SB 606: Prepaid Legal Service Plans This act repeals provisions of law requiring a person who solicits membership on behalf of a prepaid legal services plan to be licensed as an insurance agent. The act provides that any person who solicits memberships on behalf of a prepaid legal services plan must disclose to the consumer in writing that a prepaid legal services plan is not regulated by the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration. SB 609: Electronic Insurance Documents This act states that certain provisions of current law regarding the sending of insurance documents by electronic means shall apply to notices and documents issued by certain mutual property insurance companies and non-life insurance companies, as well as to certain life insurance products. The provisions of current law regarding such electronic sending of documents shall not be construed to limit provisions of current law regarding a health insurance enrollee's right to receive certain documents in a certain format. Currently, consumer protections against predatory business practices by building contractors are only afforded to owners of residential property. This act expands those consumer protections to owners of commercial properties. This act requires that insurers that offer benefits for cancer treatment offer oral anticancer medication at terms at least as favorable as intravenously administered anticancer medications. Health benefit plans can be in compliance with this section if orally prescribed anticancer medications are offered at a rate that limits total out-of-pocket costs to seventy-five dollars for a thirty day period, and high deductible plans can meet these compliance terms after the satisfaction of the annual deductible. SB 691: Insurance Policies - Notice of Cancellation and Sinkhole Coverage This act modifies insurance policy cancellation requirements by making any notice of cancellation constitute a present and unequivocal act of cancellation of the policy. This act also requires that notification of cancellation for nonpayment of premiums must include a specific notice in bold conspicuous type. This act allows an insurer to reinstate a policy at any time after a notice of cancellation is issued if the reason for the cancellation is remedied and specifies the communications an insurer may send to the insured. This act also permits insurers to issue policies exclusively for sinkhole loss on habitational property upon application under the "Missouri Basic Property Insurance Inspection and Placement Program." Specific procedures for sinkhole loss claims investigation and expedited approval may be established by plans in addition to the procedures required under the Missouri Basic Property Inspection and Placement Program. SB 794: Insurance Regulation - Banks, Insurance Company Investments and Pre-Need Policies Currently, Missouri banks and trust companies with trust powers, and national banks with trust powers under United States laws with their principal place of business in Missouri, are authorized to transfer fiduciary obligations consisting only of irrevocable life insurance trusts to the Missouri trust office of an out of state bank with trust powers or to an out of state trust company. This act allows all banks, trust companies, and national banks with trust powers, regardless of location, to transfer those obligations to any such banks and trust companies. Currently certain life insurance producers are exempt from continuing education requirements when dealing exclusively in life insurance polices and annuities designated by the purchaser for the payment of funeral or burial expenses if the initial face amount is less than five thousand and ten thousand dollars respectively. This act increases the maximum amount to fifteen thousand dollars for such policies and annuities. The act also increases the allowable percentage of assets that an insurance holding company may invest in subsidiaries from 5% to 10%. SCR 31: Terrorism Risk Insurance This resolution supports reauthorization of federally provided terrorism reinsurance for insurers by the United States Congress to maintain stability in the insurance and reinsurance markets. HB 1361: Domestic Surplus Lines Insurers This bill specifies that a nonadmitted insurer that is domiciled in this state must be deemed a domestic surplus lines insurer if the insurer possesses a policyholder surplus of at least $20 million, is an approved or eligible surplus lines insurer in at least one jurisdiction other than this state, the board of directors of the insurer has passed a resolution seeking to be a domestic surplus lines insurer in Missouri, and the Director of the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration has given written approval for the insurer to be a domestic surplus lines insurer. A domestic surplus lines insurer is deemed an eligible surplus lines insurer authorized to write any type of policy that a nonadmitted insurer not domiciled in Missouri is eligible to write. The policies issued in this state must be subject to taxes assessed on surplus lines policies issued by nonadmitted insurers, including the surplus premium lines tax under Section 384.059, RSMo, but will not be subject to other taxes levied on admitted insurers whether domestic or foreign, including taxes imposed under Section 148.320. A policy issued by a domestic surplus lines insurer is not subject to the protections or other provisions of the Missouri Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association Act or the Missouri Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Act. All financial and solvency requirements imposed under specified provisions on domestic admitted insurers must apply to domestic surplus lines insurers unless specifically exempted. A domestic surplus lines insurer must be exempt from all statutory requirements regarding rating plans, policy forms, policy cancellation and non-renewal, and premiums charged to the insured in the same manner and to the same extent as a nonadmitted insurer domiciled in another state. This bill changes, from not less than once every three years to not less than once every five years, when the Director of the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration, or any duly appointed representative, must make an examination of the affairs of a health maintenance organization. It also adds definitions for a health organization, a domestic health organization, and a foreign health organization. The bill adds a health organization to the entities subject to risk-based capital examination, analysis, and regulation under Sections 375.1250 to 375.1275, RSMo. A health organization's risk-based capital must be determined in accordance with the specified formula that must take into account and may adjust for the covariance between asset risk, credit risk, underwriting risk, and other business risks. A foreign health organization must comply with the same regulatory requirements a foreign insurer is currently subject to under Section 375.1270. The bill allows the department director to share documents, materials, or other information, including the confidential and privileged documents filed as part of a risk-based capital analysis, with other specified regulatory bodies if the recipient agrees to maintain the confidentiality and privileged status of the information. The department director may exempt a domestic health organization from the risk-based credit examination requirements if it meets specified conditions. The bill specifies the requirements that must apply for risk-based capital reports that must be filed by health organizations with respect to 2014 in lieu of specified provisions of the bill. |