H-0517.2          _______________________________________________

                                  HOUSE BILL 1285

                  _______________________________________________

State of Washington              54th Legislature             1995 Regular Session

By Representatives L. Thomas, Dellwo, Mielke, Benton, Huff, Wolfe, Campbell, Costa, Pelesky, Dyer, Kessler, Smith and Beeksma

Read first time 01/19/95.  Referred to Committee on FINANCIAL INSTITUTIOINS & INSURANCE.

Allowing persons that provide the insurance commissioner with surplus line insurance information to gain immunity from civil liability.

     AN ACT Relating to immunity for providing surplus line insurance information to the insurance commissioner; and amending RCW 48.01.190.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

     Sec. 1.  RCW 48.01.190 and 1987 c 51 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

     (1) Any person who files reports, or furnishes other information, required under Title 48 RCW, required by the commissioner under authority granted by Title 48 RCW, useful to the commissioner in the administration of Title 48 RCW, or furnished to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners at the request of the commissioner or pursuant to Title 48 RCW, shall be immune from liability in any civil action or suit arising from the filing of any such report or furnishing such information to the commissioner or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, unless actual malice, fraud, or bad faith is shown.

     (2) The commissioner and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and the agents and employees of each, are immune from liability in any civil action or suit arising from the publication of any report or bulletin or dissemination of information related to the official activities of the commissioner or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, unless actual malice, fraud, or bad faith is shown.

     (3) Any licensee under chapter 48.17 RCW and any trade association of the licensees under chapter 48.15 RCW, and any officer, director, employee, agent, or committee of the licensee or association who furnishes information to or for the commissioner or to or for the association regarding unauthorized insurers or regarding attempts by any person to place or actual placement by any person of business with the insurers, whether in compliance with chapter 48.15 RCW or not, shall be immune from each and every kind of liability in any civil action or suit arising in whole or in part from the information or from the furnishing of the information.

(4) The immunity granted by this section is in addition to any common law or statutory privilege or immunity enjoyed by such person, and nothing in this section is intended to abrogate or modify in any way such common law or statutory privilege or immunity.

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