Title INS — California Ins. Code

Members and subscribers of advisory organizations may use the policy or bond forms, or manuals, of advisory organizations, either consistently or intermittently, but, except for insurers having common ownership or management, shall not agree with each other or others to adhere th…

(a) An advisory organization may prepare and distribute insurance policy or bond forms, and manuals, including policy writing rules, rating plans, classification codes and descriptions, territory codes and descriptions, prospective loss costs, and rules that include factors and r…

Every group, association or other organization of insurers which engages in joint underwriting or joint reinsurance through such group, association or organization or by standing agreement among the members thereof shall file with the commissioner (a) a copy of its constitution, …

(a) Every insurer or advisory organization and every group, association, or other organization of insurers that engages in joint underwriting or joint reinsurance shall maintain reasonable records, of the type and kind reasonably adapted to its method of operation, of its experie…

The commissioner shall, at least once every five years, and may as often as may be reasonable and necessary, make or cause to be made an examination of each licensed rating organization, and he may, as often as may be reasonable and necessary, make or cause to be made an examinat…

The commissioner may, at any reasonable time, make or cause to be made an examination of every admitted insurer transacting any class of insurance to which the provisions of this chapter are applicable to ascertain whether such insurer and every rate and rating system used by it …

The officers, managers, agents and employees of any such organization, group, association or insurer may be examined at any time under oath and shall exhibit all books, records, accounts, documents or agreements governing its method of operation, together with all data, statistic…

The reasonable cost of any examination authorized by this article shall be paid by the organization, group, association or insurer to be examined.

The application referred to in subdivision (b) of Section 1861.05 shall include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following information: (1) Premiums written. (2) Premiums earned. (3) Unearned premiums. (4) The dollar amount of claims paid. (5) The number of outstanding cl…

(a) An insurer doing business in this state, except as provided by subdivision (f), shall report the information specified by the commissioner that is collected by a licensed advisory organization on an annual basis for each class of insurance designated in the prior calendar yea…

(a) Any person aggrieved by any rate charged, rating plan, rating system, or underwriting rule followed or adopted by an insurer or rating organization, may file a written complaint with the commissioner requesting that the commissioner review the manner in which the rate, plan, …

(a) Whenever a written complaint has been filed with the commissioner, the commissioner shall review and investigate the matter complained of as provided by Section 1858 and shall make a determination whether there is probable cause to believe that a violation of this chapter has…

(a) The commissioner may seek resolution of a complaint by informal conciliation at any time and may require the complainant and insurer or rating organization to meet and confer for the purposes of resolving the matter complained of by informal conciliation. The commissioner may…

Whenever a written complaint and request for hearing with the commissioner has been filed pursuant to Section 1858, and the complaint concerns medical malpractice insurance, the commissioner shall within 30 days either by order deny the hearing or proceed as provided in Sections …

(a) Any person who uses any rate, rating plan, or rating system in violation of this chapter is liable to the state for a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each act, or, if the act or practice was willful, a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand do…

If after examination of an insurer, rating organization, advisory organization, or group, association, or other organization of insurers which engages in joint underwriting or joint reinsurance, or upon the basis of other information, or upon sufficient complaint as provided in S…

Once commenced, an examination pursuant to Section 1858.1 shall be promptly conducted and concluded within a reasonable time. If the examination is being conducted as the result of a written complaint and request for hearing filed pursuant to Section 1858, and the complaint conce…

(a) If the insurer, organization, group, or association does not make those changes as may be necessary to correct the noncompliance specified in the notice issued under Section 1858.1, or if the insurer, organization, group, or association has failed to establish to the satisfac…

If after a hearing pursuant to Section 1858.2 the commissioner finds: (a) That any rate, rating plan, or rating system violates the provisions of this chapter applicable to it, he or she shall issue an order to the insurer or rating organization which has been the subject of the …

On or before May 1 of each year, the commissioner shall submit a report to the Legislature and the Governor stating the number and type of complaints received under this article and the status and disposition of these complaints. The commissioner may make any recommendations for …

In addition to other penalties provided in this code, the commissioner shall suspend or revoke, in whole or in part, the license of any rating organization or the certificate of authority of any insurer with respect to the class or classes of insurance specified in that order, wh…

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all proceedings in connection with the denial, suspension or revocation of a license or certificate of authority under this chapter shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 o…

Any finding, determination, rule, ruling or order made by the commissioner under this chapter shall be subject to review by the courts of the State and proceedings on review shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure. In such proceedings on review, …

Whenever the commissioner determines that a rate is excessive or not excessive, he shall, upon the written request of any complainant, disclose the basis upon which such rate was determined to be excessive or not excessive in writing to the complainant.

No person, insurer or organization shall wilfully withhold information from, or knowingly give false or misleading information to, the commissioner or to any rating organization, advisory organization, insurer or group, association or other organization of insurers, which will af…

(a) Any person, insurer, organization, group, or association who fails to comply with a final order of the commissioner under this chapter shall be liable to the state in an amount not exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) but if the failure is willful he or she or it shall …

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit or regulate the payment of dividends, savings or unabsorbed premium deposits allowed or returned by insurers to their policyholders, members or subscribers. A plan for the payment of dividends, savings or unabsorbed premium d…

No act done, action taken or agreement made pursuant to the authority conferred by this chapter shall constitute a violation of or grounds for prosecution or civil proceedings under any other law of this State heretofore or hereafter enacted which does not specifically refer to i…

The administration and enforcement of this chapter shall be governed solely by the provisions of this chapter. Except as provided in this chapter, no other law relating to insurance and no other provisions in this code heretofore or hereafter enacted shall apply to or be construe…

The provisions of the following sections of this code shall be applicable to the administration, enforcement and interpretation of this chapter: Sections 1 to 41, both inclusive, 100 to 121, both inclusive, 620, 621, 700, 701, 704, 730 to 737, both inclusive, 12903, 12904, 12919,…

Insurance Rate Rollback. (a) For any coverage for a policy for automobile and any other form of insurance subject to this chapter issued or renewed on or after November 8, 1988, every insurer shall reduce its charges to levels which are at least 20% less than the charges for the …

(a) Rates and premiums for an automobile insurance policy, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 660, shall be determined by application of the following factors in decreasing order of importance: (1) The insured’s driving safety record. (2) The number of miles he or she dri…

A person is qualified to purchase a Good Driver Discount policy if he or she meets all of the following criteria: (a) He or she has been licensed to drive a motor vehicle for the previous three years. (b) During the previous three years, he or she has not done any of the followin…

(a) The business of insurance shall be subject to the laws of California applicable to any other business, including, but not limited to, civil rights laws (Sections 51 to 53, inclusive, of the Civil Code), and the antitrust and unfair business practices laws (Parts 2 (commencing…

Full Disclosure of Insurance Information. (a) Upon request, and for a reasonable fee to cover costs, the commissioner shall provide consumers with a comparison of the rate in effect for each personal line of insurance for every insurer.

Approval of Insurance Rates. (a) No rate shall be approved or remain in effect which is excessive, inadequate, unfairly discriminatory or otherwise in violation of this chapter. In considering whether a rate is excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory, no consideration sh…

(a) The commissioner shall adopt regulations governing hearings required by subdivision (c) of Section 1861.05 on or before 120 days after the enactment of this section. Those regulations shall, at the minimum, include timelines for scheduling and commencing hearings, and procedu…

Public notice required by this article shall be made through distribution to the news media and to any member of the public who requests placement on a mailing list for that purpose.

All information provided to the commissioner pursuant to this article shall be available for public inspection, and the provisions of Section 7929.000 of the Government Code and Section 1857.9 of the Insurance Code shall not apply thereto.

Hearings shall be conducted pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, except that: (a) Hearings shall be conducted by administrative law judges for purposes of Sections 11512 and 11517, chosen under Section 11…

Judicial review shall be in accordance with Section 1858.6. For purposes of judicial review, a decision to hold a hearing is not a final order or decision; however, a decision not to hold a hearing is final.

Consumer Participation. (a) Any person may initiate or intervene in any proceeding permitted or established pursuant to this chapter, challenge any action of the commissioner under this article, and enforce any provision of this article. (b) The commissioner or a court shall awar…

Emergency Authority. In the event that the commissioner finds that (a) insurers have substantially withdrawn from any insurance market covered by this article, including insurance described by Section 660, and (b) a market assistance plan would not be sufficient to make insurance…

Group Insurance Plans. Any insurer may issue any insurance coverage on a group plan, without restriction as to the purpose of the group, occupation or type of group. Group insurance rates shall not be considered to be unfairly discriminatory, if they are averaged broadly among pe…

Application. This article shall apply to all insurance on risks or on operations in this state, except those listed in Section 1851.

(a) Notwithstanding Section 1861.13, credit insurance shall not be subject to Sections 1861.01 and 1861.05. However, any rate for credit insurance shall be filed with the commissioner before it may be used in this state, and that rate may be used immediately upon filing with the …

Enforcement & Penalties. Violations of this article shall be subject to the penalties set forth in Section 1859.1. In addition to the other penalties provided in this chapter, the commissioner may suspend or revoke, in whole or in part, the certificate of authority of any insurer…

(a) An insurer issuing policies as described in subdivision (a) of Section 660, shall, as a condition of obtaining and maintaining a certificate of authority to transact the business of insurance in this state, offer to persons who qualify for a good driver discount pursuant to S…

(a) An insurer issuing a policy described in subdivision (a) of Section 660 by or through an insurance agent where a commission is paid, directly or indirectly, to that agent shall, when issuing a policy in the minimum financial responsibility coverage amount as required by Secti…