Modifying certain provisions regulating insurance; increasing the fee for nonelectronic filing of forms and rates and eliminating the filing fee for certain large risk alternative rating option plans; requiring notice to policyholders of nonrenewal due to termination of agency contracts and of the right to renew with the company terminating the contract; extending the validity of risk management services vendors licenses and increasing the fee accordingly; expanding certain viatical settlement provider contract form approval and disclosure requirements to brokers; requiring insurers to implement a comprehensive written information security program including safeguards for the protection of customer information, specifying security program objectives and offering examples of methods of development and implementation or the requirements, designating violations as unfair trade practices; clarifying certain dental and vision or health plan coverage requirements; modifying certain basic and extended basic medicare supplement plan coverages; prohibiting the Minnesota comprehensive health association from offering plans inconsistent with high deductible health plans and defining health savings account for high deductible health plan provider discounts requirement purposes; authorizing and providing for flexible benefits plans under the small employer group health insurance program, specifying certain requirements; excluding inquiries relating to hypothetical or potential claims under fire or homeowners insurance from consideration for nonrenewal purposes; prohibiting insurer denial, refusal to renew, cancellation, reduction of limits on or differential rate charges for equivalent coverage by homeowners policies due to dwelling vacancy caused by calls to active duty in the armed services reserves or the national guard; requiring automobile insurers to provide a premium reduction on policies insuring snowmobiles with auxiliary hazard warning lighting systems; increasing the nonrefundable initial application and renewal fees for no-fault automobile self insurers; requiring insurers to reevaluate the policyholder insurance scores upon request; providing for revision of experience modification factors for certain closed workers compensation claims; modifying certain rate prefiling requirements for insurers filing certifications verifying the use of mutually agreed upon rating plans or rates to write workers compensation insurance for certain large employers, requiring annual refiling of the certifications; increasing the license application fee for data service organizations; modifying certain workers compensation self insurance group financial statement filing and future liability determination requirements; modifying the workers compensation security fund assessment limit and requiring immediate turn over of claim files and data to the security fund; providing for timely filing of actuarial opinions by self insurers terminating self insurance authority, requiring assessment of the expense of the opinions against the self insurers and imposing interest on unpaid outstanding security fund assessments; modifying certain workers compensation commercial self insurance group common claims fund surplus refund requirements and authorizing the groups to provide all states coverage; authorizing joint agreements for insurance coverage in Aitkin, Itasca, Koochiching and St. Louis counties to provide the same health coverage under the same plan and premium rates to certain smaller member employers on a pilot project basis, requiring a report to the commissioner of commerce at the end of the project summarizing the advantages and disadvantages of the project; repealing the requirement for commissioner approval of advertisements for life insurance contracts providing for the payment of accelerated benefits and certain qualified plans availability requirement under the comprehensive health insurance plan under MCHA
(Ch. 132, 2005)