Chapter 12. Prohibition Of Discriminatory Practices By Certain Admitted Insurers of California Insurance Code >> Division 1. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 12.
This chapter shall apply to policies of insurance, other
than automobile insurance and workmen's compensation insurance, on
risks located or resident in this state which are issued and take
effect or which are renewed after the effective date of this chapter
and which insure any of the following contingencies:
(a) Loss of or damage to real property which is used predominantly
for residential purposes.
(b) Loss of or damage to personal property in which natural
persons resident in specifically described real property of the kind
described in subdivision (a) have an insurable interest.
(c) Legal liability of a natural person or persons for loss of,
damage to, or injury to, persons or property.
No admitted insurer that is licensed to issue any policy of
insurance covered by this chapter shall fail or refuse to accept an
application for, or to issue a policy to an applicant for, that
insurance (unless the insurance is to be issued to the applicant by
another insurer under the same management and control), or cancel
that insurance, under conditions less favorable to the insured than
in other comparable cases, except for reasons applicable alike to
persons of every characteristic listed or defined in subdivision (b)
or (e) of Section 51 of the Civil Code; nor shall any of those
characteristics, of itself, constitute a condition or risk for which
a higher rate, premium, or charge may be required of the insured for
that insurance.
No application for insurance specified in this chapter or
insurance investigation report furnished by an insurer to its agents
or employees for use in determining the insurability of an applicant
shall carry any identification, or any requirement therefor, of any
characteristic listed or defined in subdivision (b) or (e) of Section
51 of the Civil Code with respect to the applicant.
Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit use in an
application for insurance specified in this chapter of a question
asking for the birthplace of an applicant if such question is used
only to identify the applicant and not to discriminate against the
applicant.
(a) An admitted insurer that is licensed to issue a policy
of insurance upon real property of the type described in paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a) of Section 675 or paragraph (1) of subdivision
(b) of Section 675.5, when that real property is used for
residential purposes, or property of the type described in
subdivision (a) of Section 10087, shall not fail or refuse to accept
an application for, or to issue a policy to an applicant for, that
insurance unless the insurance is to be issued to the applicant by
another insurer under the same management and control, or cancel that
insurance, based upon the following characteristics:
(1) The level or source of income of an individual or group of
individuals residing or intending to reside upon the property to be
insured, if the individual or group of individuals is not the owner
of the real property.
(2) The receipt of assistance, intended for housing, from the
federal or state government, or from a local public entity, as
defined in Section 50079 of the Health and Safety Code, including,
but not limited to, federal vouchers issued under Section 8 of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1437f), by an
individual or group of individuals residing or intending to reside
upon the property insured or to be insured.
(b) An application for a policy of insurance upon real property of
the type described in subdivision (a), or an insurance investigation
report furnished by an insurer to its agents or employees for use in
determining the insurability of an applicant under such a policy,
shall not carry any identification, or any requirement for
identification, of the following characteristics:
(1) The level or source of income of an individual or group of
individuals residing or intending to reside upon the property to be
insured, if the individual or group of individuals is not the owner
of the real property.
(2) The receipt of assistance, intended for housing, from the
federal or state government, or from a local public entity, as
defined in Section 50079 of the Health and Safety Code, including,
but not limited to, federal vouchers issued under Section 8 of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1437f), by an
individual or group of individuals residing or intending to reside
upon the property insured or to be insured.
(c) In the case of real property of the type described in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 675, paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) of Section 675.5, or subdivision (a) of Section 10087
that is used for both residential and commercial purposes, the
insurer, or its agent or employee, may consider the source of income
of a nonresidential tenant of the property in determining the
insurability of an applicant.
(d) Nothing in this section prohibits an insurer from failing or
refusing to accept an application for, issuing, or canceling or
failing to renew, a policy of insurance covered by this chapter as a
result of underwriting or assessment of factors other than those
characteristics listed in subdivision (a), or as otherwise prohibited
by law.