Senate committee approves extending notice periods before large insurance premium increases

Senate Bill 70 advanced out of the Senate Insurance & Commerce Committee after members voted to approve the measure that lengthens notice periods for large insurance premium increases.

Senator Jimmy Hickey presented Senate Bill 70 and said the bill would change notification requirements when a policyholder faces a premium increase of 25% or more. "What this does is it extends so that, if somebody's premium is gonna go up 25%, what we've had is that the insurance agent would have to be notified 30 days. We're extending that to 60 days. And then for the consumer, they only had to have be notified for 10 days. This is gonna make it so they have to be notified within at least 30 days prior to that action," Hickey said.

The bill changes two deadlines: an insurer must notify the selling agent at least 60 days before a 25%-or-greater premium increase (up from 30 days), and the policyholder must be notified at least 30 days before the change (up from 10 days). Hickey told members the change is intended to give consumers more time to shop for alternative coverage before a policy cancels or a premium rises.

There was no public testimony for or against the bill during the committee meeting. Senator Irvin moved approval of the bill and the motion was seconded by Senator Penzo; the committee voice-voted the measure and the chair announced the bill passed.

The committee record shows no additional amendments or conditions attached to the passage. The committee chair closed debate after the voice vote and the bill was placed to move forward to the next stage.

Votes at a glance

- Senate Bill 70: Motion to pass by Senator Irvin; second by Senator Penzo; voice vote taken; outcome recorded as passed by the chair.