§431:13-103 Unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices defined. (a) The following are defined as unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the business of insurance:
(b) The commissioner shall by certified mail notify the insurer's agent, as designated pursuant to section 431:2-205, of each complaint filed with the commissioner under this section.
(c) Three or more written complaints received by the commissioner within any twelve-month period charging separate violations of this section shall constitute a rebuttable presumption of a general business practice.
(d) Evidence as to numbers and types of complaints to the commissioner against an insurer, and the commissioner's complaint experience with other insurers writing similar lines of insurance, shall be admissible in an administrative or judicial proceeding brought under this section. No insurer shall be deemed in violation of this section solely by reason of the numbers and types of such complaints except if the presumption under subsection (c) is not rebutted.
(e) If it is found, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, that an insurer has violated this section, each instance of noncompliance may be treated as a separate violation of this section for the purposes of section 431:2-203.
(f) An insurer or licensee shall issue a written response with reasonable promptness, in no case more than fifteen working days, to any written inquiry made by the commissioner regarding a claim, consumer complaint, or sales or marketing practice. The response shall be more than an acknowledgment that the commissioner's communication has been received, and shall adequately address the concerns stated in the communication. [L 1987, c 347, pt of §2; am L 1988, c 330, §2; am L 1989, c 396, §1; am L 1997, c 83, §4; am L 2000, c 29, §1; am L 2002, c 155, §81 and c 228, §1; am L 2003, c 212, §104; am L 2007, c 257, §3; am L 2008, c 227, §§2, 5; am L 2009, c 11, §22; am L 2010, c 116, §1(24); am L 2014, c 45, §11; am L 2021, c 110, §14]