This bill amends the Code of West Virginia to enhance communication between insurers and policyholders regarding property and casualty insurance. It introduces the use of Intelligent Mail barcodes (IMb) for notifications related to the cancellation and renewal of insurance policies, allowing insurers to send written notices via first-class mail more efficiently. Additionally, it mandates that insurers provide clear explanations for any declinations, cancellations, or non-renewals of policies, particularly emphasizing protections for long-standing policies and specific claims scenarios that cannot be used as grounds for cancellation or non-renewal.

Furthermore, the bill establishes a new section that permits insurers to post standard property and casualty insurance policies and endorsements on their websites instead of mailing them, provided that these documents do not contain personally identifiable information. Insurers must ensure that these documents are easily accessible, archived for five years, and allow policyholders to print and save copies. The bill also requires insurers to inform policyholders about how to obtain paper or electronic copies of their policies and any changes to the forms or endorsements. Overall, the legislation aims to modernize the insurance notification process while maintaining transparency and accessibility for policyholders.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 33-17A-4, 33-18-2