An Act to Prohibit Insurers from Usmg Credit Information as a Factor in Certain Insurance Practices
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 2220
Committee Amendment CA_A_S649 (Senate)
Amends: 24-A MRSA §2169-B

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "f^ " to S.P. 950, L.D. 2220, "An Act to Prohibit
Insurers from Usmg Credit Information as a Factor in Certain Insurance Practices"
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the followmg:
'An Act to Update the Law Relating to the Use of Credit Information in Insurance
Scoring'
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the
following:
'See. 1. 24-A MRSA §2169-B, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
2-A, Extraordinary life circumstancesLexceDtion^^ any provision
of law or rule to the contrary, an insurer that uses credit mformation shall. on written request
from a consumer, provide reasonable exceptions to the insurer's rates, ratme classificatiQns.
company or tier placement or underwrjtmg mles o^^^^g^^ as provided in this
subsection.
A. An insurer shall provide a reasonable^ exception for a consumer who has experienced
and whose credit information has been directly affected by any of the following events:
d) A catastrophic event, as declared by the Federal Government or State
Government;
(2) Serious ilhiess or injury or the serious ilhess of or injury to anJmmediate
family member;
f3) The death of a spouse, child or parent;
f4) Divorce or involuntary interruption_Qf legaUv owed alimony or support
0 payments to the consumer;
(5) Identity theft;
f6) Temporary loss of employment for a period of 3 months or more if it results
from involuntary termination of employment;
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT " ^" to S.P. 950, L.D. 2220 [ $'(
-&•
(7) Military deployment overseas:_or
f8) Other events, as determined by the msurer.
B. If a consumer submits a request for a reasonable exception based on an event under
paragraph A. an insurer may. in its sole discretion:
d) Require the consumer to provide reasonable written and independently
verifiable documentation of the event;
f2) Reguu'e the consumer to demonstrate that the event had a direct and meaningful
impact on the consumer's credit information;
(3) Require the request to be made no more than 60 days from the date of an
aoplication for insurance or a policy renewal:
f4) Grant an exception despitethe consumer not providing the initial request for
an exception in writing; or
f5) Grant an exception when the consumer asks for consideration of repeated
events or the insurer has considered an event previously,
C. An insurer is not out of compliance with any law or rule relating to underwriting,
rating or rate filine as a result of granting an exception under this subsection. This
subsection may not be construed to provide a consumer with a cause of action that does
not exist in the absence of this section.
D. An insurer shall nrovide notice_to a consumer that the reasonable exeeutions
described under paragraph A are available and information about how the consumer
may inquire about exception eligibility.
E. Within 30 days of an insurer's receipt of sufficient documentation of an event
described in paragraph A. the insurer shall inform the consumer of the outcome of the
consumer's request for a^easgnable exception. The insurer shall provide this
information to a consumer in writins.
Sec. 2. 24-A MRSA §2169-B, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 223, §1, is
amended to read:
3. Notice of use of credit information. If credit information is used by an insurer, an
insurer shall disclose, either on the insurance application or at the time the insurance
application is taken, that credit information may be obtained by the insurer in connection
with the application and include a description of the factors related to credit information
2 that are used or may be used by the insurer in connection with the application. except that.
3 if the insurer uses or may use more than 4 factors related to creditmformation. the insurer
is not required to disclose more than 4 factors. The disclosure must be written or provided
to an applicant in the same medium as the application for insurance. The insurer is not
required to provide the disclosure statement required under this subsection to any insured
on a renewal policy if such consumer has previously been provided a disclosure statement.
An insurer may demonstrate compliance with this subsection by using the following
example disclosure statement: "In connection wifh this application for insurance, we may
review your credit report or obtain or use a credit-based insurance score based on the
information contained in that credit report, including the following factors rdescription of
factors to be added by the insurerl. We may use a 3rd party in connection with the
development of your insurance score."
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
^ COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "fj- " to S.P. 950, L.D. 2220 [ L? -
Sec. 3. Application. The requirements in this Act apply to all policies, contracts and
certificates executed, delivered, issued for delivery, continued or renewed in this State on
or after January 1, 2025. For purposes of this Act, all contracts are deemed to be renewed
no later than the next yearly anniversary of the contract date,'
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section
number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment replaces the bill and changes the title, The amendment updates the
current law relating to the use of credit information by msurers. The amendment requires
an insurer to include, as part of any notice to a consumer applying for insurance, that credit
information may be used, a description of the factors related to credit information that are
used or may be used by the insurer m connection with the application, except that, if the
msurer uses or may use more than 4 factors related to credit information, the insurer is not
required to disclose more than 4 factors. The amendment also requires, upon written
request from a consumer, an insurer to provide reasonable exceptions to the insurer's rates,
ratmg classifications, company or tier placement or underwriting mles or guidelines based
on extraordinary life circumstances. The requirements apply to msurance policies,
contracts and certificates issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT