SB1775enr 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB1775 Enrolled LRB098 07835 MLW 37917 b

AN ACT concerning transportation.

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 adding Section 143.33 as follows:

(215 ILCS 5/143.33 new)

Sec. 143.33. Electronic posting of policies.

(a) Policies and endorsements used by a company for transacting insurance as classified in Class 2 and Class 3 of Section 4 of this Code that do not contain personally identifiable information may be mailed, issued, delivered, or posted on the insurer's Internet website. If the insurer elects to post the insurance policies and endorsements on its Internet website in lieu of mailing, issuing, or delivering them to the insured, then the insurer must comply with all of the following conditions:

(1) The policy and endorsements must be easily accessible to the insured and the producer of record and remain that way for as long as the policy is in force;

(2) After the expiration of the policy, the insurer must archive its expired policies and endorsements for the longer of 5 years or other period required by law, and make them available upon request;

(3) The policies and endorsements must be posted in a manner that enables the insured and the producer of record to print and save the policy and endorsements using programs or applications that are widely available on the Internet and free to use;

(4) At the time of issuance of the original policy and any renewals of that policy, the insurer provides to the insured in the manner it customarily provides declarations pages to the insured, and to the producer of record, the following information clearly displayed in or simultaneously with a declarations page:

(A) a description of the exact policy and endorsement forms purchased by the insured;

(B) a method by which the insured may obtain from the insurer, upon request and without charge, a paper copy of their policy and endorsements; and

(C) the Internet address where their policy and endorsements are posted.

(5) The insurer provides to the insured in the manner it customarily provides declarations pages to the insured, and to the producer of record, notice of any changes to the forms or endorsements; the insured's right to obtain from the insurer, upon request and without charge, a paper copy of these forms or endorsements; and the Internet address where these forms or endorsements are posted.

(b) Nothing in this Section shall prevent an insurer that posts its policies and endorsements electronically in accordance with this Section from offering a discount to an insured who elects to receive notices and documents electronically in accordance with the provisions of the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.

(c) Nothing in this Section affects the timing or content of any disclosure or other document required to be provided or made available to any insured under any statute, rule, regulation, or rule of law.

Section 10. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing Section 7-602 as follows:

(625 ILCS 5/7-602) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 7-602)

Sec. 7-602. Insurance card. Every operator of a motor vehicle subject to Section 7-601 of this Code shall carry within the vehicle evidence of insurance. The evidence shall be legible and sufficient to demonstrate that the motor vehicle currently is covered by a liability insurance policy as required under Section 7-601 of this Code and may include, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) an insurance card provided by the insurer under this Section;

(b) the combination of proof of purchase of the motor vehicle within the previous 60 days and a current insurance card issued for the motor vehicle replaced by such purchase;

(c) the current declarations page of a liability insurance policy;

(d) a liability insurance binder, certificate of liability insurance or receipt for payment to an insurer or its authorized representative for a liability insurance premium, provided such document contains all information the Secretary of State by rule and regulation may require;

(e) a current rental agreement;

(f) registration plates, registration sticker or other evidence of registration issued by the Secretary only upon submission of proof of liability insurance pursuant to this Code;

(g) a certificate, decal, or other document or device issued by a governmental agency for a motor vehicle indicating the vehicle is insured for liability pursuant to law; .

(h) the display of electronic images on a cellular phone or other type of portable electronic device. The use of a cellular phone or other type of portable electronic device to display proof of insurance does not constitute consent for a law enforcement officer, court, or other officer of the court to access other contents of the electronic device. Any law enforcement officer, court, or officer of the court presented with the device shall be immune from any liability resulting from damage to the mobile electronic device.

An insurance card shall be provided for each motor vehicle insured by the insurer issuing the liability insurance policy and may be issued in either paper or electronic format. Acceptable electronic formats shall permit display on a cellular phone or other portable electronic device and satisfy all other requirements of law and rule, including this Section, regarding form and content.

The form, contents and manner of issuance of the insurance card shall be prescribed by rules and regulations of the Secretary of State. The Secretary shall adopt rules requiring that reasonable measures be taken to prevent the fraudulent production of insurance cards. The insurance card shall display an effective date and an expiration date covering a period of time not to exceed 12 months. The insurance card shall contain the following disclaimer: "Examine policy exclusions carefully. This form does not constitute any part of your insurance policy." If the insurance policy represented by the insurance card does not cover any driver operating the motor vehicle with the owner's permission, or the owner when operating a motor vehicle other than the vehicle for which the policy is issued, the insurance card shall contain a warning of such limitations in the coverage provided by the policy.

No insurer shall issue a card, similar in appearance, form and content to the insurance card required under this Section, in connection with an insurance policy that does not provide the liability insurance coverage required under Section 7-601 of this Code.

The evidence of insurance shall be displayed upon request made by any law enforcement officer wearing a uniform or displaying a badge or other sign of authority. Any person who fails or refuses to comply with such request is in violation of Section 3-707 of this Code. Any person who displays evidence of insurance, knowing there is no valid liability insurance in effect on the motor vehicle as required under Section 7-601 of this Code or knowing the evidence of insurance is illegally altered, counterfeit or otherwise invalid, is in violation of Section 3-710 of this Code.

"Display" means the manual surrender of the evidence of insurance into the hands of the law enforcement officer, court, or officer of the court making the request for the officer's, court's, or officer of the court's inspection thereof.

(Source: P.A. 93-719, eff. 1-1-05.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.