2013 - 2014 LEGISLATURE
September 10, 2013 - Introduced by Senators Lasee, Gudex, Lassa, Olsen,
Shilling and L. Taylor, cosponsored by Representatives Weininger, Nygren,
Craig, A. Ott, Spiros, T. Larson, Ohnstad, Czaja, Stone, Kooyenga, Knudson,
Tittl, Born, Ballweg, Kahl, Knodl, Bies, Jagler, Kleefisch, Stroebel,
Nass, Petryk, Goyke, Danou, Kolste, Murphy, LeMahieu and Bewley.
Referred to Committee on Insurance and Housing.
SB292,1,2 1An Act to create 610.60 of the statutes; relating to: electronic delivery by
2property and casualty insurers of notices and documents.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill authorizes any insurer that provides property or casualty insurance
to provide notices and documents to an insurance applicant, an insured, or a
policyholder (consumer) by electronic means, and provides that doing so, in
compliance with the requirements under the bill, is equivalent to any other method
of delivering notices and documents required under applicable law.
Such an insurer may provide notices and documents electronically if the
consumer has consented to delivery in that manner and has not withdrawn the
consent. The consumer must give consent electronically in a manner that reasonably
demonstrates that the consumer will be able to receive the notices and documents
electronically. If a consumer gives consent for electronic delivery, the consent applies
to any notice or document that the insurer elects to deliver electronically. The
consumer may, however, receive a paper copy of a notice or document that has been
sent electronically, upon request and for a fee, if any, if the insurer offers this option.
Before the consumer gives consent for electronic delivery, the insurer must provide
the consumer with a clear and conspicuous statement that contains a number of
pieces of information, including that the consent applies to any notices and
documents that may be delivered electronically; that the consumer may receive
notices and documents in paper form instead; how to request a paper copy, if the
insurer offers that option, of a notice or document that has been delivered
electronically; and that the consumer may withdraw the consent and the method for
doing so.

The bill contains various related provisions, such as that an oral
communication between a consumer and an insurer may qualify as a notice or
document delivered electronically if the communication can be reliably stored and
reproduced by the insurer; that withdrawal of consent is effective 30 days after the
insurer receives the withdrawal; that the withdrawal of consent does not affect the
legality, validity, or enforceability of a notice or document delivered electronically
before the withdrawal becomes effective; that the legality, validity, or enforceability
of a notice or document delivered electronically may not be denied solely because the
consent was not given electronically; and that notices and documents delivered
electronically must meet the requirements of the provisions of the statutes that
codify the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.
The bill also authorizes an insurer that provides property or casualty insurance
to post on the insurer's Internet site any standard policy and endorsements to the
policy that do not contain personally identifiable information. A number of
requirements apply if the insurer elects to post such documents, including: 1) the
documents must remain accessible on the Internet site for as long as they are in
effect; 2) the insurer must make the documents available upon request for at least
five years after the policy terminates; 3) the documents must be posted in such a
manner that they can be printed and saved by using programs or applications that
are widely available and free to use; 4) in or with each declarations page that is
provided when the policy is issued and when it is renewed, the insurer must provide
a description of the exact policy and endorsements that the insured has purchased,
information about how the insured may obtain a paper copy of the policy and any
endorsements, and the address of the Internet site where the documents are posted;
and 5) if the insurer makes any changes to the policy or an endorsement form, the
insurer must provide notice of the change to the policy or endorsement form, that the
insured may obtain a paper copy of the policy or endorsement form, and the address
of the Internet site where the policy or endorsement form is posted.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB292,1 1Section 1. 610.60 of the statutes is created to read:
SB292,2,3 2610.60 Electronic delivery of notices and documents. (1) Definitions.
3In this section:
SB292,2,54 (a) "Applicable law" means applicable statutory law and rules and regulations
5having the force of law.
SB292,2,66 (b) "Deliver by electronic means" includes any of the following:
SB292,3,2
11. Delivery to an electronic mail address at which a party has consented to
2receive notices or documents.
SB292,3,63 2. Posting on an electronic network or site that is accessible via the Internet
4by using a mobile application, computer, mobile device, tablet, or any other electronic
5device and sending separate notice of the posting to a party, directed to the electronic
6mail address at which the party has consented to receive notice of the posting.
SB292,3,87 (c) "Party" means a recipient of a notice or document required as part of an
8insurance transaction, including an applicant, an insured, or a policyholder.
SB292,3,14 9(2) Electronic delivery permitted; equivalent to other methods. (a) Subject
10to par. (c), sub. (3), and s. 137.12 (2r) (c), notice to a party, and any other document
11that is required under applicable law in an insurance transaction or that serves as
12evidence of insurance coverage, may be stored, presented, and delivered by electronic
13means, as long as the notice or other document meets the requirements of subch. II
14of ch. 137.
SB292,3,1815 (b) Delivery of a notice or document in accordance with this section shall be
16considered equivalent to any delivery method required under applicable law,
17including delivery by 1st class mail; 1st class mail, postage prepaid; certified mail;
18or registered mail.
SB292,3,2319 (c) If a provision of, or rule promulgated under, chs. 600 to 655 that requires
20a notice or document to be provided to a party expressly requires verification or
21acknowledgment of receipt of the notice or document, the notice or document may be
22delivered by electronic means only if the method used provides for verification or
23acknowledgment of receipt.
SB292,4,3
1(3) Conditions precedent for electronic delivery. (a) An insurer may deliver
2notices and documents to a party by electronic means under this section if all of the
3following are satisfied:
SB292,4,54 1. The party affirmatively consented to that method of delivery and has not
5withdrawn the consent.
SB292,4,86 2. Before the party gave consent, the insurer provided the party with a
7statement of the hardware and software requirements for access to and retention of
8notices and documents delivered by electronic means.
SB292,4,129 3. The party consented electronically, or confirmed consent electronically, in a
10manner that reasonably demonstrates that the party is able to access information
11in the electronic form that the insurer will use for delivery of notices and documents
12by electronic means.
SB292,4,1413 4. Before the party gave consent, the insurer provided the party with a clear
14and conspicuous statement informing the party of all of the following:
SB292,4,1615 a. The right or option of the party to have notices and documents provided or
16made available in paper or another nonelectronic form instead.
SB292,4,1917 b. The right of the party to withdraw consent to have notices and documents
18delivered by electronic means and any fees, conditions, or consequences that are
19imposed if consent is withdrawn.
SB292,4,2220 c. That the party's consent applies to any notices or documents that may be
21delivered by electronic means during the course of the relationship between the
22party and the insurer.
SB292,4,2523 d. After consent for delivery by electronic means is given, the means, if any, by
24which a party may obtain a paper copy of a notice or document that has been
25delivered by electronic means and the fee, if any, for the paper copy.
SB292,5,3
1e. The procedure a party must follow to withdraw consent to have notices and
2documents delivered by electronic means and to update information needed to
3contact the party electronically.
SB292,5,64 (b) If the conditions under par. (a) are satisfied, the insurer may elect to deliver
5all notices and documents by electronic means or only those notices and documents
6selected by the insurer.
SB292,5,97 (c) Even if the conditions under par. (a) are satisfied, the insurer may deliver
8any notice or document by 1st class mail; 1st class mail, postage prepaid; certified
9mail; or registered mail.
SB292,5,12 10(4) Miscellaneous related provisions. (a) This section does not affect any
11requirement related to the content or timing of a notice or document required under
12applicable law.
SB292,5,1613 (b) The legal effectiveness, validity, or enforceability of any contract or policy
14of insurance executed by a party may not be denied solely because of the failure to
15obtain electronic consent or confirmation of consent of the party in accordance with
16sub. (3) (a) 3.
SB292,5,1817 (c) 1. A withdrawal of consent by a party becomes effective 30 days after the
18insurer receives the withdrawal.
SB292,5,2119 2. A withdrawal of consent by a party does not affect the legal effectiveness,
20validity, or enforceability of a notice or document delivered by electronic means to the
21party before the withdrawal of consent becomes effective.
SB292,5,2522 (d) If an oral communication or a recording of an oral communication between
23a party and an insurer or an insurer's agent can be reliably stored and reproduced
24by the insurer, the oral communication or recording may qualify as a notice or
25document delivered by electronic means for purposes of this section.
SB292,6,6
1(e) If a provision of, or rule promulgated under, chs. 600 to 655 requires a
2signature or a notice or document to be notarized, acknowledged, verified, or made
3under oath, the requirement is satisfied if the electronic signature of the person
4authorized to perform those acts, together with all other information required to be
5included by the provision, is attached to or logically associated with the signature,
6notice, or document.
SB292,6,97 (f) Except as provided in par. (d), this section does not and may not be construed
8to modify, limit, or supersede the provisions of the federal Electronic Signatures in
9Global and National Commerce Act, 15 USC 7001 et seq., as amended.
SB292,6,14 10(5) Effect on earlier electronic delivery. (a) This section does not apply to
11a notice or document delivered by an insurer in an electronic form before the effective
12date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], to a party who, before that date,
13consented to receive a notice or document in electronic form otherwise allowed by
14law.
SB292,6,2015 (b) If the consent of a party to receive certain notices or documents in an
16electronic form is on file with an insurer before the effective date of this paragraph
17.... [LRB inserts date], and, in accordance with this section, the insurer intends to
18deliver notices and documents to the party in electronic form, before delivering any
19additional notices or documents electronically, the insurer shall notify the party of
20all of the following:
SB292,6,2221 1. The notices or documents that may be delivered by electronic means under
22this section that were not previously delivered electronically.
SB292,6,2423 2. The party's right to withdraw consent to have any notices or documents
24delivered by electronic means.
SB292,7,7
1(6) Posting of policies and endorsements on Internet. Notwithstanding subs.
2(1) to (5), in lieu of delivery to a policyholder, insured, or applicant for insurance by
3any other method, an insurer may post on the insurer's Internet site any standard
4policy, and any endorsements to such a policy, that do not contain personally
5identifiable information. An insurer that elects to post such a policy and any
6endorsements to the policy on its Internet site shall comply with all of the following
7requirements:
SB292,7,98 (a) The policy and any endorsements must be accessible on the insurer's
9Internet site for as long as the policy is in effect.
SB292,7,1110 (b) For at least 5 years after the policy terminates, the insurer must archive the
11policy and any endorsements to the policy and make them available upon request.
SB292,7,1412 (c) The policy and any endorsements must be posted in such a manner that the
13insured is able to print and save the policy and endorsements by using programs or
14applications that are widely available on the Internet and free to use.
SB292,7,1715 (d) The insurer must provide all of the following information in, or
16simultaneously with, each declarations page that is provided when the policy is
17initially issued and when it is renewed:
SB292,7,1918 1. A description of the exact policy and endorsement forms purchased by the
19insured.
SB292,7,2120 2. The method by which the insured may obtain, upon request and without
21charge, a paper copy of the policy and any endorsements to the policy.
SB292,7,2322 3. The address of the Internet site where the policy and any endorsements to
23the policy are posted.
SB292,8,3
1(e) If the insurer makes any changes to the policy or an endorsement form, the
2insurer must provide notice, in the format preferred by the insured, of all of the
3following:
SB292,8,44 1. The change to the policy or endorsement form.
SB292,8,65 2. The insured's right to obtain, upon request and without charge, a paper copy
6of the policy or endorsement form.
SB292,8,87 3. The address of the Internet site where the policy or endorsement form is
8posted.
SB292,8,10 9(7) Applicability. This section applies only to property and casualty insurance,
10as described in s. Ins. 6.75 (2), Wis. Adm. Code.
SB292,8,13 11(8) Optional methods. Nothing in this section requires an insurer to deliver
12a notice or document by electronic means or to post policies and endorsements on an
13Internet site.
SB292,8,1414 (End)
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