Legislature(2019 - 2020)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
05/07/2019 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB11 | |
| SB106 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 106 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 11 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 106-HOMEOWNER/RENTER INSURANCE RENEWAL
1:49:36 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD announced that the final order of business would
be SENATE BILL NO. 106, "An Act relating to renewal of insurance
coverage for homeowners and renters; and providing for an
effective date."
1:50:00 PM
SENATOR TOM BEGICH, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, explained
that one of his constituents had an issue that led him to
introduce SB 106. He said that residents of Anchorage must live
with crime on a daily basis. Senator Costello has been reporting
the victim's stories during special orders each day. His homes
were burglarized, and two cars were also stolen from his
driveway, he said. However, he did not make any claims. Instead,
he searched for his vehicles and found them, he said. He did not
make an insurance claim because he was afraid [his insurance
rates would increase.] He did not realize his fear was well
founded, he said. He said that [on April 12, 2019], the
Anchorage Daily News ran an "op-ed" piece by Penny Gage. As a
renter, Ms. Gage was required to have rental insurance. Her
policy was not renewed as the result of the claims she made
against the policy for a break-in that occurred.
1:52:16 PM
SENATOR BEGICH said this bill is important because moving into a
new home is a significant commitment, no matter if is rented or
owned. Lenders require buyers to purchase insurance as a
condition of financing their homes, and rental insurance is
recommended. People want assurances that their belongings are
protected, so insurance has value and meaning. Under current
law, Alaska insurance providers can choose not to renew
homeowner or rental insurance policies on the annual
anniversary, without notification prior to the cancellation. He
said that is what happened to Penny Gage. He said that Lori-
Wing-Heier, Division of Insurance, helped draft the bill. He
said she recommended changes, which are in the proposed
committee substitute (CS) for Version M.
He said that SB 106 would restrict an insurance company's
ability to not renew a policy based on the first claim filed
within three years of the policy being initiated. This would
help to ensure that one-time crime victims are not penalized by
their insurance company for filing a claim. He said that the
changes in the committee substitute provide fine tuning and make
sure that this would not have any fiscal impact to the state.
1:54:48 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD remarked that the committee would not take public
testimony on SB 11 today. She recognized several people who were
online and in the room.
1:55:39 PM
SENATOR BEGICH said he brought the bill to the industry for
review, but he did not receive any response. He introduced the
bill in [mid-April] and Director Wing-Heier recently made
suggested changes to SB 106, which are in Version M.
1:56:32 PM
SENATOR COSTELLO moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) to SB 106, work order 31-LS0476\M, Marx,
5/16/19, Version M, as the working document of the committee.
SENATOR BISHOP objected for the purpose of discussion.
1:56:49 PM
LOKI TOBIN, Staff, Senator Tom Begich, Alaska State Legislature,
Juneau, on behalf of the sponsor, Senator Tom Begich, presented
the sectional analysis for SB 106.
1:57:04 PM
MS. TOBIN reviewed Sections 1-7 of SB 106.
Section 1: Cleans up previous language and moves
notice and applicability language for nonrenewal of a
personal or business insurance policy to a new
section, described below.
Section 2: Adds a new section prohibiting an insurance
company from considering a first claim filed against
the policy in the preceding three years as a reason
for cancelling the policy. The insurance company may
still cancel without notice if the insurance company
has manifested a good faith effort to renew the policy
or the premiums on a policy are not paid.
Section 3: Aligns "personal insurance" definition with
AS 21.36.460(i).
Section 4: Amends uncodified Alaska law so Sections 1
and 2 apply to new insurance or insurance policies
renewed after the effective dates in this Act.
Section 5: Amends uncodified Alaska law to allow the
Director of the Division of Insurance the ability to
implement new regulations outlined in Sections 1 and
2.
Section 6: Gives the Director of the Division of
Insurance the authority outlined in Section 5
immediately upon passage of the legislation.
Section 7: All sections, save Section 6, will go into
effect July 1, 2020.
1:58:53 PM
SENATOR BISHOP related his understanding that cancellation could
still happen, after three years.
SENATOR BEGICH asked to be clear that this bill referred to non-
renewal of policies. He said that Section 2 indicates that if
the insurance companies have other reasons to cancel, the
companies could do so. He clarified that the non-renewal would
apply to the first three years.
2:00:01 PM
LORI WING-HEIER, Director, Division of Insurance, Department of
Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED), Juneau,
reported that Anchorage, the Mat-Su Valley, and other areas of
the state have been experiencing a crime epidemic. Many people
are having their insurance policies non-renewed, she said. She
explained that this bill would give people "one free pass."
These crimes are acts taken against people, but these residents
do not have any control over the crimes. She said that when
their home is broken into or their vehicle is stolen, it was not
by choice.
2:01:08 PM
SENATOR BIRCH asked whether she could provide a sense of the
frequency or incidents of consumer complaints.
MS. WING-HEIER answered no. She said that the agency has
received perhaps a dozen complains but not in proportion to the
number of crimes that happen.
SENATOR BIRCH expressed concern about intervening between the
insured and the insurer. He acknowledged that it did not seem
unreasonable, but he wondered how this would affect insurance
rates.
MS. WING-HEIER answered that insurance companies could raise the
rates for those who experienced these crimes, but the rates can
only be raised by 10 percent without notice. For example, the
insurance companies could not raise rates from $200 to $1,000
without providing notice and allowing people time to find new
insurance.
2:03:16 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD remarked that numerous people have reported to
her that their insurance company raised their homeowner or car
insurance rates. She acknowledged that it was definitely a
concern for businesses and homeowners. She said she was happy
with the bill.
2:04:23 PM
SENATOR BISHOP asked whether the insurance industry has compiled
any data regarding non-renewals that was due to crime.
MS. WING-HEIER said that the division has not tracked this. She
said the division could issue a data call to insurance
companies. She suggested that it could take a couple of weeks to
get information on the number of policy non-renewal or
cancellations. She said the division does not generally receive
notices of non-renewal.
CHAIR REINBOLD responded that it would be useful information for
the committee.
2:06:05 PM
SENATOR COSTELLO offered her belief that this was a consumer
protection bill. She said she was not going to withhold her
support for SB 106 based on the insurance company figures. She
said she was glad to know Ms. Wing-Heier worked on the bill
because of her expertise.
2:06:42 PM
SENATOR BISHOP said he was interested in the data. He recalled
that the division came to the legislature a few years ago to
seek funding to help drive the insurance pool rates down. He
remarked that the state did not create the epidemic. He offered
his belief that the crime bill and this bill were linked and
intertwined. He said the crime epidemic is not the renters,
homeowners, or insurance companies' fault, either. He suggested
that it was important to protect businesses, homeowners, and the
public's interest. He questioned who would move to Alaska if
insurance is not available. He said that he supports the bill.
2:08:19 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD said that this bill falls broadly under crime and
commerce. She remarked that if time permits, she would like to
work on this issue this session. She suggested that this bill
was an important one and the committee should consider expanding
it to apply to businesses since many stores have significant
theft problems. She also believes that addressing crime was
necessary to address property crime and burglaries.
2:10:17 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD opened public testimony on SB 106.
2:10:36 PM
PENNY GAGE, representing herself, Anchorage, stated that she
Anchorage, stated that she originally lived in Sitka, but moved
to Anchorage. In January 2018, she and her partner rented an
apartment in a duplex apartment near the Valley of the Moon
Park, with access to trails, within walking distance of
downtown, and overlooking the dog park. Their lease required a
renters' insurance policy, so she purchased one from State Farm
Insurance. Their apartment was burglarized on June 22 in the
middle of the day. Someone hopped their fence and used a tool
from their shed to break a window and took everything of value.
The robbers were skillful, filling totes and suitcases taken
from their apartment with jewelry, passports, laptops, a hunting
rifle, and clothing. The [Anchorage Police Department] quickly
responded, took fingerprints, but has not yet had any leads in
the case. After the burglary, she filed a $10,000 claim on their
renters' insurance policy with the insurance company. The
insurance settlement helped replace key items that were stolen.
However, near the end of December, the insurance company
informed her that it would not be renewing their policy past
2019. When she asked why, the agent explained that since she
filed a claim within six months of the policy start date, it
wasn't worth the risk to renew their renters insurance. Of
course, she was unaware of the insurance company's internal
policy for non-renewal. She said her policy was paid timely, her
neighborhood is in a pretty safe area, and the home had not
previously been burglarized. After the burglary, she and her
partner changed the locks, paid to install a camera system, and
added locks to their backyard gate. Even so, the insurer would
not provide renter's insurance, she said.
2:12:49 PM
MS. GAGE said that she reached out to the corporate office, but
was told that the company has underwriting guidelines, and that
nothing that could be done, but she could reapply if she was
incident free for three years. She filed a complaint with the
state and with her local agent. The state Division of Insurance
informed her that an insurance company can't dissuade anyone
from filing a claim for a breach of contract, that exercising a
non-renewal for filing a first claim was basically the same
thing. She said, "While they won't do that, I think cutting you
off after you file a first claim is basically the same thing."
She said she wrote an op-ed piece [published in the Anchorage
Daily News] in January because she felt this policy and process
was unjust. She offered her belief that a renter or homeowner is
not at fault in a burglary, that renters and homeowners
insurance exist for protection. While she said she respects
private insurance companies' interest in profits, cutting off an
insured client after a single claim seemed wrong, especially
since she was willing to pay a higher premium. She characterized
it as an under examined consequence of Anchorage's ongoing
property crime. She said that residents are victimized by
criminals and then revictimized by insurers by denying future
coverage, which felt like a slap in the face, she said. She
urged members to examine the policies and this issue since it
affects many Alaskans.
CHAIR REINBOLD remarked her experience would be a great, "Voices
of the Victim," which Senator Costello has been reading under
special orders during the Senate floor session.
2:15:29 PM
SENATOR BEGICH asked to respond to some of the issues raised. An
insurance agency does have a recourse since it can raise rates.
For example, his auto insurance rates go up when he files
claims. It is a natural give and take of an insurance policy,
which is why this seemed so egregious to him. He said it was why
he never filed a claim, he said. He characterized it as a
personal relationship between the parties and the agencies, but
some parameters were necessary. He said his auto insurance
cannot be cancelled for filing claims. In the event of a non-
renewal, the agent must raise the rates. This bill would prevent
insurance companies from canceling polices for the first three
years based on filing claims that have merit. He said he hoped
that the committee would move the bill. He characterized this
issue as an unintended consequence of the vast criminal issues
that the legislature is working to address.
2:17:11 PM
At-ease.
2:17:44 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD reconvened the meeting and reviewed upcoming
committee announcements.
CHAIR REINBOLD said that public testimony would be left open.
2:18:41 PM
At-ease.
2:18:56 PM
CHAIR REINBOLD reconvened the meeting.
SENATOR BISHOP removed his objection. There being no further
objection, the proposed committee substitute (CS) for SB 106,
work order 31-LS0476\M, Version M, was before the committee.
[SB 106 was held in committee.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| CS SB 11 (L&C) VER. M.pdf |
SL&C 5/7/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 11 |
| SB 11 Summary of Changes VER. A to VER. M.pdf |
SL&C 5/7/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 11 |
| SB 11 Backup Document NCSL veterans' state hiring preference 5.7.19.pdf |
SL&C 5/7/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 11 |
| SB 11 The Blue Star and Gold Star Families Act 5.7.19.pdf |
SL&C 5/7/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 11 |
| SB 11 Reference Document Office of the US President Military Spouses 5.7.19..pdf |
SL&C 5/7/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 11 |
| SB 106 VER. M.pdf |
SL&C 5/7/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 106 |
| SB 106 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SL&C 5/7/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 106 |
| SB 106 Sectional Analysis .pdf |
SL&C 5/7/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 106 |
| SB 106 Support Document - Anchorage Daily News 5.7.19.pdf |
SL&C 5/7/2019 1:30:00 PM |
SB 106 |