BILL NUMBER: AB 565 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cooley
FEBRUARY 24, 2015
An act to amend Section 10191 of the Insurance Code, relating to
insurance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 565, as introduced, Cooley. Insurance contracts.
Existing law authorizes the Insurance Commissioner to promulgate,
from time to time as conditions warrant, after notice and hearing,
reasonable rules and regulations, and amendments and additions to
those rules and regulations, as are necessary or advisable in order
to establish and maintain a procedure for the filing and approval of
specified documents prior to their issuance, delivery, or use in this
state.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to this
provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 10191 of the Insurance Code is amended to read:
10191. (a) The commissioner may, from time to time as conditions
warrant, after notice and hearing, promulgate such
reasonable rules and regulations, and amendments and additions
thereto, to those rules and regulations,
as are necessary or advisable, to establish and maintain a
procedure for the filing and approval of documents, as defined in
this section, prior to their issuance, delivery, or use in this
state, in lieu of the requirements of submission, filing, or approval
for the documents presently provided in Section 10205, 10205.5,
10205.6, 10225, 10270, 10270.1, 10270.57, 10270.9, 10270.91,
10270.92, 10270.93, 10290, 10292, 11066, 11069, 11513,
11513.1, 11513.2, 11515, or 11658. For purposes of this
section, "document" includes, but is not limited to, every form of
contract, insurance policy, application, rider, endorsement,
amendment, insert policy page, certificate, or other evidence or
notice of insurance, fill-in material, schedules of rates and
classifications of risks, and any modification to any document, which
is subject to the requirements of any of the enumerated
sections. sections described in this subdivision.
(b) Any such rule or regulation shall be
promulgated in accordance with the procedure provided in Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.
(c) In promulgating any such rule or
regulation, the commissioner may give consideration to the following
circumstances:
(1) Whether all such documents, the submission,
filing, or approval of which is governed by any of the
foregoing enumerated sections, sections described in
subdivision (a), or only a portion thereof
of those documents described in the rule or regulation,
shall be subject thereto. to the rule or
regulation.
(2) Whether certain documents or portions thereof
of those documents should be regulated in
respect of submission, filing, or approval in a fashion differing
from similar requirements applicable to other documents.
(3) Whether varying procedures may be made applicable among
admitted insurers in respect of the submission, filing or approval
predicated, in whole or in part, upon such
the following factors as :
(A) the age and size of the submitting insurer, (B)
the period of its licensing in this state for the class or classes of
insurance represented by the documents, (C) the nature
and number of prior submissions of similar documents and the
disposition thereof of those prior
submissions by the commissioner, (D) and similar
criteria which that is relevant to a
determination that the submitting insurer has demonstrated compliance
with all applicable statutes, rules, and regulations relating to
documents comprising prior submissions.
(d) In promulgating any such rules and
regulations, the commissioner shall, so far as practical, describe or
define certain provisions: (1) which that
the commissioner will authorize without review when accompanied
by a certification prescribed by him or her by rule, and (2)
which that the commissioner will under
no circumstances approve.
(e) The commissioner shall establish a period of time, not shorter
than one year, during which any change in the provisions
which that pursuant to subdivision (d), he or
she has provided he or she will under no circumstances approve, will
not apply to policies filed prior to the effective date of the
change.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in this section
section, any document approved by the
commissioner pursuant to rules and regulations authorized by this
section may have its approval withdrawn in accordance with
subdivision (d) of Section 10291.5 or Section 12957, whichever is
applicable.