(a)Fraudulent viatical settlement acts, interference, and participation of convicted felons prohibited. —
(1) A person may not commit a fraudulent viatical settlement act.
(2) A person may not knowingly or intentionally interfere with the enforcement of the provisions of this Act or investigations of suspected or actual violations of this Act.
(3) A person in the business of viatical settlements may not knowingly or intentionally permit any person convicted of a felony or of any other crime involving dishonesty or breach of trust to participate in the business of viatical settlements.
(b)Fraud warning required. —
(1) Viatical settlements contract forms and applications for viatical settlements, regardless of the form of transmission, must contain the following statement or a substantially similar statement:
“Any person who knowingly presents false information in an application for insurance or viatical settlement contract is guilty of a crime and may be subject to fines and confinement in prison.”
(2) The lack of a statement as required in paragraph (b)(1) of this section does not constitute a defense in any prosecution for a fraudulent viatical settlement act.
(c)Mandatory reporting of fraudulent viatical settlement acts. —
(1) Any person engaged in the business of viatical settlements having knowledge or a reasonable suspicion that a fraudulent viatical settlement act is being, will be, or has been committed shall provide to the Commissioner such information as required by, and in a manner prescribed by, the Commissioner.
(2) Any other person having knowledge or a reasonable belief that a fraudulent viatical settlement act is being, will be, or has been committed may provide to the Commissioner the information required by, and in a manner prescribed by, the Commissioner.
(d)Immunity from liability. —
(1) No cause of action may exist and no civil liability may be imposed on a person for furnishing information concerning suspected, anticipated, or completed fraudulent viatical settlement acts or suspected or completed fraudulent insurance acts, if the information is provided to or received from any of the following:
a. The Commissioner or the Commissioner’s employees, agents, or representatives.
b. Federal, state or local law–enforcement or regulatory officials or their employees, agents, or representatives.
c. A person involved in the prevention and detection of fraudulent viatical settlement acts or that person’s agents, employees, or representatives.
d. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), or their employees, agents or representatives, or other regulatory body overseeing life insurance, viatical settlements, securities, or investment fraud.
e. The life insurer that issued the life insurance policy covering the life of the insured.
(2) Paragraph (d)(1) of this section does not apply to statements made with actual malice. In an action brought against a person for filing a report or furnishing other information concerning a fraudulent viatical settlement act, the party bringing the action must plead specifically any allegation that paragraph (d)(1) of this section does not apply because the person filing the report or furnishing the information did so with actual malice.
(3) A person furnishing information as identified in paragraph (d)(1) of this section is entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and costs if the person is the prevailing party in a civil lawsuit for libel, slander, or any other relevant tort arising out of activities related to carrying out the provisions of this Act and the party bringing the lawsuit did not have a reasonable basis in law or fact to bring the lawsuit at the time that it was initiated. However, such an award does not apply to any person furnishing information concerning that person’s own fraudulent viatical settlement acts.
(4) This section does not abrogate or modify common law or statutory privileges or immunities enjoyed by a person described in paragraph (d)(1) of this section.
(e)Confidentiality. —
(1) The documents and evidence provided pursuant to subsection (d) of this section or obtained by the Commissioner in an investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent viatical settlement acts are privileged and confidential. The documents and evidence are not public records and are not subject to discovery or subpoena in a civil action.
(2) Paragraph (e)(1) of this section does not prohibit release by the Commissioner of documents and evidence obtained in an investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent viatical settlement acts:
a. In administrative or judicial proceedings to enforce laws administered by the Commissioner.
b. To federal, state or local law-enforcement or regulatory agencies, to an organization established for the purpose of detecting and preventing fraudulent viatical settlement acts, or to the NAIC.
c. At the discretion of the Commissioner, to a person in the business of viatical settlements that is aggrieved by a fraudulent viatical settlement act.
(3) Release of documents and evidence under paragraph (e)(2) of this section does not abrogate or modify the privilege granted in paragraph (e)(1) of this section.
(f)Other law-enforcement or regulatory authority. —
This Act does not:
(1) Preempt the authority or relieve the duty of the Attorney General or any other law-enforcement or regulatory agencies to investigate, examine and prosecute suspected violations of law.
(2) Prevent or prohibit a person from disclosing voluntarily information concerning viatical settlement fraud to a law-enforcement or regulatory agency other than the Insurance Department.
(3) Limit the powers granted elsewhere by the laws of this State to the Commissioner or an insurance fraud unit to investigate and examine possible violations of law and to take appropriate action against wrongdoers.
(g)Viatical settlement antifraud initiatives. —
(1) Viatical settlement providers and viatical settlement brokers shall have in place antifraud initiatives reasonably calculated to detect, prosecute, and prevent fraudulent viatical settlement acts. At the discretion of the Commissioner, the Commissioner may order, or a licensee may request and the Commissioner may grant, such modifications of the following required initiatives as necessary to ensure an effective antifraud program. The modifications may be more or less restrictive than the required initiatives so long as the modifications may reasonably be expected to accomplish the purpose of this section.
(2) Antifraud initiatives must include:
a. Fraud investigators, who may be viatical settlement provider or viatical settlement broker employees or independent contractors.
b. An antifraud plan, which must be submitted to the Commissioner. The antifraud plan must include:
1. A description of the procedures for detecting and investigating possible fraudulent viatical settlement acts and procedures for resolving material inconsistencies between medical records and insurance applications;
2. A description of the procedures for reporting possible fraudulent viatical settlement acts to the Commissioner.
3. A description of the plan for antifraud education and training of underwriters and other personnel.
4. A description or chart outlining the organizational arrangement of the antifraud personnel who are responsible for the investigation and reporting of possible fraudulent viatical settlement acts and investigating unresolved material inconsistencies between medical records and insurance applications.
c. Antifraud plans submitted to the Commissioner are privileged and confidential. The plans are not public records and are not subject to discovery or subpoena in a civil action.