California Laws

2009 California Insurance Code – Section 790-790.15 – Article 6.5. Unfair Practices

Los Angeles Insurance Bad Faith Attorneys

790. The purpose of this article is to regulate trade practices in the business of insurance in accordance with the intent of Congress as expressed in the Act of Congress of March 9, 1945 (Public Law 15, Seventy-ninth Congress), by defining, or providing for the determination of, all such practices in this State which constitute unfair methods of competition or unfair or deceptive acts or practices and by prohibiting the trade practices so defined or determined.

790.01. This article applies to reciprocal and interinsurance exchanges, Lloyds insurers, fraternal benefit societies, fraternal fire insurers, grants and annuities societies, insurers holding certificates of exemptions, motor clubs, nonprofit hospital associations, life agents, broker-agents, surplus line brokers and special lines surplus line brokers as well as all other persons engaged in the business of insurance.

790.02. No person shall engage in this State in any trade practice which is defined in this article as, or determined pursuant to this article to be, an unfair method of competition or an unfair or deceptive act or practice in the business of insurance.

790.03. The following are hereby defined as unfair methods of competition and unfair and deceptive acts or practices in the business of insurance.

(a) Making, issuing, circulating, or causing to be made, issued or circulated, any estimate, illustration, circular, or statement misrepresenting the terms of any policy issued or to be issued or the benefits or advantages promised thereby or the dividends or share of the surplus to be received thereon, or making any false or misleading statement as to the dividends or share of surplus previously paid on similar policies, or making any misleading representation or any misrepresentation as to the financial condition of any insurer, or as to the legal reserve system upon which any life insurer operates, or using any name or title of any policy or class of policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof, or making any misrepresentation to any policyholder insured in any company for the purpose of inducing or tending to induce the policyholder to lapse, forfeit, or surrender his or her insurance.

(b) Making or disseminating or causing to be made or disseminated before the public in this state, in any newspaper or other publication, or any advertising device, or by public outcry or proclamation, or in any other manner or means whatsoever, any statement containing any assertion, representation, or statement with respect to the business of insurance or with respect to any person in the conduct of his or her insurance business, which is untrue, deceptive, or misleading, and which is known, or which by the exercise of reasonable care should be known, to be untrue, deceptive, or misleading.

(c) Entering into any agreement to commit, or by any concerted action committing, any act of boycott, coercion, or intimidation resulting in or tending to result in unreasonable restraint of, or monopoly in, the business of insurance.

(d) Filing with any supervisory or other public official, or making, publishing, disseminating, circulating, or delivering to any person, or placing before the public, or causing directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, delivered to any person, or placed before the public any false statement of financial condition of an insurer with intent to deceive.

(e) Making any false entry in any book, report, or statement of any insurer with intent to deceive any agent or examiner lawfully appointed to examine into its condition or into any of its affairs, or any public official to whom the insurer is required by law to report, or who has authority by law to examine into its condition or into any of its affairs, or, with like intent, willfully omitting to make a true entry of any material fact pertaining to the business of the insurer in any book, report, or statement of the insurer.

(f) (1) Making or permitting any unfair discrimination between individuals of the same class and equal expectation of life in the rates charged for any contract of life insurance or of life annuity or in the dividends or other benefits payable thereon, or in any other of the terms and conditions of the contract.

(2) This subdivision shall be interpreted, for any contract of ordinary life insurance or individual life annuity applied for and issued on or after January 1, 1981, to require differentials based upon the sex of the individual insured or annuitant in the rates or dividends or benefits, or any combination thereof. This requirement is satisfied if those differentials are substantially supported by valid pertinent data segregated by sex, including, but not limited to, mortality data segregated by sex.

(3) However, for any contract of ordinary life insurance or individual life annuity applied for and issued on or after January 1, 1981, but before the compliance date, in lieu of those differentials based on data segregated by sex, rates, or dividends or benefits, or any combination thereof, for ordinary life insurance or individual life annuity on a female life may be calculated as follows:

(A) according to an age not less than three years nor more than six years younger than the actual age of the female insured or female annuitant, in the case of a contract of ordinary life insurance with a face value greater than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or a contract of individual life annuity; and

(B) according to an age not more than six years younger than the actual age of the female insured, in the case of a contract of ordinary life insurance with a face value of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or less. “Compliance date” as used in this paragraph shall mean the date or dates established as the operative date or dates by future amendments to this code directing and authorizing life insurers to use a mortality table containing mortality data segregated by sex for the calculation of adjusted premiums and present values for nonforfeiture benefits and valuation reserves as specified in Sections 10163.1 and 10489.2 or successor sections.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, sex-based differentials in rates or dividends or benefits, or any combination thereof, shall not be required for (A) any contract of life insurance or life annuity issued pursuant to arrangements which may be considered terms, conditions, or privileges of employment as these terms are used in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-352), as amended, and (B) tax sheltered annuities for employees of public schools or of tax-exempt organizations described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(g) Making or disseminating, or causing to be made or disseminated, before the public in this state, in any newspaper or other publication, or any other advertising device, or by public outcry or proclamation, or in any other manner or means whatever, whether directly or by implication, any statement that a named insurer, or named insurers, are members of the California Insurance Guarantee Association, or insured against insolvency as defined in Section 119.5. This subdivision shall not be interpreted to prohibit any activity of the California Insurance Guarantee Association or the commissioner authorized, directly or by implication, by Article 14.2 (commencing with Section 1063).

(h) Knowingly committing or performing with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice any of the following unfair claims settlement practices:

(1) Misrepresenting to claimants pertinent facts or insurance policy provisions relating to any coverages at issue.

(2) Failing to acknowledge and act reasonably promptly upon communications with respect to claims arising under insurance policies.

(3) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards for the prompt investigation and processing of claims arising under insurance policies.

(4) Failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within a reasonable time after proof of loss requirements have been completed and submitted by the insured.

(5) Not attempting in good faith to effectuate prompt, fair, and equitable settlements of claims in which liability has become reasonably clear.

(6) Compelling insureds to institute litigation to recover amounts due under an insurance policy by offering substantially less than the amounts ultimately recovered in actions brought by the insureds, when the insureds have made claims for amounts reasonably similar to the amounts ultimately recovered.

(7) Attempting to settle a claim by an insured for less than the amount to which a reasonable person would have believed he or she was entitled by reference to written or printed advertising material accompanying or made part of an application.

(8) Attempting to settle claims on the basis of an application that was altered without notice to, or knowledge or consent of, the insured, his or her representative, agent, or broker.

(9) Failing, after payment of a claim, to inform insureds or beneficiaries, upon request by them, of the coverage under which payment has been made.

(10) Making known to insureds or claimants a practice of the insurer of appealing from arbitration awards in favor of insureds or claimants for the purpose of compelling them to accept settlements or compromises less than the amount awarded in arbitration.

(11) Delaying the investigation or payment of claims by requiring an insured, claimant, or the physician of either, to submit a preliminary claim report, and then requiring the subsequent submission of formal proof of loss forms, both of which submissions contain substantially the same information.

(12) Failing to settle claims promptly, where liability has become apparent, under one portion of the insurance policy coverage in order to influence settlements under other portions of the insurance policy coverage.

(13) Failing to provide promptly a reasonable explanation of the basis relied on in the insurance policy, in relation to the facts or applicable law, for the denial of a claim or for the offer of a compromise settlement.

(14) Directly advising a claimant not to obtain the services of an attorney.

(15) Misleading a claimant as to the applicable statute of limitations.

(16) Delaying the payment or provision of hospital, medical, or surgical benefits for services provided with respect to acquired immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS-related complex for more than 60 days after the insurer has received a claim for those benefits, where the delay in claim payment is for the purpose of investigating whether the condition preexisted the coverage. However, this 60-day period shall not include any time during which the insurer is awaiting a response for relevant medical information from a health care provider.

(i) Canceling or refusing to renew a policy in violation of Section 676.10.

(j) Holding oneself out as representing, constituting, or otherwise providing services on behalf of the California Health Benefit Exchange established pursuant to Section 100500 of the Government Code without a valid agreement with the California Health Benefit Exchange to engage in those activities.

790.031. The requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 790.034, and Sections 2071.1 and 10082.3 shall apply only to policies of residential property insurance as defined in Section 10087, policies and endorsements containing those coverages prescribed in Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 10081) of Part 1 of Division 2, policies issued by the California Earthquake Authority pursuant to Chapter 8.6 (commencing with Section 10089.5) of Part 1 of Division 2, policies and endorsements that insure against property damage and are issued to common interest developments or to associations managing common interest developments, as those terms are defined in Sections 4080 and 4100 or Sections 6528 and 6534 of the Civil Code, and to policies issued pursuant to Section 120 that insure against property damage to residential units or contents thereof owned by one or more persons located in this state.

790.034. (a) Regulations adopted by the commissioner pursuant to this article that relate to the settlement of claims shall take into consideration settlement practices by classes of insurers.

(b) (1) Upon receiving notice of a claim, every insurer shall immediately, but no more than 15 calendar days after receipt of the claim, provide the insured with a legible reproduction of subdivisions (h) and (i) of Section 790.03 along with a written notice containing the following language in at least 10-point type:

“In addition to Section 790.03 of the Insurance Code, Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations govern how insurance claims must be processed in this state. These regulations are available at the Department of Insurance Internet Web site, www.insurance.ca.gov. You may also obtain a copy of this law and these regulations free of charge from this insurer.”

(2) Every insurer shall provide, when requested orally or in writing by an insured, a legible reproduction of Section 790.03 of the Insurance Code and copies of Sections 2695.5, 2695.7, 2695.8, and 2695.9 of Subchapter 7.5 of Chapter 5 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations, unless the regulations are inapplicable to that class of insurer. This law and these regulations shall be provided to the insured within 15 calendar days of request.

(3) The provisions of this subdivision shall apply to all insurers except for those that are licensed pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 12340) of Part 6 of Division 2, with respect to policies and endorsements described in Section 790.031.

790.035. (a) Any person who engages in any unfair method of competition or any unfair or deceptive act or practice defined in Section 790.03 is liable to the state for a civil penalty to be fixed by the commissioner, not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each act, or, if the act or practice was willful, a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each act. The commissioner shall have the discretion to establish what constitutes an act. However, when the issuance, amendment, or servicing of a policy or endorsement is inadvertent, all of those acts shall be a single act for the purpose of this section.

(b) The penalty imposed by this section shall be imposed by and determined by the commissioner as provided by Section 790.05. The penalty imposed by this section is appealable by means of any remedy provided by Section 12940 or by Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

790.036. (a) It is an unfair and deceptive act or practice in the business of insurance for an insurer to advertise insurance that it will not sell.

(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any insurer from advertising insurance products for which it is licensed to sell in this state where the product is not available for sale so long as the unavailability is disclosed in the advertisement.

(c) A violation of this section is subject to the sanctions provided for by this article.

(d) An intentional violation of this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(e) This section does not apply to any insurer that refuses to sell a policy of insurance on the basis of its underwriting guidelines.

(f) This section does not apply to advertisements by an insurer where the advertisements are broadcast and originate from outside this state. As used in this subdivision, “broadcast” includes electronic media, television, and radio. As used in this subdivision, “originate from outside this state” includes cable transmittal of programs broadcast by stations located outside California.

790.037. (a) It is an unfair business practice for a health insurance agent or broker to sell, solicit, or negotiate the purchase of health insurance by any of the following methods:

(1) The use of a marketing technique known as cold lead advertising when marketing a Medicare product. As used in this section, “cold lead advertising” means making use directly or indirectly of a method of marketing that fails to disclose in a conspicuous manner that a purpose of the marketing is health insurance sales solicitation and that contact will be made by a health insurance agent or broker.

(2) The use of an appointment that was made to discuss a particular Medicare product or to solicit the sale of a particular Medicare product in order to solicit the sale of another Medicare product or other health insurance products, unless the consumer specifically agrees in advance of the appointment to discuss that other Medicare product or other types of health insurance products during the same appointment.

(b) As used in this section, “Medicare product” includes Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D, and Medicare supplement plans.

790.04. The commissioner shall have power to examine and investigate into the affairs of every person engaged in the business of insurance in the State in order to determine whether such person has been or is engaged in any unfair method of competition or in any unfair or deceptive act or practice prohibited by Section 790.03 or determined pursuant to this article to be an unfair method of competition or an unfair or deceptive practice in the business of insurance. Such investigation may be conducted pursuant to Article 2 (commencing at Section 11180) of Chapter 2, Part 1, Division 3, Title 2 of the Government Code.

790.05. Whenever the commissioner shall have reason to believe that a person has been engaged or is engaging in this state in any unfair method of competition or any unfair or deceptive act or practice defined in Section 790.03, and that a proceeding by the commissioner in respect thereto would be to the interest of the public, he or she shall issue and serve upon that person an order to show cause containing a statement of the charges in that respect, a statement of that person’s potential liability under Section 790.035, and a notice of a hearing thereon to be held at a time and place fixed therein, which shall not be less than 30 days after the service thereof, for the purpose of determining whether the commissioner should issue an order to that person to, pay the penalty imposed by Section 790.035, and to cease and desist those methods, acts, or practices or any of them.

If the charges or any of them are found to be justified the commissioner shall issue and cause to be served upon that person an order requiring that person to pay the penalty imposed by Section 790.035 and to cease and desist from engaging in those methods, acts, or practices found to be unfair or deceptive.

The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, Chapter 5 (commencing at Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, except that the hearings may be conducted by an administrative law judge in the administrative law bureau when the proceedings involve a common question of law or fact with another proceeding arising under other Insurance Code sections that may be conducted by administrative law bureau administrative law judges. The commissioner and the appointed administrative law judge shall have all the powers granted under the Administrative Procedure Act.

The person shall be entitled to have the proceedings and the order reviewed by means of any remedy provided by Section 12940 of this code or by the Administrative Procedure Act.

790.06. (a) Whenever the commissioner shall have reason to believe that any person engaged in the business of insurance is engaging in this state in any method of competition or in any act or practice in the conduct of the business that is not defined in Section 790.03, and that the method is unfair or that the act or practice is unfair or deceptive and that a proceeding by him or her in respect thereto would be in the interest of the public, he or she may issue and serve upon that person an order to show cause containing a statement of the methods, acts or practices alleged to be unfair or deceptive and a notice of hearing thereon to be held at a time and place fixed therein, which shall not be less than 30 days after the service thereof, for the purpose of determining whether the alleged methods, acts or practices or any of them should be declared to be unfair or deceptive within the meaning of this article. The order shall specify the reason why the method of competition is alleged to be unfair or the act or practice is alleged to be unfair or deceptive.

The hearings provided by this section shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), except that the hearings may be conducted by an administrative law judge in the administrative law bureau when the proceedings involve a common question of law or fact with another proceeding arising under other Insurance Code sections that may be conducted by administrative law bureau administrative law judges. The commissioner and the appointed administrative law judge shall have all the powers granted under the Administrative Procedure Act. If the alleged methods, acts, or practices or any of them are found to be unfair or deceptive within the meaning of this article the commissioner shall issue and service upon that person his or her
written report so declaring.

(b) If the report charges a violation of this article and if the method of competition, act or practice has not been discontinued, the commissioner may, through the Attorney General of this state, at any time after 30 days after the service of the report cause a petition to be filed in the superior court of this state within the county wherein the person resides or has his or her principal place of business, to enjoin and restrain the person from engaging in the method, act or practice. The court shall have jurisdiction of the proceeding and shall have power to make and enter appropriate orders in connection therewith and to issue any writs as are ancillary to its jurisdiction or are necessary in its judgment to prevent injury to the public pendente lite.

(c) A transcript of the proceedings before the commissioner, including all evidence taken and the report and findings shall be filed with the petition. If either party shall apply to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence and shall show, to the satisfaction of the court, that the additional evidence is material and there were reasonable grounds for the failure to adduce the evidence in the proceeding before the commissioner, the court may order the additional evidence to be taken before the commissioner and to be adduced upon the hearing in the manner and upon the terms and conditions as to the court may seem proper. The commissioner may modify his or her findings of fact or make new findings by reason of the additional evidence so taken, and shall file modified or new findings with the return of the additional evidence.

(d) If the court finds that the method of competition complained of is unfair or that the act or practice complained of is unfair or deceptive, that the proceeding by the commissioner with respect thereto is to the interest of the public and that the findings of the commissioner are supported by the weight of the evidence, it shall issue its order enjoining and restraining the continuance of the method of competition, act or practice.

790.07. Whenever the commissioner shall have reason to believe that any person has violated a cease and desist order issued pursuant to Section 790.05 or a court order issued pursuant to Section 790.06, after the order has become final, and while the order is still in effect, the commissioner may, after a hearing at which it is determined that the violation was committed, order that person to forfeit and pay to the State of California a sum not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) plus any penalty due under Section 790.05, which may be recovered in a civil action, except that, if the violation is found to be willful, the amount of the penalty may be a sum not to exceed fifty-five thousand dollars ($55,000) plus the penalty due under Section 790.05.

For the purposes of this section, the failure to pay any penalty imposed pursuant to Section 790.035 which has become final shall constitute a violation of the cease and desist order.

For any subsequent violation of the cease and desist order or of the court order or the order to pay the penalty, while the order is still in effect, the commissioner may, after hearing, suspend or revoke the license or certificate of that person for a period not exceeding one year; provided, however, no proceeding shall be based upon the subsequent violation unless the same was committed or continued after the date on which the order imposing the penalty pursuant to the preceding paragraph became final.

The hearings provided by this section shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, except that the hearings may be conducted by an administrative law judge in the administrative law bureau when the proceedings involve a common question of law or fact with another proceeding arising under other Insurance Code sections that may be conducted by administrative law bureau administrative law judges. The commissioner and the appointed administrative law judge shall have all the powers granted under the Administrative Procedure Act.

The person shall be entitled to have the proceedings and the order of the commissioner therein reviewed by means of any remedy provided by Section 12940 or by the Administrative Procedure Act.

790.08. The powers vested in the commissioner in this article shall be additional to any other powers to enforce any penalties, fines or forfeitures, denials, suspensions or revocations of licenses or certificates authorized by law with respect to the methods, acts and practices hereby declared to be unfair or deceptive.

790.09. No order to cease and desist issued under this article directed to any person or subsequent administrative or judicial proceeding to enforce the same shall in any way relieve or absolve such person from any administrative action against the license or certificate of such person, civil liability or criminal penalty under the laws of this State arising out of the methods, acts or practices found unfair or deceptive.

790.10. The commissioner shall, from time to time as conditions warrant, after notice and public hearing, promulgate reasonable rules and regulations, and amendments and additions thereto, as are necessary to administer this article.

790.15. (a) If an insurer or any affiliate of an insurer has failed to pay any valid claim from Holocaust survivors, the certificate of authority of the insurer shall be suspended until the insurer, or its affiliates, pays the claim or claims.

(b) As used in this section:

(1) “Holocaust survivor” means any person who is the beneficiary of an insurance policy, if the insurance policy insured a person’s life, property, or other interest, and the insured person was killed, died, was displaced, or was otherwise a victim of persecution of Jewish and other peoples preceding and during World War II by Germany, its allies, or sympathizers.

(2) “Beneficiary” means any person or entity entitled to recover under any policy of insurance, including any named beneficiary, any heir of a named beneficiary, and any other person entitled to recover under the policy.

(3) “Claim” means any claim submitted by a Holocaust survivor or other beneficiary arising under an insurance policy for any loss or damage caused by or arising because of discriminatory practices or persecution by the Nazi-controlled German government or its allies, or by insurers that refused to pay claims because of a claim that policies of insurance or records were missing or confiscated because of actions by the Nazi-controlled German government or its agents or allies. Claim also includes any claim by Holocaust survivors or beneficiaries to collect proceeds from dowry or education policies or from annuities.

(4) An “affiliate” of, or person “affiliated” with, a specific person, means a person who directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the person specified.

(5) “Control” includes the terms “controlling,” “controlled by,” and “under common control with,” and means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods or nonmanagement services, or otherwise, unless the power is the result of an official position with or corporate office held by the person. Control shall be presumed to exist if any person, directly or indirectly, owns, controls, holds with the power to vote, or holds proxies representing, more than 10 percent of the voting securities of any other person.

(c) An action to suspend a certificate of authority under this section shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), except that (1) if the Office of Administrative Hearings is unable to assign an administrative law judge to preside over a hearing that commences within 30 days of the filing of an accusation or order initiating an action under this section, the administrative law judge may be appointed by the commissioner; and (2) if the commissioner determines that it is necessary to protect the interests of Holocaust survivors, he or she may issue an order of suspension pursuant to this section prior to holding a hearing.

(d) If the commissioner issues an order pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), he or she shall immediately issue and serve upon the insurer a statement of reasons for the immediate action, as well as a copy of the accusation or order containing the allegations that support the order. Any order issued pursuant to this subdivision shall include a notice stating the time and place of a hearing on the order, which shall not be less than 20, nor more than 30 days after the order is served.

(e) When considering an action to suspend a certificate of authority under this section, the commissioner shall include consideration of whether the insurer has participated in good faith in an international commission on Holocaust survivor insurance claims, and whether the commission is making meaningful and expeditious progress toward paying claims to survivors and righting the historic wrong done to Holocaust victims.