Bill > HB2144

This bill, known as the Insurance Consumers Protection Act, establishes a comprehensive set of legal protections for insurance policyholders in Oklahoma, focusing primarily on health insurance. The bill creates a statutory cause of action for insureds and third-party beneficiaries to sue insurers for bad faith, which is defined as unreasonably or untimely refusing to pay valid claims or pre-authorize necessary treatments. The legislation allows policyholders to file lawsuits directly in district court without first exhausting administrative remedies, and guarantees a jury trial for such cases. The bill outlines specific criteria for determining bad faith, including unreasonable claim denial, offering insufficient settlement amounts, and violating the insurer's duty of good faith and fair dealing. Damages can include financial losses, emotional distress, and punitive damages, which are categorized into three levels based on the severity of the insurer's misconduct, with potential awards ranging from $100,000 to unlimited amounts in cases of extreme malice. Importantly, the bill prohibits insurance policies from reserving discretion to insurers in interpreting contract terms and emphasizes that these new statutory causes of action are supplemental to existing common law remedies. The act is set to become effective on November 1, 2025, and applies to health insurance policies issued in Oklahoma.

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http://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=hb2144&Session=2600