CHAPTER 310
S.P. 438 - L.D. 1347
An Act To Clarify the Authority of the Attorney General To Seek Restitution and To Require the Superintendent of Insurance To Investigate Certain Insurance Practices
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 24-A MRSA §214, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1973, c. 585, §12, is further amended to read:
2. If the superintendent has reason to believe that any person has violated any provision of this Title, or of other law as applicable to insurance operations, for which criminal prosecution is provided and would be in order, he the superintendent shall give the information relative thereto to the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall promptly institute such action or proceedings, including, but not limited to, actions or proceedings to seek restitution, against such that person as in his the Attorney General's opinion the information may require or justify.
Sec. 2. Report on insurance practices. The Superintendent of Insurance shall prepare a report that addresses the market conditions for property and casualty insurance in this State with a particular emphasis on homeowners' insurance and commercial insurance coverage for small businesses.
1. At a minimum, the report must include:
A. An assessment of recent market trends in those lines of insurance;
B. The identification of problem areas or issues within the market for those lines of insurance and suggestions to address those areas or issues based on a review of other states' responses to similar issues;
C. The identification of specific trends within those lines of insurance related to:
(1) Changes in policy forms;
(2) Underwriting and rating practices;
(3) Nonrenewal and cancellation hearings held before the Bureau of Insurance; and
(4) Complaints made to the Bureau of Insurance by type of insurance;
D. The identification and review of factors that are influencing underwriting and rating practices used by insurers in this State for those lines of insurance;
E. A summary of information gathered at public hearings; and
F. A suggested framework for ongoing data collection and market analysis for those lines of insurance.
2. In preparing the report, the Superintendent of Insurance shall use the following methodology.
A. The superintendent shall conduct 4 public hearings in different locations throughout the State. The purpose of the hearings is to provide an overview of the insurance market in this State, to gather public comment on problems and issues related to property and casualty insurance and to provide information relating to consumer assistance available from the Bureau of Insurance.
B. The superintendent may contract with outside consultants to assist with preparation of the report. If outside consultants are utilized, the costs must be absorbed within the Bureau of Insurance's existing budgeted resources.
C. To the extent possible, the superintendent shall review and analyze requests made to the Bureau of Insurance in 2001, 2002 and 2003 for cancellation and nonrenewal hearings pursuant to the Maine Insurance Code.
3. The Superintendent of Insurance shall submit the report no later than January 5, 2004 to the Joint Standing Committee on Insurance and Financial Services. The committee may report out legislation to the Second Regular Session of the 121st Legislature to address issues related to the market conditions for property and casualty insurance.
Effective September 13, 2003, unless otherwise indicated.
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