§36-953. Use of credit information - Prohibited acts.
744 words·~3 min read·
/ok/title-36-insurance/36-953·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
An insurer authorized to do business in this state that uses credit information to underwrite or rate risks, shall not:
1. Use an insurance score that is calculated using income, gender, address, zip code, ethnic group, religion, marital status, or nationality of the consumer as a factor;
2. Deny, cancel or fail to renew a policy of personal insurance solely on the basis of credit information, without consideration of any other applicable underwriting factor independent of credit information and not expressly prohibited by paragraph 1 of this section;
3. Base renewal rates for personal insurance of an insured solely upon credit information, without consideration of any other applicable factor independent of credit information;
4. Take adverse action against a consumer solely because the consumer does not have a credit card account, without consideration of any other applicable factor independent of credit information;
5. Consider an absence of credit information or an inability to calculate an insurance score in underwriting or rating personal insurance, unless the insurer does one of the following:
a. treats the consumer as otherwise approved by the
Insurance Commissioner, if the insurer presents
information that an absence or inability relates to
the risk for the insurer,
b. treats the consumer as if the applicant or insured had
neutral credit information, as defined by the insurer,
or
c. excludes the use of credit information as a factor and
use only other underwriting criteria;
6. Take an adverse action against a consumer based on credit information, unless an insurer obtains and uses a credit report issued or an insurance score calculated within ninety
(90)days from the date the policy is first written or renewal is issued;
7. Use credit information unless not later than every thirty- six
(36)months following the last time that the insurer obtained current credit information for the insured, the insurer recalculates the insurance score or obtains an updated credit report. Regardless of the requirements of this subsection:
a. at annual renewal, upon the request of a consumer or
the agent of the consumer, the insurer shall
reunderwrite and rerate the policy based upon a
current credit report or insurance score. An insurer
need not recalculate the insurance score or obtain the
updated credit report of a consumer more frequently
than once in a twelve-month period,
b. the insurer shall have the discretion to obtain
current credit information upon any renewal before the
thirty-six
(36)months, if consistent with its
underwriting guidelines, and
c. no insurer need obtain current credit information for
an insured, despite the requirements of paragraph 7 of
this section, if one of the following applies:
(1)the insurer is treating the consumer as otherwise
approved by the Commissioner,
(2)the insured is in the most favorably priced tier
of the insurer, within a group of affiliated
insurers. However, the insurer shall have the
discretion to order a report, if consistent with
its underwriting guidelines,
(3)credit was not used for underwriting or rating
the insured when the policy was initially
written. However, the insurer shall have the
discretion to use credit for underwriting or
rating the insured upon renewal, if consistent
with its underwriting guidelines, or
(4)the insurer reevaluates the insured beginning no
later than thirty-six
(36)months after inception
and thereafter based upon other underwriting or
rating factors, excluding credit information; and
8. Use the following as a negative factor in any insurance scoring methodology or in reviewing credit information for the purpose of underwriting or rating a policy of personal insurance:
a. credit inquiries not initiated by the consumer or
inquiries requested by the consumer for the credit
information of the consumer,
b. inquiries relating to insurance coverage, if so
identified on a credit report of the consumer,
c. collection accounts with a medical industry code, if
so identified on the credit report of the consumer,
d. multiple lender inquiries, if coded by the consumer
reporting agency on the credit report of the consumer
as being from the home mortgage industry and made
within thirty
(30)days of one another, unless only
one inquiry is considered, and
e. multiple lender inquiries, if coded by the consumer
reporting agency on the credit report of the consumer
as being from the automobile lending industry and made
within thirty
(30)days of one another, unless only
one inquiry is considered. Added by Laws 2003, c. 127, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 2003. Amended by Laws 2010, c. 222, § 8, eff. Nov. 1, 2010.