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| PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 1592 | PRINTER'S NO. 2035 |
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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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| SENATOR D. WHITE, BANKING AND INSURANCE, AS AMENDED, JUNE 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; and making a related repeal. | <-- |
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 individual, person or his | <-- |
20 | employes or agents shall be subject to civil liability and no |
21 | civil cause of action shall arise against any of them for any of |
22 | the following: |
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1 | (1) Information relating to suspected fraudulent insurance |
2 | acts or persons suspected of engaging in such acts furnished by | <-- |
3 | them to or received from Federal, State or local law enforcement | <-- |
4 | officials, their agents and employes and designees. | <-- |
5 | (2) Information relating to suspected fraudulent insurance |
6 | acts or persons suspected of engaging in such acts furnished by | <-- |
7 | them to or received from other persons subject to the provisions |
8 | of this act. |
9 | (3) Information furnished by them [in reports to the | <-- |
10 | Insurance Department,] or received from a Federal, State or | <-- |
11 | local agency, the National Association of Insurance |
12 | Commissioners or another organization established to detect and |
13 | prevent fraudulent insurance acts, their agents, employes or |
14 | designees or a recognized comprehensive database system approved | <-- |
15 | by the Insurance Department. |
16 | (a.1) In the absence of fraud or bad faith, the immunity | <-- |
17 | granted in subsection (a) shall also apply to persons identified |
18 | as designated employes of insurers, self-insurers or insurance |
19 | licensees whose responsibilities include the investigation and |
20 | disposition of claims relating to suspected fraudulent insurance |
21 | acts when sharing information on such acts or persons suspected |
22 | of engaging in such acts with other designated employes of the |
23 | same or other insurers, self-insurers or insurance licensees |
24 | whose responsibilities include the investigation or disposition |
25 | of claims relating to suspected fraudulent insurance acts. |
26 | (b) [The Insurance Commissioner and employes of the | <-- |
27 | Insurance Department] State agencies and their employes and | <-- |
28 | designees, in the absence of fraud or bad faith, shall not be |
29 | subject to civil liability for sharing information identified in | <-- |
30 | subsection (a). No civil cause of action shall arise against any |
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1 | of them by virtue of the publication of a report or bulletin |
2 | related to the official activities of the [Insurance Department] | <-- |
3 | State agency. |
4 | (c) Nothing in this section is intended to abrogate or |
5 | modify a common law or statutory immunity heretofore enjoyed by |
6 | any person. |
7 | (d) As used in this section the following words and phrases |
8 | shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection: |
9 | "Absence of bad faith" means without serious doubt that the |
10 | information furnished or received, or the report or bulletin |
11 | published, is not true. |
12 | "Absence of fraud" means without knowledge that the |
13 | information furnished or received, or the report or bulletin |
14 | published, is not true. |
15 | "Fraudulent insurance act" means an act committed by a person |
16 | who, knowingly and with intent to defraud, presents, causes to |
17 | be presented or prepares with knowledge or belief that it will |
18 | be presented to or by an insurer, purported insurer or broker, |
19 | or an agent of an insurer, purported insurer or broker, [a | <-- |
20 | written statement] information as part or in support of an | <-- |
21 | application for the issuance or rating of an insurance policy |
22 | for commercial or personal insurance, or a claim for payment or | <-- |
23 | other benefit pursuant to an insurance policy for commercial or |
24 | personal insurance which he knows to contain materially false |
25 | information concerning a fact material to the statement or claim |
26 | or to conceal, for the purpose of misleading, information |
27 | concerning a fact material to the statement or claim.] | <-- |
28 | (a) In the absence of actual malice, a person is not subject |
29 | to civil liability for libel, slander, bad faith or any other |
30 | civil cause of action, and no civil cause of action of any |
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1 | nature shall arise against the person: |
2 | (1) For any information furnished to or received from |
3 | Federal, State or local law enforcement officials, their agents |
4 | or employes relating to suspected fraudulent insurance acts or |
5 | persons suspected of engaging in such acts. |
6 | (2) For any information furnished to or received from the |
7 | Insurance Department, the Department of Health, the Department |
8 | of Labor and Industry, the Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority, |
9 | the Automobile Theft Prevention Authority, the National |
10 | Insurance Crime Bureau, the National Association of Insurance |
11 | Commissioners or a recognized comprehensive database system |
12 | relating to suspected fraudulent insurance acts or persons |
13 | suspected of engaging in such acts. |
14 | (3) For other actions taken in cooperation with any of the |
15 | agencies or individuals identified in this subsection in the |
16 | lawful investigation of suspected fraudulent insurance acts. |
17 | (b) (1) In addition to the immunity granted in subsection |
18 | (a), persons identified as designated employes of insurers, |
19 | self-insurers or insurance licensees whose responsibilities |
20 | include the investigation and disposition of claims relating to |
21 | suspected fraudulent insurance acts may share information on |
22 | such acts and persons suspected of engaging in them with other |
23 | designated employes employed by the same or other insurers, |
24 | self-insurers or insurance licensees whose responsibilities |
25 | include the investigation and disposition of claims relating to |
26 | suspected fraudulent insurance acts. Unless such persons act |
27 | with actual malice or in reckless disregard for the rights of |
28 | any insured, the insurers, self-insurers or insurance licensees |
29 | and their employes shall not be subject to libel, slander, bad |
30 | faith or any other civil cause of action, and such causes of |
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1 | action shall not arise against them. |
2 | (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, the |
3 | qualified immunity against civil liability conferred under this |
4 | subsection shall be forfeited with respect to the exchange or |
5 | publication of any defamatory information with third persons not |
6 | expressly authorized by this subsection to share in the |
7 | information. |
8 | (c) The Insurance commissioner and employes of the Insurance |
9 | Department when acting without malice and in the absence of |
10 | fraud or bad faith are not subject to civil liability for libel, |
11 | slander or any other relevant tort, and no civil cause of action |
12 | of any nature exists against such person by virtue of the |
13 | execution of official activities or duties of the Insurance |
14 | Department under this act or by virtue of the publication of any |
15 | report or bulletin related to the official activities or duties |
16 | of the Insurance Department under this act. |
17 | (d) Nothing in this section is intended to abrogate or |
18 | modify a common law or statutory immunity enjoyed by any person |
19 | prior to the effective date of this subsection or to prohibit a |
20 | bad faith or any other civil action based upon actions other |
21 | than those described in this section. |
22 | Section 2. Repeals are as follows: |
23 | (1) The General Assembly declares that the repeals | <-- |
24 | repeal under paragraph (2) are is necessary to effectuate the | <-- |
25 | provisions of this act. |
26 | (2) (i) The provisions of 75 Pa.C.S. § 1795(b) and (c) | <-- |
27 | are repealed. |
28 | (ii) Section 3(c) of the act of July 2, 1980 (P.L.340, |
29 | No.85), known as the Arson Reporting Immunity Act, is |
30 | repealed. |
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1 | Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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