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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 14. Insurance
Agency 5. State Corporation Commission, Bureau of Insurance
Chapter 400. Rules Governing Unfair Claim Settlement Practices
11/21/2024

14VAC5-400-70. Claims settlement standards applicable to all insurers.

A. Any denial of a claim shall be given to a claimant in writing and the claim file of the insurer shall contain a copy of the denial.

B. An insurer shall provide a reasonable written explanation of the basis for any claim denial. The written explanation shall provide a specific reference to a policy provision, condition, or exclusion, if any.

C. An insurer shall not deny a first party claim on the basis that responsibility for payment should be assumed by others except as may otherwise be provided by policy provisions.

D. In any case where there is no dispute as to coverage or liability, an insurer shall offer to a first party claimant an amount that is fair and reasonable as shown by the investigation of the claim, provided the amount so offered is within policy limits and in accordance with policy provisions.

E. An insurer shall not unreasonably refuse to pay any claim in accordance with the provisions of the policy.

Statutory Authority

§§ 12.1-13, 38.2-223, and 38.2-510 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Regulation 12, Case No. 19961, § 8, eff. September 15, 1978; amended, Virginia Register Volume 33, Issue 22, eff. January 1, 2018.

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