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Mark
Sektnan
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Phone:
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916-449-1370
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Mark.sektnan@acicnet.org
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 ACIC Bill Roundup
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Following is ACIC’s weekly Bill
Roundup news release which lists insurance-related bills and other measures
acted upon by lawmakers. If you have any questions or comments, please
contact Mark Sektnan vice president, or Sam Sorich, president of the
Association of California Insurance Companies.
The
Legislature recessed on Aug. 31. The Governor has until Sept. 30 to sign or
veto bills passed by the Legislature before the recess.
Bills
Sent to the Governor
Agents
& Brokers
AB 2782
(Assembly Committee on Insurance) Agent Licensing Omnibus Bill. AB 2782 would make a number of
changes to the agent licensing laws,
including deletion of the authority for a fire and casualty licensee to sell
any coverage that a personal lines licensee is authorized to transact. The
bill would divide the fire and casualty broker-agent license into two insurance
license types: property broker-agent licenses and casualty broker-agent
licenses. AB 2782 would designate the number of hours required for ethics
training in prelicensing study. The bill would retain the requirement that an
investment company in which a domestic insurer may make excess funds
investments be domiciled in the United States,
but would delete the requirement that all assets be held in the United States. ACIC supports the bill.
Auto
AB 519
(Solorio) Towing Fees and Access. AB 519 would require towing companies to provide consumers
with a Towing Fees and Access Notice and an itemized invoice of all towing and
storage fees, as specified. The bill also
specifies who is authorized to retrieve or inspect a towed vehicle. ACIC
supports the bill.
AB 953
(Eng) Department of Motor Vehicles: Records: Confidentiality. AB 953 allows an authorized
contractor acting on behalf of an insurance company to obtain an address from
the Department of Motor Vehicles for the purpose of obtaining the address of
another motorist or vehicle owner involved in an accident with the company’s insured,
subject to existing state and federal privacy and data security laws. ACIC
supports the bill.
AB 2111
(Smyth) Service Contracts. AB 2111 would clarify the requirement to provide a pro rata
refund to any consumer who purchases a vehicle service contract and
subsequently decides to cancel it. ACIC supports the bill.
SB 427
(Negrete McLeod) Automotive Repair and Crash Parts. SB 427 would make it a misdemeanor
for an automotive repair dealer to fail to repair and fully restore an airbag
to original operating condition. ACIC supports the bill.
SB 949
(Oropeza) Vehicles: Local Authority: Assessing Penalties. SB 949 would prohibit a local unit
of government from enacting or enforcing an ordinance that assesses a penalty
for a violation of conduct covered by the Vehicle Code that is different than
the penalty provided for in that code unless expressly authorized by the
Vehicle Code. ACIC supports the bill.
Homeowners
AB 2022
(Gaines) Property Insurance: Residential Disclosure. AB 2022 would revise the California
Residential Property Insurance Disclosure to simplify the description of types
of coverage and to include additional information concerning insurance limits.
The bill also would revise the Residential Property Insurance Bill of Rights.
ACIC supports the bill.
Legal
AB 1680
(Saldana) Civil Rights Act: Waiver of Rights. AB 1680 would prohibit a person from
requiring a waiver of the protections afforded under California civil rights acts unless the waiver
is in writing and contains a statement that the waiver is voluntarily and
knowingly made and is not made a condition of entering into an agreement for
the provision of goods or services. ACIC opposes the bill.
AB 2284
(Evans) Jury Trials: Rules of Court. AB 2284 would establish procedures in civil cases for
conducting voluntary expedited jury trials. The procedures include a jury
composed of eight or fewer jurors, a
three-hour maximum for each side to present its case and limited appeal rights.
ACIC supports the bill.
Policy
Cancellation
AB 2404
(Hill) Insurance. AB
2404 would require an insurer to disclose in writing that an insurance policy
includes a provision for the refund of premium on other than a pro rata basis.
The disclosure would have to be provided prior to, or concurrent with, the
application for insurance and prior to each renewal. The bill’s disclosure requirement would be prospective and
would apply only to policies issued,
amended or renewed on or after Jan. 1,
2012. AB 2404 also would authorize the insurance commissioner to postpone the
market conduct examination of an insurer for up to three years if information
derived from a market analysis indicates no significant issues of concern
regarding the insurer. ACIC opposes the bill.
Safety
SB 880
(Yee) Public Safety: Snow Sport Helmets. SB 880 would mandate the use of helmets for children
under the age of 18 who ski or snowboard. ACIC supports the bill.
Workers
Compensation
AB 933
(Fong) Workers Compensation: Utilization Review. AB 933 would require a physician
who conducts a utilization review of workers compensation medical treatment to
be licensed in California. ACIC opposes the
bill.
AB 2490
(Jones) Workers Compensation Insurance: Disputes Resolution: Arbitration
Clauses.
AB 2490
would impose requirements on any agreement between an employer and a workers
compensation insurer concerning resolution of disputes including, but not limited to, an arbitration clause arising out of a workers compensation policy or
endorsement. The bill would require that the agreement (1) be part of the form
or endorsement filed with a licensed rating organization and subject to
approval by the insurance commissioner,
(2) include a choice of law provision that identifies California law as the law
to be used to resolve any dispute that arises in California and (3) contain a
choice of forum provision that identifies California as the proper venue for
any proceeding regarding a dispute that arises in California. AB 2490
specifies that failure to observe these requirements would render the dispute
resolution agreement void and unenforceable. ACIC opposes the bill.
# # # # #
The Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC) is
an affiliate of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) and
represents more than 300 property/casualty insurance companies doing business
in California. ACIC member companies write 41.8 percent of the
property/casualty insurance in California, including 57.3 percent of personal
auto insurance, 45.7 percent of commercial automobile insurance, 40 percent of
homeowners insurance, 32.5 percent of business insurance and 43.4 percent of
the private workers compensation insurance. PCI is composed of more than 1,000
member companies, representing the broadest cross-section of insurers of any
national trade association.