General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 469
February Session, 2018 *_____SB00469JUD___032918____*
General Assembly
Substitute Bill No. 469
February Session, 2018
*_____SB00469JUD___032918____*
AN ACT CONCERNING INFORMATION TO BE FURNISHED BY AN INSURANCE COMPANY RELATIVE TO FIRE OR EXPLOSION LOSS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 38a-318 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2018):
(a) Any authorized agency may, in writing, request any insurance company to release information relative to any investigation [it] the insurance company has made concerning a loss or potential loss due to fire [of suspicious] or explosion of undetermined or incendiary origin, which shall include, but not be limited to: (1) An insurance policy relative to such loss, (2) policy premium records, (3) history of previous claims, and (4) other relevant material relating to such loss or potential loss.
(b) If any insurance company has reason to suspect that a fire or explosion loss to its insured's real or personal property was caused by undetermined or incendiary means, the company shall furnish any authorized agency with all relevant material acquired during its investigation of the fire or explosion loss, cooperate with and take such action as may be requested of [it] the insurance company by the authorized agency and permit any person ordered by a court to inspect any of its records pertaining to the policy and the fire or explosion loss. [Such] The insurance company may request any authorized agency to release information relative to any investigation [it] the company has made concerning any such fire or explosion loss of [suspicious] undetermined or incendiary origin.
(c) No insurance company, authorized agency or person who furnished information on behalf of such insurance company or agency, shall be liable for damages in a civil action or subject to criminal prosecution for any oral or written statement made or any other action taken that is necessary to supply information requested pursuant to this section, unless there is fraud, actual malice or conduct relating to the release of such information which constitutes a criminal act.
(d) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, any authorized agency receiving any information furnished pursuant to this section shall hold the information in confidence until such time as its release is required pursuant to a criminal or civil proceeding.
(e) Any authorized agency personnel may be required to testify as to any information in the agency's possession regarding the fire or explosion loss of real or personal property in any civil action in which any person seeks recovery under a policy against an insurance company for the fire or explosion loss.
(f) For the purposes of this section, "authorized agency" means: (1) The State Fire Marshal or the local fire marshal when authorized or charged with the investigation of fires or explosions at the place where the fire or explosion actually took place; (2) a federal, state or local peace officer when authorized or charged with the investigation of fires or explosions at the place where the fire or explosion actually took place; and [(2)] (3) the Insurance Commissioner.
(g) For the purposes of this section, "insurance company" [shall include] includes organizations issuing insurance policies in this state pursuant to the provisions of section 38a-328.
(h) Any authorized agency provided with information pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this section, may, in furtherance of its own purposes, release any information in its possession to any other authorized agency.
(i) The provisions of this section shall apply to fire losses occurring on or after October 1, 1979.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2018 38a-318
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2018
38a-318
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
Throughout the bill, additional references to "explosions" were added for consistency.
JUD Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO
JUD
Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO