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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY WARD, D. WHITE, VANCE, TARTAGLIONE, WAUGH, ORIE, PICCOLA, BROWNE, STACK, EARLL AND MENSCH, JANUARY 8, 2010 |
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| REFERRED TO BANKING AND INSURANCE, JANUARY 8, 2010 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of May 17, 1921 (P.L.682, No.284), entitled "An |
2 | act relating to insurance; amending, revising, and |
3 | consolidating the law providing for the incorporation of |
4 | insurance companies, and the regulation, supervision, and |
5 | protection of home and foreign insurance companies, Lloyds |
6 | associations, reciprocal and inter-insurance exchanges, and |
7 | fire insurance rating bureaus, and the regulation and |
8 | supervision of insurance carried by such companies, |
9 | associations, and exchanges, including insurance carried by |
10 | the State Workmen's Insurance Fund; providing penalties; and |
11 | repealing existing laws," further providing for immunity from |
12 | liability. |
13 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
14 | hereby enacts as follows: |
15 | Section 1. Section 349.1 of the act of May 17, 1921 |
16 | (P.L.682, No.284), known as The Insurance Company Law of 1921, |
17 | added June 11, 1986 (P.L.226, No.64) is amended to read: |
18 | Section 349.1. Immunity from Liability.--[(a) In the |
19 | absence of fraud or bad faith, no person or his employes or |
20 | agents shall be subject to civil liability and no civil cause of |
21 | action shall arise against any of them for any of the following: |
22 | (1) Information relating to suspected fraudulent insurance |
23 | acts furnished by them to or received from law enforcement |
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1 | officials, their agents and employes. |
2 | (2) Information relating to suspected fraudulent insurance |
3 | acts furnished by them to or received from other persons subject |
4 | to the provisions of this act. |
5 | (3) Information furnished by them in reports to the |
6 | Insurance Department, National Association of Insurance |
7 | Commissioners or another organization established to detect and |
8 | prevent fraudulent insurance acts, their agents, employes or |
9 | designees. |
10 | (b) The Insurance Commissioner and employes of the Insurance |
11 | Department, in the absence of fraud or bad faith, shall not be |
12 | subject to civil liability. No civil cause of action shall arise |
13 | against any of them by virtue of the publication of a report or |
14 | bulletin related to the official activities of the Insurance |
15 | Department. |
16 | (c) Nothing in this section is intended to abrogate or |
17 | modify a common law or statutory immunity heretofore enjoyed by |
18 | any person. |
19 | (d) As used in this section the following words and phrases |
20 | shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection: |
21 | "Absence of bad faith" means without serious doubt that the |
22 | information furnished or received, or the report or bulletin |
23 | published, is not true. |
24 | "Absence of fraud" means without knowledge that the |
25 | information furnished or received, or the report or bulletin |
26 | published, is not true. |
27 | "Fraudulent insurance act" means an act committed by a person |
28 | who, knowingly and with intent to defraud, presents, causes to |
29 | be presented or prepares with knowledge or belief that it will |
30 | be presented to or by an insurer, purported insurer or broker, |
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1 | or an agent of an insurer, purported insurer or broker, a |
2 | written statement as part or in support of an application for |
3 | the issuance or rating of an insurance policy for commercial |
4 | insurance, or a claim for payment or other benefit pursuant to |
5 | an insurance policy for commercial or personal insurance which |
6 | he knows to contain materially false information concerning a |
7 | fact material to the statement or claim or to conceal, for the |
8 | purpose of misleading, information concerning a fact material to |
9 | the statement or claim.] |
10 | (a) In the absence of actual malice, a person is not subject |
11 | to civil liability for libel, slander, bad faith or any other |
12 | civil cause of action, and no civil cause of action of any |
13 | nature shall arise against the person: |
14 | (1) For any information furnished to or received from |
15 | Federal, State or local law enforcement officials, their agents |
16 | or employes relating to suspected fraudulent insurance acts or |
17 | persons suspected of engaging in such acts. |
18 | (2) For any information furnished to or received from the |
19 | Insurance Department, the Department of Health, the Department |
20 | of Labor and Industry, the Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority, |
21 | the Automobile Theft Prevention Authority, the National |
22 | Insurance Crime Bureau, the National Association of Insurance |
23 | Commissioners or a recognized comprehensive database system |
24 | relating to suspected fraudulent insurance acts or persons |
25 | suspected of engaging in such acts. |
26 | (3) For other actions taken in cooperation with any of the |
27 | agencies or individuals identified in this subsection in the |
28 | lawful investigation of suspected fraudulent insurance acts. |
29 | (b) (1) In addition to the immunity granted in subsection |
30 | (a), persons identified as designated employes of insurers, |
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1 | self-insurers or insurance licensees whose responsibilities |
2 | include the investigation and disposition of claims relating to |
3 | suspected fraudulent insurance acts may share information on |
4 | such acts and persons suspected of engaging in them with other |
5 | designated employes employed by the same or other insurers, |
6 | self-insurers or insurance licensees whose responsibilities |
7 | include the investigation and disposition of claims relating to |
8 | suspected fraudulent insurance acts. Unless such persons act |
9 | with actual malice or in reckless disregard for the rights of |
10 | any insured, the insurers, self-insurers or insurance licensees |
11 | and their employes shall not be subject to libel, slander, bad |
12 | faith or any other civil cause of action, and such causes of |
13 | action shall not arise against them. |
14 | (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, the |
15 | qualified immunity against civil liability conferred under this |
16 | subsection shall be forfeited with respect to the exchange or |
17 | publication of any defamatory information with third persons not |
18 | expressly authorized by this subsection to share in the |
19 | information. |
20 | (c) The Insurance commissioner and employes of the Insurance |
21 | Department when acting without malice and in the absence of |
22 | fraud or bad faith are not subject to civil liability for libel, |
23 | slander or any other relevant tort, and no civil cause of action |
24 | of any nature exists against such person by virtue of the |
25 | execution of official activities or duties of the Insurance |
26 | Department under this act or by virtue of the publication of any |
27 | report or bulletin related to the official activities or duties |
28 | of the Insurance Department under this act. |
29 | (d) Nothing in this section is intended to abrogate or |
30 | modify a common law or statutory immunity enjoyed by any person |
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1 | prior to the effective date of this subsection or to prohibit a |
2 | bad faith or any other civil action based upon actions other |
3 | than those described in this section. |
4 | Section 2. Repeals are as follows: |
5 | (1) The General Assembly declares that the repeals under |
6 | paragraph (2) are necessary to effectuate the provisions of |
7 | this act. |
8 | (2) (i) The provisions of 75 Pa.C.S. § 1795(b) and |
9 | (c) are repealed. |
10 | (ii) Section 3(c) of the act of July 2, 1980 |
11 | (P.L.340, No.85), known as the Arson Reporting Immunity |
12 | Act, is repealed. |
13 | Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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