Ch. 634

1997 LAWS OF MARYLAND

27-501,

(a) (1) An insurer, agent, or broker may not cancel or refuse to underwrite or
renew a particular insurance risk or class of risk for a reason based wholly or partly on
race, color, creed, sex, or blindness of an applicant or policyholder or for any arbitrary,
capricious, or unfairly discriminatory reason.

(2) An insurer, agent, or broker may not cancel or refuse to underwrite or
renew a particular insurance risk or class of risk except by the application of standards
that are reasonably related to the insurer's economic and business purposes.

(b) (1) An insurer may not require special conditions, facts, or situations as a
condition to its acceptance or renewal of a particular insurance risk or class of risks in an
arbitrary, capricious, unfair, or discriminatory manner based wholly or partly on race,
creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, place of residency, blindness, or other physical
handicap or disability.

(2) Actuarial justification may be considered with respect to sex.

(c) An insurer, agent, or broker may not make an inquire about race, creed, color,
or national origin in an insurance form, questionnaire, or other manner of requesting
general information that relates to an application for insurance.

(d) With respect to automobile liability insurance, an insurer may not:

(1) cancel, refuse to renew, or otherwise terminate coverage for an
automobile insurance risk because of a traffic violation or accident that occurred more
than 3 years before the effective date of the policy or renewal; or

(2) refuse to underwrite an automobile insurance risk because of a traffic
violation or accident that occurred more than 3 years before the date of application.

(e) An insurer may not refuse to underwrite a private passenger motor vehicle
insurance risk solely because the applicant or named insured previously obtained
insurance coverage from any authorized insurer or the Maryland Automobile Insurance

Fund.

(f) In the case of cancellation of or refusal to renew a policy, the policy remains
in effect until a finding is issued under § 27-505 of this subtitle if:

(1) the insured asks the Commissioner to review the cancellation or refusal
to renew before the effective date of the termination of the policy; and

(2) the Commissioner begins action to issue a finding under § 27-505 of this
subtitle.

(g) At a hearing to determine whether this section has been violated, the burden
of persuasion is on the insurer to show that the cancellation of refusal to underwrite or
renew is justified under the underwriting standards demonstrated.

(h) (1) This subsection applies to insurance underwriting standards for all
health, life, disability, property, and casualty coverages provided in the State.

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