Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 19 - Department of Insurance › Part 1 - General › Chapter 31 - (2003-1) Use of Credit Information for Determining Rates and Eligibility for Personal Insurance › Rule 19-1-31.04 - Definitions

Current through June 25, 2024
The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this
				  Regulation:
A. Adverse Action - A denial, non-renewal, or cancellation
				  of, an increase in any charge for, or a reduction or other adverse or
				  unfavorable change in the terms of coverage or amount of any insurance,
				  existing or applied for, in connection with the underwriting of personal
				  insurance.
B. Affiliate - Any company that controls, is controlled by,
				  or is under common control with another company.
C. Applicant - An individual who has applied to be covered by
				  a personal insurance policy with an insurer or who is in the process of
				  applying for such coverage. The term applicant may also include an insured
				  whose credit information is used or whose insurance score is calculated in the
				  underwriting or rating of a personal insurance policy or an applicant for such
				  a policy.
D. Consumer Reporting Agency - Any person which, for monetary
				  fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or
				  in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information
				  or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer
				  reports to third parties. For purposes of this Regulation, consumer reporting
				  agency shall include any entity that prepares, assembles, evaluates, calculates
				  and/or furnishes insurance scores.
E. Credit History - Any written, oral, or other communication
				  of information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on an applicant's credit
				  worthiness, credit standing or credit capacity which is used or expected to be
				  used or collected in whole or in part for the purpose of serving as a factor to
				  determine personal insurance premiums, eligibility for coverage, or tier
				  placement.
F. Denial - The act of refusing to offer personal insurance
				  coverage to an applicant. An offer of placement with an affiliate insurer does
				  not constitute denial, cancellation or nonrenewal of coverage.
G. Insurance Score - A number or rating that is derived from
				  an algorithm, computer application, model, or other process that is based in
				  whole or in part on credit history for the purpose of predicting the future
				  insurance loss exposure of an individual applicant or insured.
H. Insurer - Any company licensed in Mississippi to write
				  personal lines or personal insurance in Mississippi.
I. No-Hit - An absence of credit history.
J. Personal Lines or Personal Insurance - Any one of the
				  following:
1. Private Passenger Automobile coverage.
2. Homeowner's coverage, including Renter's coverage.
3. Mobile or Manufactured Homeowner's coverage.
4. Condominium Owner's coverage.
5. Non-commercial Dwelling Fire or Dwelling Property
				  coverage.
K. Thin File - An inability to determine credit
				  history.
L. Tier - A category within an insurer's personal lines
				  program into which applicants with substantially like insuring risk, or
				  exposure factors, and expense elements are placed for purposes of determining
				  rate or premium.
Miss. Code Ann. §
										83-5-29
				  (Rev. 2011)