Consumers may get relief under new Nevada insurance law

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Consumers who have suffered an “extraordinary life event” may now ask their insurance company to provide an exception to the use of their credit information for underwriting and rating purposes, which may otherwise result in an increase in their premium rate.

“This is an important chance for some Nevadans who have suffered an unfortunate event to find relief during these trying economic times,” said Commissioner Scott J. Kipper of the Nevada Division of Insurance.

The new Nevada law, typically applies to purchasers of personal auto, home and personal umbrella insurance. It requires that all Nevada personal lines insurers must offer consumers an exception to the insurer’s use of credit information, if a consumer has provided adequate documentation, as determined by the insurer, of an “extraordinary life event.” These events include a catastrophe, a serious illness or injury, death of a family member, divorce or involuntary interruption of legal alimony or support payments, identity theft, involuntary unemployment for a period of 3 months or more, military deployment overseas, or other events as determined by the insurer.

Consumers interested in being considered for an exception should contact their insurers for more information.

On Nov. 1, the Nevada Division of Insurance will begin airing a new public service announcement on television, educating consumers about their new opportunity. The public service announcement can be viewed online here.

For more information about extraordinary-life-event exceptions or the use of credit-based insurance scores contact the Division of Insurance here.

Meanwhile, The Nevada Division of Insurance is proud to offer consumers another resource to assist them when shopping for home or private passenger automobile insurance.

The Division has published on its website the policy forms provided by the top ten insurance groups in Nevada for both home and private passenger automobile insurance. The forms can be accessed from the Consumers section of the Division’s website
at http://bit.ly/nvhomeforms and http://bit.ly/nvautoforms" bit.ly/nvautoforms.

This information will help consumers decide what company best meets their insurance needs by allowing the consumer to review the policy language prior to purchasing the policy. Comparison of policies can reveal what a policy covers and what is actually excluded in the event of a loss.

“It is important for Nevadans to have as much information as possible available to aid in their purchasing decisions,” said Commissioner Scott J. Kipper. “Easy viewing access for consumers of major insurers’ policy forms facilitates a more transparent and competitive marketplace for insurance.”

Currently, the policy forms on the Division’s website are limited to mandatory forms offered by the largest ten insurance groups. Nevada consumers should be aware that each insurer may also have optional policy forms that the policyholder may select to broaden, narrow, or otherwise customize the coverage offered. These optional policy forms are not available for viewing on the Division’s website, but should be discussed further with the insurance company or agent.

These policy forms represent the products that the majority of Nevada consumers buy. The largest home insurance groups combined wrote 82% of the 2010 Nevada premium, while the largest private passenger automobile insurance groups wrote 79% of the 2010 Nevada premium.

The forms are displayed by insurance group and by company within each group. The hyperlinks at the top of the page can be used to navigate directly to the group and company desired. Each form is available for free viewing and download by the consumer.

While these policy forms are officially public documents, this is the first time they are now being made available for convenient viewing in one place for consumers.

Although the Division is making the mandatory forms of the ten largest insurers available on its website, this is not meant to be an endorsement of any particular product.

About the Nevada Division of Insurance
The Nevada Division of Insurance protects the rights of Nevada consumers and ensures the financial solvency of insurers. The Division investigated more than 2,400 consumer complaints during fiscal year 2010. The total premium dollar amount of all lines of insurance in Nevada for 2010 was approximately $11 billion. The Division is an accredited member of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, a national organization comprised of state insurance regulators dedicated to the development of good public policy in insurance. For more information about the Division of Insurance, visit www.doi.nv.gov.