6.6.3303    DISCRIMINATION IN DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY FOR INSURANCE PROHIBITED

(1) Except as provided in (1) (a) , (1) (b) , and (3) below, an insurer shall not reject an applicant for insurance solely on the basis that the applicant cannot or does not demonstrate the existence of prior insurance. This section does not prohibit an insurer from rejecting an applicant with no prior insurance under the following circumstances:

(a) The insurer can demonstrate through driving records or other objective means that the applicant has at any time in the immediately prior three years been operating a motor vehicle in violation of any state's compulsory auto insurance laws.

(b) If on the application for coverage the applicant represents that prior insurance existed, but fails to provide evidence to the insurer, or fails to assist the insurer in securing evidence that said prior insurance actually existed.

(2) If an insurer has filed with the Montana insurance department multiple pricing programs designed to reflect the risk quality of individual applicants (a "preferred" program for "better than average" risks, a "standard" program and a "sub-standard" program for "worse than average" risks, for example) , the insurer shall not deem an applicant to be a "sub-standard" risk (and thus ineligible for the "standard" program) in the absence of supportive evidence in the driving records of the applicant, or other underwriting criteria that are applied to all applicants for coverage.

(3) Nothing in these rules is intended to require that an applicant with no prior insurance be eligible for an insurer's "preferred" program for "better than average" risks. The insurer may require that such eligibility be "earned" by the policyholder through satisfactory driving records under an insurance policy.

History: Sec. 33-1-313 and 33-18-102, MCA; IMP, Sec. 33-18-210, MCA; NEW, 1993 MAR p. 674, Eff. 4/30/93; AMD, 1993 MAR p. 2764, Eff 11/25/93.