§ 27-57-1. Interception of insurance payments.
(a) Every domestic insurer or insurance company authorized to issue policies of life insurance
or liability insurance pursuant to this title, and also any workers' compensation
insurer, shall, within thirty (30) days prior to the making of any payment equal to
or in excess of five hundred dollars ($500) to any claimant or beneficiary who is
a resident of the state of Rhode Island or to any claimant who has an accident or
loss that occurred in the state of Rhode Island, for third-party personal injury or
workers' compensation benefits under a contract of insurance, or who is to receive
any economic benefit from a life insurance policy, including, but not limited to,
as a co-payee, or whether by means of cash surrender under any type policy, or as
a loan against the cash value or surrender value of any insurance policy, review information
provided by the department of human services, office of child support services, child
support enforcement pursuant to § 27-57-4 indicating whether the claimant owes past-due child support.
(b) If the insurer determines from the information provided by the department pursuant
to § 27-57-4 that the claimant or payee does not owe past-due support, the insurer may make the
payment to the claimant in accordance with the contract of the insurance.
(c) If the insurer determines from the information provided by the department pursuant
to § 27-57-4 that the claimant or payee owes past-due child support, the insurer shall, except
to the extent payments are subject to liens, written notices, or interests described
in § 27-57-3, withhold from payment the amount of past-due support and pay that amount to the
family court which shall credit the person's child support obligation account for
the amount so paid, and the insurer shall pay the balance to the claimant or other
person entitled to it. The insurer or insurance company shall provide written notice
to the claimant and the claimant's attorney, if any, and notice by email or other
electronic means, to the department of the payment to the family court. The payment
shall be deposited in the registry of the family court for a period of forty-five
(45) days, or if an application for review has been filed pursuant to subsection (d),
until further order of the court. The notice shall reflect the date, name, social
security number, case number, and amount of the payment. Any insurer or insurance
company, its directors, agents, and employees and central reporting organizations
and their respective employees, authorized by an insurer to act on its behalf, who
release information in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, or who withhold
amounts from payment based upon the latest information supplied by the department
pursuant to § 27-57-4 and make disbursements in accordance with § 27-57-3, shall be in compliance and shall be immune from any liability to the claimant, payee
lienholder, payee who provided written notice, or security interest holder for taking
that action.
(d) Any claimant aggrieved by any action taken under this section may within thirty (30)
days of the making of the notice to the claimant in subsection (c) of this section,
seek judicial review in the family court, which may in its discretion issue a temporary
order prohibiting the disbursement of funds under this section, pending final adjudication.
[See §â€‚12-1-15 of the General Laws.]