Public Act 098-0701
 
SB2922 EnrolledLRB098 17339 RPM 52435 b

    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Insurance Code is amended by
changing Section 1570 as follows:
 
    (215 ILCS 5/1570)
    Sec. 1570. Public adjuster fees.
    (a) A public adjuster shall not pay a commission, service
fee, or other valuable consideration to a person for
investigating or settling claims in this State if that person
is required to be licensed under this Article and is not so
licensed.
    (b) A person shall not accept a commission, service fee, or
other valuable consideration for investigating or settling
claims in this State if that person is required to be licensed
under this Article and is not so licensed.
    (c) A public adjuster may pay or assign commission, service
fees, or other valuable consideration to persons who do not
investigate or settle claims in this State, unless the payment
would violate State law.
    (d) A public adjuster may not charge, agree to, or accept
any compensation, payment, commissions, fee, or other valuable
consideration in excess of 10% of the amount of the insurance
settlement claim paid by the insurer on any claim resulting
from a catastrophic event, unless approved in writing by the
Director. Application for exception to the 10% limit must be
made in writing. The request must contain specific reasons as
to why the consideration should be in excess of 10% and proof
that the policyholder would accept the consideration. The
Director must act on any request within 5 business days after
receipt of the request.
    For the purpose of this subsection (d), "catastrophic
event" means an occurrence of widespread or severe damage or
loss of property producing an overwhelming demand on State and
local response resources and mechanisms and a severe long-term
effect on general economic activity, and that severely affects
State, local, and private sector capabilities to begin to
sustain response activities resulting from any catastrophic
cause, including, but not limited to, fire, including arson
(provided the fire was not caused by the willful action of an
owner or resident of the property), flood, earthquake, wind,
storm, explosion, or extended periods of severe inclement
weather as determined by declaration of a State of disaster by
the Governor. This declaration may be made on a
county-by-county basis and shall be in effect for 90 days, but
may be renewed for 30-day intervals thereafter.
(Source: P.A. 96-1332, eff. 1-1-11.)