Virginia Code 38.2-612: Bases for adverse underwriting decisions
A. No insurance institution or agent may base an adverse underwriting decision in whole or in part:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 38.2-612
- Adverse underwriting decision: means :
1. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Individual: means any natural person who:
1. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Insurance institution: means any corporation, association, partnership, reciprocal exchange, inter-insurer, Lloyd's type of organization, fraternal benefit society, or other person engaged in the business of insurance, including health maintenance organizations, and health, legal, dental, and optometric service plans. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Insurance-support organization: means any person who regularly engages, in whole or in part, in the practice of assembling or collecting information about natural persons for the primary purpose of providing the information to an insurance institution or agent for insurance transactions, including (i) the furnishing of consumer reports or investigative consumer reports to an insurance institution or agent for use in connection with an insurance transaction or (ii) the collection of personal information from insurance institutions, agents or other insurance-support organizations for the purpose of detecting or preventing fraud, material misrepresentation or material nondisclosure in connection with insurance underwriting or insurance claim activity. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Personal information: includes an individual's name and address and medical-record information, but does not include (i) privileged information or (ii) any information that is publicly available. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
- Residual market mechanism: means an association, organization, or other entity defined, described, or provided for in the Virginia Automobile Insurance Plan as set forth in § 38. See Virginia Code 38.2-602
1. On the fact of a previous adverse underwriting decision or on the fact that an individual previously obtained insurance coverage through a residual market mechanism. However, an insurance institution or agent may base an adverse underwriting decision on further information obtained from an insurance institution or agent responsible for a previous adverse underwriting decision;
2. On personal information received from an insurance-support organization whose primary source of information is insurance institutions. However, an insurance institution or agent may base an adverse underwriting decision on further personal information obtained as the result of information received from an insurance-support organization; or
3. On the fact that an individual previously obtained insurance coverage from a particular insurance institution or agent.
B. No insurance institution or agent may base an adverse underwriting decision solely on the loss history of a previous owner of the property to be insured.
1981, c. 389, § 38.1-57.15; 1986, c. 562; 1990, c. 524; 2003, c. 415.