Title 27 — Title 27

Generally. (a) Whenever the commissioner has reason to believe that any person engaged in the business of insurance is engaging in this state in any method of competition, or in any act or practice in the conduct of such business which is not defined in this trade practices law, …

Appeal by Intervenor. If the report of the commissioner under Section 27-12-21 does not charge a violation of this chapter, then any intervenor in the proceedings may, within 30 days after the service of such report, cause a notice of appeal to be filed in the Circuit Court of Mo…

No agent, broker, solicitor, examining physician, or other person shall knowingly make a false or fraudulent statement or representation in, or relative to, an application for insurance. Violations of this section shall be punishable under Section 27-1-12. History: (Acts 1971, No…

No insurer shall, without just cause, refuse to pay or settle claims arising under coverages provided by its policies in this state and with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice in this state, which general business practice is evidenced by: (1) A substantial…

for Payment of Health Care Services Prohibited Under Certain Circumstances. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any health insurer, any health care service plan organized under Article 6, Chapter 20, Title 10A, or any health maintenance organization organized under Ch…

No person shall make or issue, or cause to be made or issued, any written or oral statement misrepresenting or making misleading incomplete comparisons as to the terms, conditions, or benefits contained in any policy for the purpose of inducing, or attempting or tending to induce…

(a) No person shall file with any supervisory or other public official or make, publish, disseminate, circulate, or deliver to any person or place before the public, or cause, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, delivered to any person, or pla…

No person shall enter into any agreement to commit or, by any concerted action, commit any act of boycott, coercion, or intimidation resulting in, or tending to result in, unreasonable restraint of, or monopoly in, the business of insurance. History: (Acts 1957, No. 608, p. 865, …

No person shall make, publish, disseminate, or circulate, directly or indirectly, or aid, abet, or encourage the making, publishing, disseminating, or circulating of any oral or written statement or any pamphlet, circular, article, or literature which is false or maliciously crit…

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) COMMISSIONER. The Alabama Commissioner of Insurance or his or her designee. (2) DEPARTMENT. The Alabama Department of Insurance. (3) INSURANCE. As defined in Section 27-1-2, and specifically inclu…

The Legislature finds that the business of insurance involves many transactions that have potential for fraud, abuse, and other illegal activities. This chapter is intended to permit full utilization of the expertise of the Department of Insurance to investigate, discover, and pr…

The Commissioner of Insurance may adopt reasonable rules for the implementation and administration of this chapter. History: (Act 2012-429, p. 1170, §5.)

A person commits the crime of insurance fraud if, knowingly and with intent to defraud, he or she commits, or conceals any material information concerning, one or more of the following acts: (1) The solicitation or acceptance of new or renewal insurance risks on behalf of an insu…

(a) A fraud warning shall be included on at least one of the following: Claim release forms, applications, reinstatements for insurance, participation agreements, declaration pages, and claim documents, regardless of the method or form of transmission and shall contain the follow…

(a) Persons engaged in the business of insurance, having knowledge or a reasonable belief that insurance fraud is being, will be, or has been committed, shall provide to the department such information that is required by, and in a manner prescribed by, the department. As used in…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), there shall be no civil liability imposed on and no cause of action shall arise against a person for furnishing or receiving information concerning suspected, anticipated, or completed insurance fraud. This shall not abrogate or…

(a) Documents and evidence provided pursuant to Section 27-12A-21 or obtained by the department in an investigation of suspected or actual insurance fraud shall be privileged and confidential, shall not be a public record, and shall not be subject to discovery or subpoena in a ci…

This chapter shall not be construed to do any of the following: (1) Preempt the authority or relieve other law enforcement or regulatory agencies of the duty to investigate, examine, and prosecute suspected violations of law. (2) Prevent or prohibit a person from voluntarily disc…

(a) An act prohibited by Section 27-12A-2, in cases where the loss or potential loss exceeds one thousand dollars ($1,000), constitutes insurance fraud in the first degree. (b) Insurance fraud in the first degree is a Class B felony. History: (Act 2012-429, p. 1170, §2.)

(a) An act prohibited by Section 27-12A-2, in cases where the loss or potential loss does not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), constitutes insurance fraud in the second degree. (b) Insurance fraud in the second degree is a Class C felony. History: (Act 2012-429, p. 1170, §2.…

(a) There is established within the department the Insurance Fraud Unit. The commissioner shall appoint the necessary full-time supervisory and investigative personnel of the unit who shall be qualified by training and experience to perform the duties of their positions. The comm…

(a) The commissioner shall assess each insurer authorized to write insurance in the State of Alabama two hundred dollars ($200) per year in order to fund the operations of the unit. (b) Assessments shall be due not less than 30 days after prior written notice to the insurer and s…

(a) There is created a fund in the State Treasury designated the Insurance Fraud Unit Fund. The expenses incurred by the department in operating the unit, including expenses incurred by the department for providing administrative personnel, legal counsel, litigation support, expe…

(a) A person commits the crime of transacting insurance without a license if he or she knowingly transacts the business of insurance in violation of laws requiring a license, certificate of authority, or other legal authority for the transaction of the business of insurance. (b) …

Insurance. (a) No prosecution may be commenced under this article more than seven years after the alleged violation was detected. (b) An individual who has been convicted of insurance fraud in the first degree or insurance fraud in the second degree shall be disqualified from eng…

(a) The enforcement of this chapter shall be vested in the Department of Insurance. It shall be the duty of the department to see that the provisions of this chapter are at all times obeyed and to take such measures and to make such investigations as will prevent or detect the vi…

(a) A producer who violates this chapter may be subject to the suspension or revocation of any insurance license held by the producer or civil penalties of up to five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation, or both. Suspension or revocation of an insurance license or certificate…

Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any person has engaged in or is about to engage in any act or practice constituting a violation of any provision of this chapter or any rule or order hereunder, the commissioner may, in the commissioner’s discretion, do either or both …

The purpose of this chapter is to promote the public welfare by regulating insurance rates to the end that they shall not be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory and to authorize and regulate cooperative action among insurers in rate-making and in other matters within…

“Advisory organization” means every group, association, or other organization of insurers, whether located within or without this state, which assists insurers which make their own filings or rating organizations in rate-making by collection and furnishing of loss or expense stat…

Every advisory organization assisting any rating organization or any insurer whose rates are subject to regulation under Article 2 of this chapter or any rating organization or any insurer whose rates are subject to regulation under Article 3 of this chapter, as a condition prece…

Practices, Etc., or Violations. (a) Every advisory organization shall file with the commissioner: (1) A copy of its constitution, its articles of agreement or association or its certificate of incorporation and its bylaws, rules, and regulations governing its activities; (2) A li…

(a) Every advisory organization rendering assistance to a rating organization or to an insurer whose rates are subject to regulation under Article 2 of this chapter shall agree to be subject to examination in the same manner, and upon the same terms and conditions, as rating orga…

The commissioner is authorized, and directed, to enforce this article, and he is hereby authorized to make such orders, rules, and regulations as are reasonable and proper to facilitate the administration hereof. History: (Acts 1965, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 120, p. 167, §5; Acts 1971,…

The provisions of this article are supplemental and shall be construed in pari materia with other laws relating to insurance rates and rate-making. History: (Acts 1965, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 120, p. 167, §7; Acts 1971, No. 407, p. 707, §313.)

(a) Any rates, rating schedules, or rating manuals submitted to or filed with the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance for private passenger automobile liability insurance and private passenger automobile physical damage insurance shall include an appropriate reduction in …

To qualify for the insurance premium reduction described in Section 27-13-120, the motor vehicle accident prevention course shall be sponsored by the National Safety Council, the American Automobile Association, or the AARP or shall be an equivalent course approved by the Departm…

The provisions of this article shall not apply to individuals 55 years of age or older that are already receiving a rate reduction, based on attained age, from their insurance company. History: (Act 2000-432, p. 793, §3.)

The commissioner is charged with the duty of the administration of all laws now relating, or hereafter relating, to insurance rates and rating systems of all companies authorized to do business in the State of Alabama, with the exception of rates of life and health and accident b…

For the purposes of this article, unless otherwise stated, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section. (1) RATE. The unit charge by which the measure of exposure or the amount of insurance specified in a policy of insurance or covere…

(a) This article shall apply to insurance against loss to property located in this state, or to any valuable interest therein, by fire, lightning, windstorm, explosion, or by theft or physical damage to motor vehicles and all other kinds of insurance which fire insurance companie…

The provisions of this section shall apply to all insurance which is now or hereafter defined by statute, by ruling of the commissioner or by lawful custom as inland marine insurance, but this article shall not apply to insurance of vessels or craft, their cargoes, marine builder…

Nothing in this article shall apply to any town or county farmers’ mutual fire insurance association restricting their operations to not more than one county or to domestic insurance companies, associations, orders, or fraternal benefit societies now doing business in this state …

Fee for Same. (a) No rating organization shall do business in this state unless it shall have been licensed to do so by the commissioner. Application for such license shall be made on such forms as the commissioner shall prepare for that purpose. Upon applying for such license, e…

Subscribers. Every rating organization shall make reasonable provision in its bylaws, rules, constitution, or otherwise to permit any insurer engaged in the kind of insurance for which rate-making is done by such rating organization to become a member or subscriber thereof upon a…

Members or Subscribers. Every rating organization shall notify the department within 10 days upon the withdrawal or expulsion therefrom of any member or subscriber. Should a rating organization expel or otherwise exclude a subscriber for the refusal or failure of such subscriber …

Every rating organization and every insurer which makes its own rates shall make rates that are not unreasonably high or inadequate for the safety and soundness of the insurer and which do not unfairly discriminate between risks in this state involving essentially the same hazard…

Every insurer shall file annually, on or before July 1, with the rating organization of which it is a member or subscriber, or with such other common agency representing a group of insurers as the department may approve, and with the department a statistical report showing a clas…

Beginning 180 days after January 1, 1972, every insurer shall, before using or applying any rate to any kind of insurance coming within the scope of this article, file with the department a copy of the rating system upon which such rate is based or by which such rate is fixed or …

(a) The commissioner may require any regulated insurer engaged in any of the businesses in Alabama as enumerated in this chapter to file with the department any data or information required or necessary in the performance of the duties of the commissioner, the data or information…