Bill Text: DE HB263 | 2017-2018 | 149th General Assembly | Draft

Delaware House Bill 263 (Prior Session Legislation)

Draft

Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 18 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Unfair Practices In The Insurance Business

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-06-27 - Introduced and Assigned to Economic Development/Banking/Insurance/Commerce Committee in House [HB263 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2017-HB263-Draft.html

SPONSOR:

Rep.�Paradee & Sen.�Bushweller

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

149th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 263

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO UNFAIR PRACTICES IN THE INSURANCE BUSINESS

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend � 2304, Title 18 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

� 2304. Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices defined.

The following are hereby defined as unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the business of insurance:

(16) Unfair claim settlement practices. � No person shall commit or perform with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice any of the following:

h. Attempting to settle a claim for less than the amount to which a reasonable person would have believed that person's own self was entitled by reference to written or printed advertising material accompanying or made part of an application , an amount which was obtained by reference to a common, verifiable compilation of valuation data, or by reference to the retail value for a substantially similar motor vehicle from a nationally recognized valuation database ;

Section 2. This Act takes effect 90 days after its enactment into law.

SYNOPSIS

This Act prohibits insurance companies from frequently attempting to settle claims with their insureds for less than an amount a reasonable person would believe to be fair based on a common, verifiable compilation of valuation data, such as the NADA guides.