Chapter 631, INSURANCE CONTRACTS GENERALLY
38 sections in this chapter.
Wis. Stat. § 631.01 Application of statutes
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631.01 Application of statutes. (1) GENERAL. This chapter and ch. 632 apply to all insurance policies and group certificates delivered or issued for delivery in this state, on property ordinarily located in this state, on persons residing in this state when the policy or group ce…
Wis. Stat. § 631.02 Definition
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631.02 Definition. “Interest of the insured,” when used in an insurance policy, includes the interest of the named insured and of any other person with whom the named insured holds the insured property in joint tenancy or as marital property. History: 1979 c. 102; 1983 a. 186; 20…
Wis. Stat. § 631.03 Insurance in mutuals
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631.03 Insurance in mutuals. Any mutual under ch. 611 or 612 and any service corporation under ch. 613 may issue policies to any public or private corporation, board or association or to any unit of government, in any place in this state or elsewhere where it is authorized to do …
Wis. Stat. § 631.05 Oral contracts of insurance and binders
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631.05 Oral contracts of insurance and binders. No provision of chs. 600 to 646 and 655 may be interpreted to forbid an oral contract of insurance or issuance of a written binder. The insurer shall issue a policy as soon as reasonably possible after issuance of any binder or nego…
Wis. Stat. § 631.07 Insurable interest and consent
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631.07 Insurable interest and consent. 631.07(1)(1) Insurable interest. No insurer may knowingly issue a policy to a person without an insurable interest in the subject of the insurance. 631.07(2)(2) Consent in life and disability insurance. Except under sub. (3), no insurer may …
Wis. Stat. § 631.08 Mistakes in contracts
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631.08 Mistakes in contracts. (1) GENERAL. Except as otherwise provided in chs. 600 to 646 and 655, general contract law applies to mistakes in insurance contracts. (2) PERSON TO WHOM PROCEEDS PAYABLE IN PROPERTY INSURANCE. Mistake in designating the person to whom the insurance …
Wis. Stat. § 631.09 Knowledge and acts of agents
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631.09 Knowledge and acts of agents. (1) IMPUTATION OF KNOWLEDGE. An insurer is deemed to know any fact material to the risk or which breaches a condition of the policy, if the agent who bound the insurer or issued the policy or transmitted the application to the insurer knew it …
Wis. Stat. § 631.11 Representations, warranties and conditions
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631.11 Representations, warranties and conditions. (1) EFFECT OF NEGOTIATIONS FOR CONTRACT. (a) Statement or warranty. No statement, representation or warranty made by a person other than the insurer or an agent of the insurer in the negotiation for an insurance contract affects …
Wis. Stat. § 631.13 Incorporation by reference
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631.13 Incorporation by reference. No insurance contract may contain any agreement or incorporate any provision not fully set forth in the policy or in an application or other document attached to and made a part of the policy at the time of its delivery except that: (1) RATES. A…
Wis. Stat. § 631.15 Contract rights under noncomplying policies
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631.15 Contract rights under noncomplying policies. (1) ENFORCEMENT OF POLICY TERMS. Except as otherwise specifically provided by statute, a policy is enforceable against the insurer according to its terms, even if it exceeds the authority of the insurer. (3m) ENFORCEMENT OF STAT…
Wis. Stat. § 631.17 Written reason for coverage denial
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631.17 Written reason for coverage denial. (1) In this section, “disability insurance policy” has the meaning given in s. 632.895 (1) (a). (2) An insurer that denies coverage under an individual or group life or disability insurance policy or a certificate of group life or disabi…
Wis. Stat. § 631.20 Filing and approval of forms
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631.20 Filing and approval of forms. (1) FILING. (a) No form subject to s. 631.01 (1), except as exempted under par. (c), sub. (1g), or s. 631.01 (2), (3), (4), or (5) or by rule under par. (b), may be used unless it has been filed with and approved by the commissioner and unless…
Wis. Stat. § 631.21 Explicit approval required
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631.21 Explicit approval required. 631.21(1)(1) Required approval. Despite filing or general approval of a form under s. 631.20, the following clauses may not be used even if contained in the form unless the commissioner gives explicit approval to them: 631.21(1)(a)(a) Expeditiou…
Wis. Stat. § 631.22 Consumer insurance policy readability
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631.22 Consumer insurance policy readability. 631.22(1)(1) In this section “consumer insurance policy” means a life, disability, property or casualty insurance policy, or a certificate or a substitute for a certificate for group life, disability, property or casualty insurance co…
Wis. Stat. § 631.23 Authorized clauses for insurance forms
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631.23 Authorized clauses for insurance forms. (1) PROMULGATION OF CLAUSES. The commissioner may not promulgate mandatory uniform clauses that preclude an insurer from filing its own forms under s. 631.20; the commissioner may only disapprove such forms on the basis of the criter…
Wis. Stat. § 631.24 Credit life and disability insurance
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631.24 Credit life and disability insurance. Section 631.20 does not apply to credit life and disability insurance forms which are subject to approval under s. 424.209. History: 1979 c. 102.
Wis. Stat. § 631.27 Rules of law as provisions of contracts
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631.27 Rules of law as provisions of contracts. By rule, the commissioner may require an insurer to insert in a policy any rule of law stated in chs. 600 to 646 and 655 that is applicable to the contents or interpretation of an insurance contract. History: 1975 c. 375; 1979 c. 89…
Wis. Stat. § 631.28 Notice of right to file complaint
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631.28 Notice of right to file complaint. 631.28(1)(1) Requirement to provide notice. Every insurer shall provide notice to its policyholders and its insureds of the right to file a complaint with the office in the manner prescribed by rule under sub. (2). 631.28(2)(2) Contents b…
Wis. Stat. § 631.31 Clauses required to be on first page
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631.31 Clauses required to be on first page. 631.31(1)(1) List of clauses. The following clauses of insurance policies shall appear on the first page of the policy: 631.31(1)(a)(a) Corporate name. The name of the insurer as required by s. 631.64; 631.31(1)(b)(b) Several liability…
Wis. Stat. § 631.36 Termination of insurance contracts by insurers
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631.36 Termination of insurance contracts by insurers. (1) SCOPE OF APPLICATION. (a) General. Except as otherwise provided in this section or in other statutes or by rule under par. (c), this section applies to all contracts of insurance based on forms that are subject to filing …
Wis. Stat. § 631.37 Special cancellation provisions
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631.37 Special cancellation provisions. The following cancellation provisions apply to the policies specified, whether or not s. 631.36 is also applicable to them. (1) CANCELLATION UPON REQUEST OF PREMIUM FINANCE COMPANY. Section 138.12 (12) applies to cancellation on request of …
Wis. Stat. § 631.39 Renewals in affiliates
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631.39 Renewals in affiliates. (1) SCOPE. This section applies to property and casualty lines of insurance, excluding disability insurance, as defined in s. 645.675 (1) (h). (2) RENEWAL REQUIREMENTS. An insurer may renew a policy in an affiliate without having to comply with s. 1…
Wis. Stat. § 631.41 Policies jointly issued
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631.41 Policies jointly issued. Two or more insurers may together issue a policy in which their liability is either several or joint and several. If it is several, the heading of the policy shall conspicuously so state and the policy shall conspicuously state the proportion or am…
Wis. Stat. § 631.43 Other insurance provisions
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631.43 Other insurance provisions. (1) GENERAL. When 2 or more policies promise to indemnify an insured against the same loss, no “other insurance” provisions of the policy may reduce the aggregate protection of the insured below the lesser of the actual insured loss suffered by …
Wis. Stat. § 631.45 Limitations on loss to be borne by insurer
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631.45 Limitations on loss to be borne by insurer. (1) GENERAL. An insurance policy indemnifying an insured against loss may by clear language limit the part of the loss to be borne by the insurer to a specified or determinable maximum amount, to loss in excess of a specified or …
Wis. Stat. § 631.48 Nonwaiver clause
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631.48 Nonwaiver clause. An insurer may insert in any insurance policy a provision that no change in the policy is valid unless approved by an executive officer of the insurer, or unless the approval is endorsed on the policy or attached to it, or both, and that no agent has auth…
Wis. Stat. § 631.51 Dividends on policies
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631.51 Dividends on policies. (1) LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES. Section 632.62 applies to life insurance and annuities. (2) INSURANCE, OTHER THAN LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES. Any insurer may distribute a portion of surplus attributable to policies other than life insurance or an…
Wis. Stat. § 631.61 Group and blanket insurance
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631.61 Group and blanket insurance. (1) CERTIFICATES. (a) General. Except under par. (d), an insurer issuing a group insurance policy other than blanket shall, as soon as practicable after the coverage is effective, provide a certificate for each member of the insured group, exce…
Wis. Stat. § 631.64 Corporate name
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631.64 Corporate name. Every insurance policy or annuity contract shall conspicuously display the name of the insurer on its first page. History: 1975 c. 375.
Wis. Stat. § 631.65 Assessable policies
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631.65 Assessable policies. Every assessable policy shall conspicuously display on the first page, separately from any other provision and in type at least as large as any used in the body of the policy, the words “This policy is assessable”. History: 1975 c. 375; 1981 c. 218. In…
Wis. Stat. § 631.69 Insurance written in connection with finance plans
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631.69 Insurance written in connection with finance plans. Any insurance contract written in connection with a finance plan or other credit transaction shall contain provisions to protect the insured from overreaching by the insurer or by the creditor in connection with the insur…
Wis. Stat. § 631.81 Notice and proof of loss
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631.81 Notice and proof of loss. (1) TIMELINESS OF NOTICE. Provided notice or proof of loss is furnished as soon as reasonably possible and within one year after the time it was required by the policy, failure to furnish such notice or proof within the time required by the policy…
Wis. Stat. § 631.83 Limitation of actions
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631.83 Limitation of actions. (1) STATUTORY PERIODS OF LIMITATION. (a) Fire insurance. An action on a fire insurance policy must be commenced within 12 months after the inception of the loss. This rule also applies to riders or endorsements attached to a fire insurance policy cov…
Wis. Stat. § 631.85 Appraisal or arbitration
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631.85 Appraisal or arbitration. An insurance policy may contain provisions for independent appraisal and compulsory arbitration, subject to the provisions of s. 631.20. If an approved policy provides for application to a court of record for the appointment of a disinterested app…
Wis. Stat. § 631.89 Restrictions on use of genetic test results
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631.89 Restrictions on use of genetic test results. (1) In this section, “genetic test” means a test using deoxyribonucleic acid extracted from an individual’s cells in order to determine the presence of a genetic disease or disorder or the individual’s predisposition for a parti…
Wis. Stat. § 631.90 Restrictions on use of tests for HIV
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631.90 Restrictions on use of tests for HIV. (1) In this section, “HIV test” has the meaning given in s. 252.01 (2m). (2) With regard to policies issued or renewed on and after July 20, 1985, an insurer may not do any of the following: (a) Require or request directly or indirectl…
Wis. Stat. § 631.93 Prohibited provisions concerning HIV infection
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631.93 Prohibited provisions concerning HIV infection. (1) DEFINITIONS. In this section, “HIV infection” means the pathological state produced by a human body in response to the presence of HIV, as defined in s. 631.90 (1). (2) ACCIDENT AND HEALTH INSURANCE. An accident or health…
Wis. Stat. § 631.95 Restrictions on insurance practices; domestic abuse
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631.95 Restrictions on insurance practices; domestic abuse. (1) DEFINITIONS. In this section: (a) “Abuse” has the meaning given in s. 813.122 (1) (a). (b) “Disability insurance policy” has the meaning given in s. 632.895 (1) (a). (c) “Domestic abuse” has the meaning given in s. 9…