Bill Text: CT SB00847 | 2017 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: An Act Allowing Police Officers To Obtain Information To Be Furnished Relative To Fire Losses.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-17 - Public Hearing 02/21 [SB00847 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2017-SB00847-Introduced.html

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General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 847
January Session, 2017		LCO No. 3989
		*03989_______PS_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
Introduced by:
(PS)

AN ACT ALLOWING POLICE OFFICERS TO OBTAIN INFORMATION TO BE FURNISHED RELATIVE TO FIRE LOSSES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 38a-318 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):

(a) Any authorized agency may in writing request any insurance company to release information relative to any investigation [it] the insurance company has made concerning a loss or potential loss due to fire of [suspicious] undetermined or incendiary origin which shall include, but not be limited to: (1) An insurance policy relative to such loss, (2) policy premium records, (3) history of previous claims, and (4) other relevant material relating to such loss or potential loss.

(b) If any insurance company has reason to suspect that a fire loss to its insured's real or personal property was caused by incendiary means, the insurance company shall furnish any authorized agency with all relevant material acquired during its investigation of the fire loss, cooperate with and take such action as may be requested of [it] the insurance company by the authorized agency and permit any person ordered by a court to inspect any of its records pertaining to the policy and the loss. Such insurance company may request any authorized agency to release information relative to any investigation it has made concerning any such fire loss of suspicious or incendiary origin.

(c) No insurance company, authorized agency or person who furnished information on behalf of such insurance company or agency, shall be liable for damages in a civil action or subject to criminal prosecution for any oral or written statement made or any other action taken that is necessary to supply information requested pursuant to this section, unless there is fraud, actual malice or conduct relating to the release of such information which constitutes a criminal act.

(d) Except as provided in subsection [(h)] (g) of this section, any authorized agency receiving any information furnished pursuant to this section shall hold the information in confidence until such time as its release is required pursuant to a criminal or civil proceeding.

(e) Any authorized agency personnel may be required to testify as to any information in the agency's possession regarding the fire loss of real or personal property in any civil action in which any person seeks recovery under a policy against an insurance company for the fire loss.

(f) For the purposes of this section, "authorized agency" means: (1) The State Fire Marshal or the local fire marshal when authorized or charged with the investigation of fires at the place where the fire actually took place, [; and] (2) the Insurance Commissioner, and (3) a member of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection or of an organized local police department who is certified as a fire investigator and authorized or charged with the investigation of fires at the place where the fire actually took place; and "insurance company" means an insurance company that is subject to the provisions of section 38a-328.

[(g) For the purposes of this section, "insurance company" shall include organizations issuing insurance policies in this state pursuant to the provisions of section 38a-328.]

[(h)] (g) Any authorized agency provided with information pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this section, may, in furtherance of [its own] the authorized agency's purposes, release any information in its possession to any other authorized agency.

[(i)] (h) The provisions of this section shall apply to fire losses occurring on or after October 1, 1979.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2017	38a-318

Statement of Purpose:

To allow state and local police officers to obtain insurance records from insurance companies to aid in the investigation of fires of undetermined or incendiary origin.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]