(1)

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Terms Used In Utah Code 31A-26-301

  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Health care: means any of the following intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation, or prevention of a human ailment or impairment:
         (83)(a) a professional service;
         (83)(b) a personal service;
         (83)(c) a facility;
         (83)(d) equipment;
         (83)(e) a device;
         (83)(f) supplies; or
         (83)(g) medicine. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
  • Insurance: includes :
              (96)(b)(i) a risk distributing arrangement providing for compensation or replacement for damages or loss through the provision of a service or a benefit in kind;
              (96)(b)(ii) a contract of guaranty or suretyship entered into by the guarantor or surety as a business and not as merely incidental to a business transaction; and
              (96)(b)(iii) a plan in which the risk does not rest upon the person who makes an arrangement, but with a class of persons who have agreed to share the risk. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
  • Insured: means a person to whom or for whose benefit an insurer makes a promise in an insurance policy and includes:
              (103)(a)(i) a policyholder;
              (103)(a)(ii) a subscriber;
              (103)(a)(iii) a member; and
              (103)(a)(iv) a beneficiary. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
  • Life insurance: means :
              (114)(a)(i) insurance on a human life; and
              (114)(a)(ii) insurance pertaining to or connected with human life. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
  • Person: includes :
         (146)(a) an individual;
         (146)(b) a partnership;
         (146)(c) a corporation;
         (146)(d) an incorporated or unincorporated association;
         (146)(e) a joint stock company;
         (146)(f) a trust;
         (146)(g) a limited liability company;
         (146)(h) a reciprocal;
         (146)(i) a syndicate; or
         (146)(j) another similar entity or combination of entities acting in concert. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
  • Policy: includes a service contract issued by:
              (150)(b)(i) a motor club under Chapter 11, Motor Clubs;
              (150)(b)(ii) a service contract provided under Chapter 6a, Service Contracts; and
              (150)(b)(iii) a corporation licensed under:
                   (150)(b)(iii)(A) Chapter 7, Nonprofit Health Service Insurance Corporations; or
                   (150)(b)(iii)(B) Chapter 8, Health Maintenance Organizations and Limited Health Plans. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
  • Policyholder: means a person who controls a policy, binder, or oral contract by ownership, premium payment, or otherwise. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
     (1)(a) Unless otherwise provided by law, an insurer shall timely pay every valid insurance claim made by an insured.
     (1)(b) By rule the commissioner may prescribe:

          (1)(b)(i) the kinds of notice and proof of loss that will establish validity;
          (1)(b)(ii) the manner in which an insurer may make a bona fide denial of a claim;
          (1)(b)(iii) the periods of time within which payment is required to be made to be timely; and
          (1)(b)(iv) the reasonable interest rates to be charged upon late claim payments.
(2)

     (2)(a) Notwithstanding Subsection (1) and subject to Subsection (2)(b), the payment of a claim is not overdue during any period in which:

          (2)(a)(i) the insurer is unable to pay the claim because there is no recipient legally able to give a valid release for the payment; or
          (2)(a)(ii) the insurer is unable to determine who is entitled to receive the payment.
     (2)(b) Subsection (2)(a) applies only if the insurer:

          (2)(b)(i) promptly notifies the claimant of the inability to pay the claim; and
          (2)(b)(ii) offers in good faith to pay the claim promptly when the inability to pay the claim is removed.
(3) This section applies only to a claim for first party benefits made by a person who is:

     (3)(a) named or defined as an insured under the terms of an insurance policy;
     (3)(b) described as a covered person under the terms of a policy of health care insurance as defined in Section 31A-1-301; or
     (3)(c) named, defined, or described:

          (3)(c)(i) as:

               (3)(c)(i)(A) an insured;
               (3)(c)(i)(B) a beneficiary;
               (3)(c)(i)(C) a policyholder; or
               (3)(c)(i)(D) otherwise covered person; and
          (3)(c)(ii) under the terms of:

               (3)(c)(ii)(A) a life insurance policy; or
               (3)(c)(ii)(B) an annuity.