Ohio Code 3999.31 – Immunity for providing or receiving information relating to suspected fraudulent insurance acts
(A) As used in this section:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 3999.31
- Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
- Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Property: means real and personal property. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(1) “Fraudulent insurance act” means an act committed by a person who, knowingly and with intent to defraud, presents, causes to be presented, or prepares with knowledge or belief that it will be presented to or by an insurer, purported insurer, broker, or any agent thereof, any written statement as part of, or in support of, an application for the issuance of, or the rating of a policy or contract for property insurance, casualty insurance, life insurance, sickness and accident insurance, or an annuity, or a claim for payment or other benefit pursuant to such a policy or contract, that the person knows to contain materially false information concerning any fact material thereto, or conceals, for the purpose of misleading, information concerning any fact material thereto. “Fraudulent insurance act” also includes any such written statement, claim, or concealment in relation to such an insurance policy or contract that constitutes a criminal offense under Title XXIX or XXXIX of the Revised Code.
(2) “Person” includes, but is not limited to, the superintendent of insurance, the national association of insurance commissioners, any insurer, any organization established to detect or prevent fraudulent insurance acts, and any officer, director, trustee, representative, agent, broker, or employee of the superintendent, association, insurer, organization, or person.
(B) In the absence of fraud or bad faith, no person is subject to liability for damages or any other civil liability for libel, slander, or other relevant tort cause of action by virtue of filing reports, without malice, or furnishing other information, without malice, required under Title XXXIX of the Revised Code or required by the superintendent under authority granted by that title, and no liability for damages or any other civil cause of action of any nature arises against a person for providing or receiving information relating to suspected fraudulent insurance acts that is furnished to or received from any of the following:
(1) Any law enforcement official, or any agent or employee of such official;
(2) Other persons subject to the provisions of Title XXXIX of the Revised Code;
(3) The superintendent and any designee of the superintendent, any insurance frauds bureau, the national association of insurance commissioners, or any organization established to detect and prevent fraudulent insurance acts;
(4) Any other person involved in the detection or prevention of fraudulent insurance acts.
(C) The superintendent and any designee of the superintendent, or any insurance frauds bureau, in the absence of malice, fraud, or bad faith, is not subject to civil liability for libel, slander, or other relevant tort and no civil cause of action of any nature arises against such a person by virtue of the publication of any report or bulletin related to the official activities of the superintendent or of any insurance frauds bureau in relation to fraudulent insurance acts.
(D) Nothing in this section is intended to abrogate or modify in any way any common law or statutory privilege or immunity enjoyed by any person.
(E) Nothing in this section shall be construed to negate, supersede, or otherwise affect section 3911.06, 3911.07, 3915.05, or 3923.04 of the Revised Code.
(F) This section may be cited as the conference of insurance legislators/national association of insurance commissioners model immunity act.