1. Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, an insurer that uses credit information shall, upon receipt of a written request from an applicant or policyholder, provide reasonable exceptions to the insurer’s rates, rating classifications, company or tier placement, or underwriting rules or guidelines for an applicant or policyholder who has experienced and whose credit information has been directly influenced by any of the following:
(a) A catastrophic event, as declared by the Federal or State Government;
(b) A serious illness or injury, or a serious illness or injury to an immediate family member;
(c) The death of a spouse, child or parent;
(d) Divorce or involuntary interruption of legally-owed alimony or support payments;
(e) Identify theft;
(f) Temporary loss of employment for a period of 3 months or more, if it results from involuntary termination;
(g) Military deployment overseas; or
(h) Other events, as determined by the insurer.
2. If an applicant or policyholder submits a request for an exception as set forth in subsection 1, an insurer may, in its sole discretion:
(a) Require the applicant or policyholder to provide reasonable written and independently verifiable documentation of the event;
(b) Require the applicant or policyholder to demonstrate that the event had direct and meaningful impact on the credit information of the applicant or policyholder;
(c) Require that such a request be made not more than 60 days after the date of the application for insurance or the policy renewal;
(d) Grant an exception despite the applicant or policyholder not providing the initial request for an exception in writing; or
(e) Grant an exception where the applicant or policyholder asks for consideration of repeated events or the insurer has considered this event previously.
3. An insurer is not out of compliance with any law or rule relating to underwriting, rating or rate filing as a result of granting an exception under this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide an applicant or policyholder with a cause of action that does not exist in the absence of this section.
4. The insurer shall provide notice to each applicant and policyholder that reasonable exceptions are available and include information about how the applicant or policyholder may inquire further about such exceptions.
5. Within 30 days after the insurer’s receipt of sufficient documentation of an event described in subsection 1, the insurer shall inform the applicant or policyholder of the outcome of the request for a reasonable exception. Such communication must be in writing or provided to the applicant or policyholder in the same medium as the request.
6. The Commissioner may adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of this section.
(Added to NRS by 2011, 3367)