Marvin Mandel, Governor                         981

tion prior to scheduled maturity date of policies; to provide for the
filing of claims; to permit the insured to furnish the required
amount of insurance through existing policies; to provide for judi-
cial review; to provide penalties for violation of an order of the
Insurance Commissioner; and relating generally to credit life and
health insurance in this State.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That new Sections 436C through 4360, inclusive, be and they are
hereby added to Article 48A of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1968 Replacement Volume and 1969 Supplement), title "Insurance
Code," to follow immediately after Section 436B thereof, to be under
the new subtitle 24A "Credit Life and Health Insurance," and to
read as follows:

24A. Credit Life and Health Insurance
436C. Purpose; Scope; Definitions.

(a)    The purpose of this subtitle is to promote the public welfare
by regulating credit life insurance and credit health insurance.
Nothing in this subtitle is intended to prohibit or discourage reason-
able competition. The provisions of this subtitle shall be liberally
construed.

(b)    All life insurance and all health insurance in connection with
loans or other credit transactions shall be subject to the provisions
of this subtitle, except such insurance in connection with a loan or
other credit transaction of more than eight years' duration, nor shall
insurance be subject to the provisions of this subtitle if the issuance
of the insurance is an isolated transaction on the part of the insurer
not related to an agreement or a plan for insuring debtors of the
creditor.

(c)     (1) "Credit life insurance" means insurance on the life of
a debtor pursuant to or in connection with a specific loan or other
credit transaction.

(2)    "Credit health insurance" means insurance on a debtor to
provide indemnity for payments becoming due on a specific loan or
other credit transaction while the debtor is disabled as defined in the
policy.

(3)    "Creditor" means the lender of money or vendor or lessor of
goods, services, or property rights or privileges, for which payment
is arranged through a credit transaction, or any successor to the
right, title or interest of the lender, vendor, or lessor and an affiliate,
associate or subsidiary of any of them or any director, officer or
employee of any of them or any other person in any way associated
with any of them.

(4) "Debtor" means a borrower of money or a purchaser or
lessee of goods, services, property, rights or privileges for which
payment is arranged through a credit transaction. The term
"Debtor" shall include both husband and wife where they, are jointly
liable under the contract of indebtedness.

(5) "Indebtedness" means the total amount payable by a debtor
to a creditor in connection with a loan or other credit transaction.