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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• CITATION
• STATUS
• WHAT'S NEW
• ADOPTED TEXT

CITATION
DCMR Title 26, Series 50


STATUS
This regulation was assigned the status of Adopted Rule
 on 10/05/2007.

Agency: Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking
StateNet Processing Date: 10/08/2007
StateNet Regulation ID: 2007 DC 700


ADOPTED TEXT
               DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE, SECURITIES, AND BANKING

                          NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING
    The Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking,
pursuant to the authority set forth in section 125 of the Insurance Trade and
Economic Development Amendment Act of 2000, effective April 3, 2001 (D.C. Law
13-265; D.C. Official Code Section 31-2231.25)(2001), hereby gives notice of
the adoption of the following amendments to section 5000 of Chapter 50 (Unfair
Trade Practices) of Title 26 (Insurance) of the District of Columbia Municipal
Regulations. The amendments will modify the permissible reasons for which an
insurer may non-renew or cancel a policy of homeowners' insurance, and for the
use of claims history information.

    A notice of the proposed rules was published in the D.C. Register on July
27, 2007 (54 DCR 30). No substantive changes have been made. These rules shall
become effective on the date of publication of this notice in the D. C.
Register.
    Section 5000 of Chapter 50 (Unfair Trade Practices) of Title 26
(Insurance) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations is amended to
read as follows:

    5000 PERMISSIBLE REASONS FOR NON-RENEWAL/CANCELLATION AND USE OF CLAIMS
HISTORY INFORMATION

    5000.1 An insurer shall not refuse to renew a policy of homeowners'
insurance solely due to claim or loss frequency unless there have been two (2)
or more claims during the preceding three (3) year period. For the purposes of
this subsection, an insurer shall not consider:

    (a) The first claim for a loss caused by weather, unless the insurer can
provide evidence that the insured unreasonably failed to maintain the property
and such failure to maintain contributed to the loss;

    (b) Any claim that was reported to the insured's agent or insurer as an
inquiry for which no payment was made by the insurer;

    (c) A loss for which there was no investigation or other claim activity;
or

    (d) Any losses caused by a catastrophic event. For the purposes of this
paragraph, the term "catastrophic event" means a manmade or natural event that
causes twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) or more in insured property
losses and affects multiple property and casualty policyholders or insurers.

    5000.2 An insurer shall not refuse to renew a policy of homeowners'
insurance solely because of damages requiring repairs that are discovered
during a renewal or loss inspection, unless the insurer has allowed the
insured a reasonable time frame in which to repair the damages.

    5000.3 An insurer shall comply with the rate making standards of section 3
of An Act to provide for regulation of certain insurance rates in the District
of Columbia, and for other purposes, approved May 20, 1948 (62 Stat. 243; D.C.
Official Code Section 31-2703 (2001)) with respect to any increase in the
premium on a policy of homeowners' insurance that is due to claim or loss
frequency, including any policy surcharge, movement between classes or tiers,
or the removal or reduction of a discount. All such increases in premium shall
be consistent with the insurer's filed rate plan.

    5000.4 An insurer shall provide a notice to its homeowners' insurance
policyholders that the insurer considers claims history in determining whether
to renew the policy. Such notice may be on the declarations page or on a
separate notice that accompanies the policy so long as the notice is
conspicuous and includes the following statement: "Your insurer may consider
your claims and loss history when determining whether to renew your policy."

    5000.5 Anytime an insurer attempts to cancel or non-renew a policy of
homeowner's insurance based on an insured's claims or loss history, the
insurer shall specify the reasons for such action and such reasons shall
include the date of the claim or loss, the amount of the claim or loss, the
type of insurance applicable to the claim or loss, the name of the insurer of
the claim or loss, and a brief statement of the circumstances that caused the
claim or loss. Such specification of reasons shall include enough information
so that the insured can have an adequate basis for refuting the accuracy of
any claim or loss history specified as reasons for the cancellation or
non-renewal decision of the insurer.

    5000.6 An insurer may refuse to renew a policy of homeowners' insurance
due to claim or loss frequency based upon standards more restrictive than
those set forth in this section if, at the time of policy issuance or renewal,
the insurer provided the insured with a conspicuous, written copy of the more
restrictive underwriting standards upon which the insurer proposes to base its
non- renewal decisions, and an explanation of how the more restrictive
underwriting standards differ from those established by any District law or
regulation.

WHAT'S NEW
Description of Changes
There are no recorded changes for this document.

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