REPORT TITLE:
Liability Insurance


DESCRIPTION:
Requires professionals and businesses to maintain liability
insurance.  Excludes professionals and businesses that maintain
the required liability insurance from the definition of "joint
tortfeasors".

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           1510
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO INSURANCE. 


BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Chapter 431, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 2 by adding a new article to be appropriately designated and to
 
 3 read as follows:
 
 4                 "ARTICLE   .  LIABILITY INSURANCE
 
 5      §431:  -A Definitions.  As used in this article:
 
 6      "Business" means any corporation, limited liability company,
 
 7 partnership, individual, sole proprietorship, joint stock
 
 8 company, joint venture, or any other private legal entity
 
 9 engaging in a commercial enterprise.
 
10      "Professional" means any person or business licensed in this
 
11 State to provide services within the scope of the practice of
 
12 architecture, landscape architecture, professional engineering,
 
13 land surveying, real property appraisal, law, medicine,
 
14 accounting, dentistry, public finance bond underwriting, public
 
15 finance bond investment banking, or any other practice defined as
 
16 professional by the laws of this State or the profession and
 
17 scientific occupation series contained in the United States
 
18 Office of Personnel Management's qualifications Standards
 
19 Handbook.
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1510
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      §431:    -B Liability insurance required.  (a)  No
 
 2 professional or business shall operate in this State unless the
 
 3 professional or business is insured at all times under a
 
 4 liability insurance policy.
 
 5      (b)  A liability insurance policy shall provide coverage for
 
 6 the payment of sums which the professional or business may
 
 7 legally be obligated to pay for injury, damages, or death to
 
 8 others.
 
 9      (c)  Except as otherwise provided by law, the minimum amount
 
10 of liability coverage and requirements as to the form and
 
11 coverage provided by the liability insurance policy shall be
 
12 established by the licensing authority of the professional, or,
 
13 in the case of a non-professional, the department of commerce and
 
14 consumer affairs, and the minimum amount may be set to vary with
 
15 the type of professional or business, the number of shareholders,
 
16 members, or partners, or other variables deemed appropriate by
 
17 the licensing authority and the department of commerce and
 
18 consumer affairs."
 
19      SECTION 2.  Section 663-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
20 amended to read as follows:
 
21      "§663-11  Joint tortfeasors defined.  For the purpose of
 
22 this part the term "joint tortfeasors" means two or more persons
 
23 jointly or severally liable in tort for the same injury to person
 

 
Page 3                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           1510
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 or property, whether or not judgment has been recovered against
 
 2 all or some of them[.]; provided that the term shall not include
 
 3 any professional or business that maintains liability insurance
 
 4 pursuant to section 431:    -B."
 
 5      SECTION 3.  In codifying the new section added by section 1
 
 6 and referred to in section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes
 
 7 shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used
 
 8 in designating the new sections in this Act.
 
 9      SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
10 New statutory material is underscored.
 
11      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
12 
 
13                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________