HB 6649

Abstract

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that no company may cancel, terminate, or refuse to renew any policy of property and casualty insurance during the pendency of a claim in which the primary residence of the policyholder is or comes to be uninhabitable, unoccupied, or under construction or has yet to be permanently repaired. Provides that any of the following acts by an insurer shall constitute improper claims practice: (1) paying an appraiser, contractor, or vendor involved in providing services or estimates for appraising the value of any loss for repairing a policyholder's home; (2) compelling a policyholder as to which appraiser, vendor, or contractor the policyholder must use for the repair; (3) failing to reimburse a policyholder within 30 days after receiving proof of reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses; or (4) denying a policyholder's request for reimbursement without a written explanation within 30 days after a policyholder's request. Eliminates the $60,000 limit on the part of the taxable costs a court may allow in any action by or against a company where there is in issue the liability of a company on a policy or policies of insurance or the amount of the loss payable thereunder or where there is an unreasonable delay in settling a claim, and it appears to the court that such action or delay is vexatious and unreasonable. Effective immediately.