgage or other financing arrangements. In determining the replacement cost of the dwelling, a lender cannot include the fair market value of the land on which a dwelling is located.
3. EXCESS LIMITS. An insurer or agent cannot require you to purchase insurance for coverage limits greater than the limits required by state law or require you to purchase other types of coverage as a condition of offering insurance or continued insurance to you.
4. CREDIT INFORMATION. An insurance company cannot deny you insurance solely on the basis of credit information. Insurers who use credit information must also consider other underwriting factors independent of credit information when deciding whether to offer coverage.
5. PAYMENT PLANS. You have the right to pay your insurance premium in installments. Insurance companies may charge a reasonable fee for each installment. Your initial down payment on a premium cannot exceed the cost of two (2) months of coverage. For a twelve-month policy, you have the right to pay the balance in at least ten (10) equal monthly installments.
6. EXPLANATION OF DENIAL. Upon request, you have the right to be told in writing why you have been denied coverage. The written statement must fully explain the decision, including the precise incidents, circumstances, or risk factors that disqualified you. It must also state the sources of information used.
NOTE: The obligation to provide a written explanation applies to insurance companies directly.
7. NOTICE OF REDUCED COVERAGE. An insurance company cannot reduce coverage during the policy period unless you request the change.
8. NOTICE OF PREMIUM INCREASE. If your insurer intends to increase your premium by ten percent (10%) or more upon renewal, the insurer must send you written notice of the rate increase at least thirty (30) days before your renewal date, or your policy renews at the same rate and coverage.
9. LIMITATION ON CANCELLATION. After your initial policy with your company has been in effect for thirty (30) days or more, that insurance company cannot cancel your policy unless:
· You do not pay your premium when due;
· You file a fraudulent claim;
· The MS Department of Insurance determines that the continuation of the policy would result in violation of state insurance laws.
10. RIGHT TO PRIVACY. You have the right to prevent an insurance company, agent, adjuster or financial institution from disclosing your personal financial information to companies that are not affiliated with the insurance company or financial institution
11. POLICYHOLDER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL. You have the right to cancel your policy at any time and receive a refund of the remaining premium. The refund will be paid to you unless your premium was financed through a premium finance company, in which case, the refund will be paid to the premium finance company to reduce the amount you owe on your loan.
12. NOTICE OF NONRENEWAL. If the insurance company does not mail you notice of non-renewal at least thirty (30) days before your policy expires, you have the right to require the insurance company to renew your policy at the same rate and coverage.
13. EXPLANATION OF CANCELLATION OR NONRENEWAL. Upon request, you have the right to a written explanation of an insurance company's decision to cancel or not renew your policy. The written statement must fully explain the decision, including the precise incidents, circumstances, or risk factors that disqualified you. It must also state the sources of information used.
14. NOTICE OF CHANGE IN POLICY FORM. Your insurer must notify you in writing of any difference between your current policy and each policy offered to you when the policy renews.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW WHEN YOU FILE A CLAIM
15. FAIR TREATMENT. You have the right to be treated fairly and honestly when you make a claim. If you believe an insurance company has treated you unfairly, call the MS Department of Insurance.
16. EXPLANATION OF CLAIM DENIAL. Your insurance company must tell you in writing why your claim or part of your claim was denied and provide copies of any reports used to determine the result of your claim.
17. SETTLEMENT OFFER. You have the right to reject any settlement amount, including any unfair evaluation, offered by the insurance company.
18. TIME FRAMES FOR CLAIM PROCESSING AND PAYMENT. When you file a claim on your own policy, you have the right to have your claim processed and paid promptly. Generally, within fifteen (15) calendar days, your insurance company must acknowledge receipt of your claim and request any additional information reasonably related to your claim. Within fifteen (15) business days after receipt of all requested information, the company must approve or deny your claim in writing. The insurance company may extend this deadline up to thirty (30) days if it notifies you that more time is needed and tells you why. After notifying you that your claim is approved, your insurance company must pay the claim within five (5) business days. If your claim results from a weather-related catastrophe or other major natural disaster as defined by the Commissioner of Insurance, your insurance company may take forty-five (45) additional calendar days to approve or deny your claim and fifteen (15) additional calendar days to pay your claim.
19. INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED FOR PROCESSING A CLAIM. You have the right to refuse to provide your insurance company with information that does not relate to your claim. In addition, you may refuse to provide your federal income tax records, unless your insurer gets a court order or your claim involves lost income or a fire loss.
20. EQUAL TREATMENT. Unless based on sound actuarial principles, an insurance company may not treat you differently from other individuals of the same class and essentially the same hazard when evaluating a claim.
21. REPORTING CLAIMS INFORMATION. MS Department of Insurance must produce an annual report on each insurance company doing business in the state on claims amounts filed, paid, and denied.
22. INSURANCE COVERAGE. If an insurance company elects to not provide insurance coverage in any part of the state, it cannot offer the same coverage in any other part of the state.
23. RIGHT TO RECOVER. These rights shall apply to all homeowners, renters, and dwellers that reside in the Mississippi.
24. STATE REGULATION. Any insurance company doing business in the Mississippi that offer homeowners insurance must provide a copy of the document with the insurance policy it issues. These rights will over-ride all insurance policy language that is a direct conflict with this Insurance Bill of Rights effecting all policies offered after this bill is adopt by the MS Commissioner's office.
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Update 4-15-2008: The 5th Circut Court of Appeals ruled in the Broussard vs State Farm Case that the Burden of Proof is clearly on the insurance company when a claim is denied and disputed in court.
This ruling puts that issue to rest. Since the remaining Rights can be done by Commissioner Mike Chaney's office, I have asked him to form a Committee to merge my proposed Bill of Rights with the version that was adopted by former Commissioner Dales office. He said No. Read his reply here
I will not be introducing a new bill in 2009 Legislative year. The Governor has blocked me at every turn using the Senate Insurance Committee.
Click here for a GNC Editorial on George Dale's Bill of Rights
Note: Mr Dale introduced this bill of rights after I filed my bill HB1237.
Thank you for your support. Kevin
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