Chapter 175

2005 -- S 0549

Enacted 07/05/05

A N A C T

RELATING TO INSURANCE

Introduced By: Senator David E. Bates

Date Introduced: February 10, 2005

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 27-8-13 of the General Laws in Chapter 27-8 entitled "Casualty

Insurance Generally" is hereby repealed.

27-8-13. Group workers' compensation insurance. -- Nothing contained in this title

shall be interpreted as preventing insurance companies, authorized to do business within this

state, from offering workers' compensation and employers' liability insurance coverage to groups

of employer beneficiaries.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 27-7.1 of the General Laws entitled "Workers' Compensation

Insurance" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

27-7.1-13.2. Group workers' compensation insurance. – Nothing contained in this title

shall be interpreted as preventing insurance companies, authorized to do business within this

state, from offering workers' compensation and employers' liability insurance coverage to groups

of employer beneficiaries.

     SECTION 3. Section 27-54-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 27-54 entitled "Insurance

Fraud Prevention Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:

27-54-8. Disclosure of arson conviction. -- (a) Every insurance provider doing business

within this state shall require applicants for property insurance, real or personal, to disclose

whether or not the applicant or applicants have been convicted of any degree of the crime of

arson as described in chapter 4 of title 11 within ten (10) years of the application date.

      (b) An insurance provider may use the existence of an arson conviction within ten (10)

years as a reason to deny coverage.

      (c) Failure to disclose the existence of an arson conviction when requested upon an

insurance application shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a sentence of not more than one year

imprisonment.

      (d) The insurance application form shall indicate the existence of a criminal penalty for

failure to disclose a conviction for arson.

      (e) For the purpose of this section, "applicant" means a natural person, trust, partnership,

association, corporation or other form of business organization; provided, that if the applicant is a

trust, the beneficiaries of the trust shall be included, and if the applicant is a partnership,

association, corporation or other form of business organization, each member, director,

shareholder owning more than twenty percent (20%) of the common stock issued by the

corporation, and the principal officer of the corporation shall be included.

      (f) The provisions of this section do not apply to any policy with respect to highly

protected risks. as defined in section 27-5-2.1(a)(4). A highly protected risk means a fire resistive

building that meets the highest standards of fire safety according to insurance company

underwriting requirements.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.     

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LC01712

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