§ 2804 — Initial notification

§ 2804. Initial notification. An insurer writing personal lines\ninsurance which uses credit information in underwriting or rating a\nconsumer, shall disclose such fact to the consumer. The insurer shall\nprovide the disclosure required under this section to any insured on new\nand renewal policies.\n (a) The disclosure must be provided in a separate written document,\nwhich need not be provided in a separate mailing as another document as\nlong as it is provided on a separate piece of paper, except that for new\nbusiness it may be provided either in writing or in the same medium as\nthe application for insurance.\n (b) The disclosure must, in clear and specific language, comply with\nthe following:\n (1) inform the consumer that it may obtain credit information in\nconnection with the application or renewal;\n (2) give an explanation of insurance scoring;\n (3) list typical items relative to a consumer's credit history that\ncould affect such score; and\n (4) provide the name of the consumer reporting agency supplying the\ncredit data used in determining the score.\n (c) Use of one of the following example disclosure statements\nconstitutes compliance with this section:\n (1) "In connection with this insurance, we may review your credit\nreport or obtain or use a credit-based insurance score based on\ninformation contained in that report. An insurance score uses\ninformation from your credit report to help predict how often you are\nlikely to file claims and how expensive those claims will be. Typical\nitems from a credit report that could affect a score include, but are\nnot limited to, the following: payment history, number of revolving\naccounts, number of new accounts, the presence of collection accounts,\nbankruptcies and foreclosures. The information used to develop the\ninsurance score comes from (insert name.)"; or\n (2) Use of the following example disclosure statement for renewal\nbusiness constitutes compliance with this section: "In connection with\nthis insurance, we previously used a credit report or obtained or used a\ncredit-based insurance score based on information contained in that\nreport. We may obtain or use credit information again provided, however,\nthat upon renewal such information may only be used to reduce premiums.\nAn insurance score uses information from your credit report to help\npredict how often you are likely to file claims and how expensive those\nclaims will be. Typical items from a credit report that could affect a\nscore include, but are not limited to, the following: payment history,\nnumber of revolving accounts, number of new accounts, the presence of\ncollection accounts, bankruptcies and foreclosures. The information used\nto develop the insurance score comes from (insert name.)".\n (d) If a new business application is taken over the telephone, an oral\ndisclosure may be provided by one of the following approaches:\n (1) As described in subsections (a) through (c) of this section; or\n (2) (A) By first disclosing the fact that the insurer may obtain\ncredit information in connection with such application, as indicated in\nparagraph one of subsection (b) of this section. Use of the following\nexample disclosure constitutes compliance with this provision: "In\nconnection with this application for insurance, we may review your\ncredit report or obtain or use a credit-based insurance score based on\nthe information contained in that credit report."; and\n (B) If a policy is issued, by supplying the information required under\nparagraphs two, three and four of subsection (b) of this section. The\ndisclosure must be provided in a separate written document, which need\nnot be provided in a separate mailing as another document as long as it\nis provided on a separate piece of paper. Use of the following example\ndisclosure constitutes compliance with this provision: "In connection\nwith this insurance, we reviewed your credit report or obtained or used\na credit-based insurance score based on information contained in that\nreport. An insurance score uses information from your credit report to\nhelp predict how often you are likely to file claims and how expensive\nthose claims will be. Typical items from a credit report that could\naffect a score include, but are not limited to, the following: payment\nhistory, number of revolving accounts, number of new accounts, the\npresence of collection accounts, bankruptcies and foreclosures. The\ninformation used to develop the insurance score comes from (insert\nname.)".\n