House of Representatives and the appropriate com-
mittee of the Senate within 18 months of the date
of the enactment of this Act.
(b) STUDY OF INSURER ACTIONS TO MEET INSUR-
ANCE NEEDS OF CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS.—The Sec-
retary shall conduct a study of various practices, actions,
programs, and methods undertaken by insurers to meet
the property and casualty insurance needs of residents of
low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, minority neigh-
borhoods, and small businesses located in such neighbor-
hoods. The Secretary may establish a task force of inter-
ested parties, including representatives of insurance com-
panies, insurance agents, including minority agents, and
consumer representatives to discuss additional practices,
actions, programs, and methods to meet these needs. The
Secretary shall report the results of the study, including
any recommendations, to the Committee on Banking and
Financial Services of the House of Representatives and
the appropriate committee of the Senate no later than 2
years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) STUDY OF DISPARATE CLAIM TREATMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct
a study to determine whether, and the extent to
which, insurers engage in disparate treatment in
handling claims of policyholders under designated
lines of insurance based on the race, gender, and in-
come level of the policyholder and the racial charac-
teristics and income levels of the area in which the
insurance risk is located. In conducting the study,
the Secretary shall specifically consider whether the
residents of low-income neighborhoods or areas and
minority neighborhoods or areas are more likely
than residents of other areas to have their claims
contested or their insurance coverage canceled.
(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit a re-
port on the results of the study under paragraph (1)
to the Committee on Banking and Financial Affairs
of the House of Representatives and the appropriate
Committees of the Senate not later than 2 years
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) STUDY
OF RATING TERRITORIES.—The Sec-
retary shall conduct a study to determine whether the
practice in the insurance industry of basing insurance pre-
miums on the territory in which the insured risk is located
has a disparate impact on the availability, affordability,
or quality of insurance by race, gender, or type of neigh-
borhood. The Secretary shall submit a report on the re-
sults of the study to the Committee on Banking and Fi-
nancial Affairs of the House of Representatives and the
appropriate Committees of the Senate not later than 12
months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(e) STUDY OF REINVESTMENT REQUIREMENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct
a study to determine the feasibility of requiring in-
surers to reinvest in communities and neighborhoods
from which they collect premiums for insurance and
whether, and the extent to which, community rein-
vestment requirements for insurers should be estab-
lished that are comparable to the community rein-
vestment requirements applicable to depository insti-
tutions. The Secretary shall consult with representa-
tives of insurers and consumer, community, and civil
rights organizations regarding the results of the
study and any recommendations to be made based
on the results of the study.
(2) REPORT.— The Secretary shall submit a re-
port on the results of the study, including any such
recommendations, to the Committee on Banking and
Financial Affairs of the House of Representatives
and the appropriate Committees of the Senate not
later than 6 months after the conclusion of the first
annual reporting period to which the reporting re-
quirements under this Act apply.
SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) 
COMMERCIAL
INSURANCE.—The 
term
‘‘commercial insurance’’ means any line of property
and casualty insurance, except private passenger
automobile and homeowner’s insurance.
(2) DESIGNATED
INSURER.—The term ‘‘des-
ignated insurer’’ means an insurer designated by the
Secretary pursuant to section 4(a)(2).
(3) DESIGNATED LINE.—The term ‘‘designated
line’’ means a line of insurance specified in 4(a)(3).
(4) EXPOSURE
UNITS.—The term ‘‘exposure
units’’ means units insured against risk of loss by an
insurer and the term ‘‘units’’ means an automobile
or the number of units in a building.
(5) INSURER.—The term ‘‘insurer’’ means any
corporation, association, society, order, firm, com-
pany, partnership, individual, or aggregation of indi-
viduals which is subject to examination or super-
vision by any State insurance regulator, or which is
doing or represents an insurance business. Such
term does not include an individual or entity which
represents an insurer as agent for the purpose of
selling or which represents a consumer as a broker
for the purpose of buying insurance.
(6) MSA.—The term ‘‘MSA’’ means a Metro-
politan Statistical Area or a Consolidated Metropoli-
tan Statistical Area and the term ‘‘designated MSA’’
means an MSA designated by the Secretary pursu-
ant to section 4(a)(1).
(7) PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE.—
The term ‘‘property and casualty insurance’’ means
insurance against loss of or damage to property, in-
surance against loss of income or extra expense in-
curred because of loss of, or damage to, property,
and insurance against third party liability claims
caused by negligence or imposed by statute or con-
tract.
(8) RESIDUAL
MARKET.—The term ‘‘residual
market’’ means an assigned risk plan, joint under-
writing association, or any similar mechanism de-
signed to make insurance available to those unable
to obtain it in the voluntary market.
(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
(10) The term ‘‘State’’ means any State, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Is-
lands, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of
the Pacific Islands.
SEC. 14. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The requirements of this Act shall take effect with
respect to information on insurance described in section
3 and developed in and after calendar year 2001.
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