reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
WV Code § 33-17A-5 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 17A. Property Insurance Declination, Termination and Disclosure|§33-17A-5. Permissible Cancellations

After coverage has been in effect for more than sixty days or after the effective date of a renewal policy, a notice of cancellation may not be issued unless it is based on at least one of the following reasons:(a) Nonpayment of premium;(b) Conviction of the insured of any crime having as one of its necessary elements an act increasing any hazard insured against;(c) Discovery of fraud or material misrepresentation made by or with the knowledge of the named insured in obtaining the policy, continuing the policy or in presenting a claim under the policy;(d) Discovery of willful or reckless acts or omissions on the part of the named insured which increase any hazard insured against;(e) The occurrence of a change in the risk which substantially increases any hazard insured against after insurance coverage has been issued or renewed;(f) A violation of any local fire, health, safety, building or construction regulation or ordinance with respect to any insured property or the occupancy thereof which substantially increases any hazard insured against;(g) A determination by the commissioner that the continuation of the policy would place the insurer in violation of the insurance laws of this state;(h) Real property taxes owing on the insured property have been delinquent for two or more years and continue delinquent at the time notice of cancellation is issued;(i) The insurer which issues said policy of insurance ceases writing the particular type or line of insurance coverage contained in said policy throughout the state or should such insurer discontinue operations within the state; or(j) Substantial breach of the provisions of the policy.
WV Code § 33-17A-6 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 17A. Property Insurance Declination, Termination and Disclosure|§33-17A-6. Discriminatory Terminations and Declinations Prohibited

No insurer may decline to issue or terminate a policy of insurance subject to this article if the declination or termination is:(a) Based upon the race, religion, nationality, ethnic group, age, sex or marital status of the applicant or named insured;(b) Based solely upon the lawful occupation or profession of the applicant or named insured, unless the decision is for a business purpose that is not a mere pretext for unfair discrimination: Provided, That this provision does not apply to any insurer, agent or broker that limits its market to one lawful occupation or profession or to several related lawful occupations or professions;(c) Based upon the age or location of the residence of the applicant or named insured unless the decision is for a business purpose that is not a mere pretext for unfair discrimination or unless the age or location materially affects the risk;(d) Based upon the fact that another insurer previously declined to insure the applicant or terminated an existing policy in which the applicant was the named insured;(e) Based upon the fact that the applicant or named insured previously obtained insurance coverage through a residual market insurance mechanism;(f) Based upon the fact that the applicant has not previously been insured;(g) Based upon the fact that the applicant did not have insurance coverage for a period of time prior to the application; or(h) Based solely upon an adverse credit report or adverse credit scoring.
WV Code § 33-17A-7 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 17A. Property Insurance Declination, Termination and Disclosure|§33-17A-7. Hearings and Administrative Procedure

Hearings for the violation of any provision of this article, and the administrative procedure prior to, during and following these hearings, shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of article two of this chapter.
WV Code § 33-17A-8 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 17A. Property Insurance Declination, Termination and Disclosure|§33-17A-8. Sanctions

If the commissioner determines in a final order that:(a) An insurer has violated section five or six of this article, he may require the insurer to:(1) Accept the application or written request for insurance coverage at a rate and on the same terms and conditions as are available to other risks similarly situated;(2) Reinstate insurance coverage to the end of the policy period; or(3) Continue insurance coverage at a rate and on the same terms and conditions as are available to other risks similarly situated.(b) Any person has violated any provision of this article, he may:(1) Issue a cease and desist order to restrain the person from engaging in practices which violate this article; and(2) Assess a penalty against the person of up to $5,000 for each willful and knowing violation of this article.
WV Code § 33-17A-9 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 17A. Property Insurance Declination, Termination and Disclosure|§33-17A-9. Civil Liability and Actions

(a) If the commissioner determines in a final order that an insurer has violated section five or six of this article, the applicant or named insured aggrieved by the violation may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction in this state to recover from the insurer any loss, not otherwise recovered through insurance, which would have been paid under the insurance coverage that was declined or terminated in violation of this article.(b) Any amount recovered under subsection (a) of this section may not be duplicative of any recovery obtained through the exercise of any other statutory or common law cause of action arising out of the same occurrence. No action under this section may be brought two years after the date of a final order of the commissioner finding a violation of section five or six of this article.
WV Code § 33-17A-10 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 17A. Property Insurance Declination, Termination and Disclosure|§33-17A-10. Immunity

(a) There is no liability on the part of and no cause of action shall arise against the commissioner, any insurer or its authorized representative, or any licensed insurance agent or broker for furnishing information to an insurer as to reasons for a termination or declination, or for any communication giving notice of, or specifying the reasons for, a declination or termination.(b) Subsection (a) above does not apply to statements made in bad faith with malice in fact.
WV Code § 33-17A-11 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 17A. Property Insurance Declination, Termination and Disclosure|§33-17A-11. Severability

If any provisions of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is for any reason held to be invalid, the remainder of the article and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
WV Code § 33-18-1 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 18. Casualty Insurance|§33-18-1. Association of Volunteer Fire Departments to Obtain Casualty Insurance

Any state volunteer fire department may join with other volunteer fire departments in this state in order to obtain casualty insurance coverage as defined in subdivision (e), section ten, article one of this chapter and the state Insurance Commissioner and his staff may assist any such volunteer fire departments in negotiating for, securing and adopting a policy or policies of insurance written by a carrier or carriers chartered under the laws of any state and duly licensed to do business in this state.
WV Code § 33-19-1 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 19. Surety Insurance|§33-19-1. Surety Required in Courts or by Governmental Bodies to Be Provided by Persons Licensed in West Virginia

When surety insurance, as defined in section ten, article one of this chapter, is required of any person by a court or governmental body of the State of West Virginia, such insurance shall be provided only by persons licensed in West Virginia to transact surety insurance.
WV Code § 33-20-1 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 20. Rates and Rating Organizations|§33-20-1. Purpose and Interpretation of Article

The purpose of this article is to promote the public welfare by regulating insurance rates to the end that they shall not be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory, and to authorize and regulate cooperative action among insurers in rate making and in other matters within the scope of this article. Nothing in this article is intended (1) to prohibit or discourage reasonable competition, or (2) to prohibit, or encourage, except to the extent necessary to accomplish the aforementioned purpose, uniformity in insurance rates, rating systems, rating plans or practices. This article shall be liberally interpreted to carry into effect the provisions of this section.
WV Code § 33-20-2 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 20. Rates and Rating Organizations|§33-20-2. Scope of Article

(a) This article applies to fire, marine, casualty and surety insurance on risks or operations in this state.(b) This article does not apply:(1) To reinsurance, other than joint reinsurance to the extent stated in section eleven of this article;(2) To life or accident and sickness insurance;(3) To insurance of vessels or craft, their cargoes, marine builders' risks, marine protection and indemnity or other risks commonly insured under marine, as distinguished from inland marine, insurance policies;(4) To insurance against loss of or damage to aircraft, including their accessories and equipment, or against liability, other than workers' compensation and employer's liability, arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of aircraft;(5) To malpractice insurance insofar as the provisions of this article directly conflict and thereby are supplanted by article twenty-b of this chapter.(c) If any kind of insurance, subdivision or combination thereof, or type of coverage, is subject to both the provisions of this article expressly applicable to casualty and surety insurance and to those expressly applicable to fire and marine insurance, the commissioner may apply to filings made for such kind of insurance the provisions of this article which are in his or her judgment most suitable.
WV Code § 33-20-4a (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 20. Rates and Rating Organizations|§33-20-4a. Biannual Rate Filings for Certain Insurance Lines

On or before July 1, 2005, the Commissioner shall promulgate legislative rules pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code establishing procedures whereby each insurer providing five percent or more of insurance coverage in this state for private passenger automobile insurance and property insurance obtained for personal or family needs shall biannually submit rate filings required under this section: Provided, That the requirements under this subsection shall terminate on July 1, 2009.
WV Code § 33-20-7 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 20. Rates and Rating Organizations|§33-20-7. Deviations From Filings

(a) Every member of or subscriber to a rating organization shall adhere to the filings made on its behalf by such organization except that:(1) In the case of casualty and surety insurance to which this article applies any such insurer may make written application to the commissioner for permission to file a uniform percentage decrease or increase to be applied to the premiums produced by the rating system so filed for a kind of insurance, or for a class of insurance which is found by the commissioner to be a proper rating unit for the application of such uniform percentage decrease or increase, or for a subdivision of a kind of insurance (a) comprised of a group of manual classifications which is treated as a separate unit for rate-making purposes, or (b) for which separate expense provisions are included in the filings of the rating organization. Such application shall specify the basis for the modification and shall be accompanied by the data upon which the applicant relies. A copy of the application and data shall be sent simultaneously to such rating organization; and(2) In the case of fire and marine insurance to which this article applies any such insurer may make written application to the commissioner for permission to file a deviation from the class rates, schedules, rating plans or rules respecting any kind of insurance, or class of risk within a kind of insurance or combination thereof. Such application shall specify the basis for the modification and a copy thereof shall also be sent simultaneously to such rating organization. In considering the application for permission to file such deviation the commissioner shall give consideration to the available statistics and the applicable principles for rate making as provided in section three of this article.(b) The commissioner shall, after notice to such insurer and rating organization, and hearing, unless hearing is waived by such insurer and rating organization, issue an order permitting the modification for such insurer to be filed if he finds it to be justified and it shall thereupon become effective or issue an order denying such application if he finds that the modification is not justified or that the resulting premiums would be excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory. Each deviation permitted to be filed shall be effective for a period of one year from the date of such permission unless terminated sooner with the approval of the commissioner.
WV Code § 33-20-8 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 20. Rates and Rating Organizations|§33-20-8. Appeals by Members of or Subscribers to Rating Organization

(a) Any member of or subscriber to a rating organization may appeal to the commissioner from the action or decision of such rating organization in approving or rejecting any proposed change in or addition to the filings of such rating organization and the commissioner shall, after notice and hearing, issue an order approving the action or decision of such rating organization or directing it to give further consideration to such proposal, or, if such appeal is from the action or decision of the rating organization in rejecting a proposed addition to its filings, he may, in the event he finds that such action or decision was unreasonable, issue an order directing the rating organization to make an addition to its filings, on behalf of its members and subscribers, in a manner consistent with his findings, within a reasonable time after the issuance of such order.(b) In the case of casualty and surety insurance to which this article applies, if such appeal is based upon the failure of the rating organization to make a filing on behalf of such member or subscriber which is based on a system of expense provisions which differs, in accordance with the right granted in subdivision (1) of paragraph (c) of section three of this article, from the system of expense provisions included in a filing made by the rating organization, the commissioner shall, if he grants the appeal, order the rating organization to make the requested filing for use by the appellant. In deciding such appeal the commissioner shall apply the standards set forth in section three of this article.
WV Code § 33-20-9 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 20. Rates and Rating Organizations|§33-20-9. Information to Be Furnished Insureds; Hearings and Appeals of Insureds

(a) Every rating organization and every insurer which makes its own rates shall, within a reasonable time after receiving written request therefor and upon payment of such reasonable charge as it may make, furnish to any insured affected by a rate made by it, or to the authorized representative of such insured, all pertinent information as to such rate.(b) Every rating organization and every insurer which makes its own rates shall provide within this state reasonable means whereby any person aggrieved by the application of its rating system may be heard in person or by his authorized representative, on his written request to review the manner in which such rating system has been applied in connection with the insurance afforded him If the rating organization or insurer fails to grant or reject such request within thirty days after it is made, the applicant may proceed in the same manner as if his application had been rejected. Any party affected by the action of such rating organization or such insurer on such request may, within thirty days after written notice of such action, appeal to the commissioner, who, after notice and hearing, may affirm or reverse such action.
WV Code § 33-20-10 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 20. Rates and Rating Organizations|§33-20-10. Advisory Organizations

(a) Every group, association or other organization of insurers, whether located within or outside this state, which assists insurers which make their own filings or rating organizations in rate making, by the collection and furnishing of loss or expense statistics, or by the submission of recommendations, but which does not make filings under this article, shall be known as an advisory organization.(b) Every advisory organization shall file with the commissioner (1) a copy of its Constitution, its articles of agreement or association or its certificate of incorporation and its bylaws, rules and regulations governing its activities, (2) a list of its members, (3) the name and address of a resident of this state as its attorney-in-fact upon whom notices or orders of the commissioner or process may be served, and (4) an agreement that the commissioner may examine such advisory organization in accordance with the provisions of section twelve of this article.(c) If after notice and hearing the commissioner finds that the furnishing of such information or assistance involves any act or practice which is unfair or unreasonable or otherwise inconsistent with the provisions of this article, he may issue a written order specifying in what respects such act or practice is unfair or unreasonable or otherwise inconsistent with the provisions of this article, and requiring the discontinuance of such act or practice.(d) No insurer which makes its own filings nor any rating organization shall support its filings by statistics or adopt rate-making recommendations, furnished to it by an advisory organization which has not complied with this section or with an order of the commissioner involving such statistics or recommendations issued under paragraph (c) of this section. If the commissioner finds such insurer or rating organization to be in violation of this paragraph he may issue an order requiring the discontinuance of such violation.
WV Code § 33-20-11 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 20. Rates and Rating Organizations|§33-20-11. Joint Underwriting or Joint Reinsurance

(a) Every group, association or other organization of insurers which engages in joint underwriting or joint reinsurance, shall be subject to regulation with respect thereto as herein provided, subject, however, with respect to joint underwriting, to all other provisions of this article and, with respect to joint reinsurance, to section twelve of this article.(b) If after notice and hearing the commissioner finds that any activity or practice of any such group, association or other organization is unfair or unreasonable or otherwise inconsistent with the provisions of this article, he may issue a written order specifying in what respects such activity or practice is unfair or unreasonable or otherwise inconsistent with the provisions of this article, and requiring the discontinuance of such activity or practice.
WV Code § 33-20-12 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 33. Insurance|Article 20. Rates and Rating Organizations|§33-20-12. Examinations

(a) The commissioner shall, at least once in five years, make or cause to be made an examination of each rating organization licensed under the provisions of section six of this article and he or she may, as often as he or she may deem it expedient, make or cause to be made an examination of each advisory organization referred to in section ten of this article and of each group, association or other organization referred to in section eleven of this article. The reasonable costs of any such examination shall be paid by the rating organization, advisory organization, or group, association or other organization examined upon presentation to it of a detailed account of such costs. The officers, managers, agents and employees of such rating organization, advisory organization, or group, association or other organization may be examined at any time under oath and shall exhibit all books, records, accounts, documents or agreements governing its method of operation. The commissioner shall furnish two copies of the examination report to the organization, group or association examined not less than thirty days prior to filing same in his or her office. If such organization, group or association so requests in writing, within such thirty-day period, the commissioner shall consider the objections, if any, to such report as proposed and shall not file such report until such modifications, if any, have been made therein as the commissioner deems proper. The report when so filed shall be admissible in any action or proceeding brought by the commissioner against the organization, group or association examined, or its officers or agents, and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein. The commissioner may withhold the report of any such examination for such time as he or she may deem proper.(b) In lieu of any such examination the commissioner may accept the report of an examination made by the insurance supervisory official of another state, pursuant to the laws of such state.