# Maine LD 1837: An Act to Amend the Laws Affecting Insurance Maine LD 1837, An Act to Amend the Laws Affecting Insurance, is a 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) Senate bill sponsored by Richard A. Bennett (Independent); status signed, last action 2025-06-17 (Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 348); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1837-132 - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Maine LD 1837 - State: Maine - Session: 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) - Title: An Act to Amend the Laws Affecting Insurance - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-06-17 - Last action: 2025-06-17, Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 348 - Sponsor: Richard A. Bennett (Independent) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Economic provisions PRIA read: 11 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Ban on disability bias in insurance: benefit, medium. Insurers cannot deny, refuse, cancel, or change your insurance just because you have a physical or mental disability. This protects applicants and insured people from unfair treatment. - Clear warnings and timelines for surplus lines: benefit, medium. When you apply for surplus lines insurance, the producer must give you a bold 16‑point notice. You must sign and date it, and you get a copy with your policy. They must keep your signed notice for 5 years. If the producer collected your premium, the nonadmitted insurer is liable for covered losses… - Stronger help when insurers go broke: benefit, medium. Some claims on policies that were later transferred or assumed count as covered claims if strict conditions are met. The guaranty association can hire staff and contractors to handle claims and deliver benefits. If an insurer in liquidation is not clearly solvent, the court holds a hearing and must… - Faster notice of vendor data breaches: benefit, low. By January 1, 2027, insurers must require their vendors to promptly tell them about cyber events that could materially harm consumers or operations. The insurer’s legal deadlines start the day after the vendor alerts them or the day after the insurer learns of the event, whichever is sooner. The la… - No cost-sharing for screening mammograms: benefit, low. You pay no copay, coinsurance, or deductible for a screening mammogram covered by a nonprofit hospital and medical care service organization. This applies when the screening follows the law’s standards. It does not apply to an individual high‑deductible plan paired with an HSA unless the IRS allows… - Tougher enforcement and reporting for insurers: benefit, low. The superintendent can ask courts to stop illegal control deals, undo unlawful transactions, and start delinquency cases. Securities bought in violation cannot be voted or counted for quorum. Violations can bring civil penalties under section 12‑A, including for each day they continue. Insurers mus… - Cyber insurance defined, but payouts capped: cost, medium. The law defines cybersecurity insurance and clarifies that some cyber coverages belong in those policies, not in service‑contract insurance. If an insurer becomes insolvent, all covered claims from one cyber event that go through the guaranty system are capped at $500,000 total, no matter how many… - Insurers can use group health data: cost, medium. Insurers may request health information about people in a group plan when it is relevant to set the group’s rates. This can change premiums or coverage terms for employees. - Higher fees for self‑insured employers: cost, low. The fee for self‑insurance authorization is $400. Each annual continuation also costs $400. This was previously $300. Your total equals $400 times the number of authorizations or continuations. - Health appeals final, dispute records private: mixed, low. An external review decision is binding on the insurer. You cannot request another external review of the same treatment decision. The decision is not treated as final agency action. Records about independent dispute resolution requests and proceedings are confidential, except where the law allows r… - Tighter limits on surplus‑lines use: mixed, low. Surplus‑lines rules apply only when Maine is your home state. Employers must buy workers’ compensation from authorized insurers; it cannot be placed in surplus lines. The surplus‑lines chapter does not block reinsurance cessions or assumptions that are otherwise allowed. The law also updates terms… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Richard A. Bennett (Independent), Senate ## Actions (1) - 2025-06-17: Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 348 ## Bill text - Amendment S-A (S-278), adopted by House & Senate: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0720&item=3&snum=132) - Enacted: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0720&item=4&snum=132) - Introduced: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0720&item=1&snum=132) ## Related bills - LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program (failed) - LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families (failed) - LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (failed) - LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan for Retirement (failed) - LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State Employees (failed) - LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit (failed) ## Sources - [Amendment S-A (S-278), adopted by House & Senate (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0720&item=3&snum=132) - [Enacted (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0720&item=4&snum=132) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0720&item=1&snum=132) ## Related - [LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1522-132) - [LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1665-132) - [LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retiremen…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1872-132) - [LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD2067-132) - [LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1611-132) - [LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1294-132) - [Maine bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine/bills) - [Maine state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1837-132 (as of 2026-10-17).