Section Ins 3305.02 - Extraordinary Life Circumstances(a) Notwithstanding any other law or rule, an insurer that uses credit information shall, on written request from an applicant for insurance coverage or an insured, provide reasonable exceptions to the insurer's rates, rating classification, company or tier placement, or underwriting rules or guidelines for a consumer who has experienced and whose credit information has been directly influenced by any of the following events: (1) Catastrophic event, as declared by the federal or state government;(2) Serious illness or injury, or serious illness or injury to an immediate family member;(3) Death of a spouse, child, or parent;(4) Divorce or involuntary interruption of legally-owed alimony or support payments;(6) Temporary loss of employment for a period of 3 months or more, if it results from involuntary termination;(7) Military deployment overseas; or(8) Other events, as determined by the insurer.(b) If an applicant or insured submits a request for an exception as set forth in Ins 3305.02(a), an insurer may, in its sole discretion: (1) Require the consumer to provide reasonable, written, and independently verifiable documentation of the event;(2) Require the consumer to demonstrate that the event had direct and meaningful impact on the consumer's credit information;(3) Require such request be made no more than 60 days from the date of the application for insurance or the policy renewal;(4) Grant an exception despite the consumer not providing the initial request for an exception in writing; or(5) Grant an exception where the consumer asks for consideration of repeated events or the insurer has considered this event previously.(c) An insurer is not out of compliance with any law or rule relating to underwriting, rating, or rate filing as a result of granting an exception under this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide a consumer or other insured with a course of action that does not exist in the absence of this section.(d) The insurer shall provide notice to consumers that reasonable exceptions are available and information about how the consumer may inquire further.(e) Within 30 days of the insurer's receipt of sufficient documentation of an event described in Ins 3305.02(a), the insurer shall inform the consumer of the outcome of their request for a reasonable exception. Such communication shall be in writing or provided to an applicant in the same medium as the request.N.H. Admin. Code § Ins 3305.02
Amended by Volume XXXVIII Number 32, Filed August 9, 2018, Proposed by #12599, Effective 8/3/2018, Expires 8/3/2028.