Alaska § 21.36.461 - Extraordinary life circumstances.

§ 21.36.461. Extraordinary life circumstances.

 (a) Except as provided in AS 21.36.460 (d), an insurer that uses a consumer's credit history or insurance score shall provide reasonable exceptions to the insurer's rates, rating classifications, company or tier placement, or underwriting rules or guidelines for a consumer who has experienced, and whose credit history or insurance score has been affected by, one or more of the following extraordinary life circumstances:        (1) a catastrophe, as declared by the director under AS 21.06.080 ;

 (2) a serious illness or injury, or a serious illness of or injury to an immediate family member;

 (3) the death of a spouse, child, or parent;

 (4) divorce or the involuntary interruption of spousal support or maintenance payments;

 (5) identity theft;

 (6) loss of employment for three months or more as a result of involuntary termination;

 (7) military overseas deployment; or

 (8) other extraordinary life circumstances where a prudent person would consider an exception to the insurer's rates, rating classifications, company or tier placement, or underwriting rules or guidelines to be reasonable.

 (b) If a consumer submits a request for an exception under AS 21.36.460 (b), an insurer may require the consumer to        (1) provide reasonable written and independently verifiable documentation of the extraordinary life circumstances;

 (2) demonstrate that the circumstances had a direct and meaningful effect on the consumer's credit information.

 (c) If a consumer submits a request for an exception under AS 21.36.460 (b), an insurer may        (1) grant an exception;

 (2) grant an exception if the consumer asks for consideration of repeated events; and

 (3) grant an exception if the insurer previously had considered a request.

 (d) An insurer may not be considered out of compliance with a law or rule relating to underwriting, rating, or rate filing as a result of granting an exception under this section.

 (e) Not later than 30 days after the insurer receives sufficient documentation of the information requested from the consumer under (b) of this section, the insurer shall provide notice to the consumer, in writing, that the exception is        (1) granted and the adverse action will not be taken; or

 (2) denied and the adverse action will be maintained.

 (f) If an exception is denied and the adverse action will be maintained, the insurer's notice under (e) of this section must include        (1) the insurer's reason for denying the request for an exception and for maintaining the adverse action; and

 (2) information notifying the consumer of the consumer's right to appeal the adverse action resulting from the denial of the consumer's request for an exception to the director.

 (g) A consumer, aggrieved by an adverse action resulting from the denial of the consumer's request for an exception may appeal the adverse action to the director not later than 30 days after receiving the insurer's notice under (e) of this section. The appeal must include the consumer's reason for opposing the adverse action and for requesting the exception.

 (h) The director shall make a decision on the consumer's appeal not later than 30 days after receiving the appeal and shall provide the decision to both the insurer and the consumer. The decision must include an explanation of the decision and must be based on        (1) what a prudent person would consider to be a fair and reasonable decision given the consumer's circumstances; and

 (2) the record, which must be limited to the following:             (A) the insurer's notice of adverse action provided to the consumer under AS 21.36.460 (b);

 (B) the consumer's request for an exception submitted to the insurer under AS 21.36.460 (b);

 (C) any information submitted by the consumer to the insurer under (b) of this section;

 (D) the insurer's notice provided to the consumer under (e) of this section;

 (E) the consumer's appeal submitted to the director under (g) of this section; and

 (F) if requested by the director, additional information necessary to make a fair and reasonable decision.

 (i) The hearing and appeal procedures provided for in AS 21.06.180 — 21.06.230 do not apply to consumer appeals submitted to the director under (g) of this section.

 (j) Nothing in this section may be construed to provide a consumer with a cause of action that does not exist in the absence of this section.

 (k) In this section,        (1) “adverse action” is limited to an adverse action defined in AS 21.36.460 (i) that is based, in whole or in part, on the consumer's credit history or insurance score as affected by one or more extraordinary life circumstances;

 (2) “consumer” has the meaning given in AS 21.36.460 (i).