Effective 28 Aug 2017

537.058. Personal injury, bodily injury, or wrongful death, time-limited demand to settle, requirements. — 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:

(1) "Extracontractual damages", any amount of damage that exceeds the total available limit of liability insurance for all of a liability insurer's liability insurance policies applicable to a claim for personal injury, bodily injury, or wrongful death;

(2) "Time-limited demand", any offer to settle any claim for personal injury, bodily injury, or wrongful death made by or on behalf of a claimant to a tort-feasor with a liability insurance policy for purposes of settling a claim against such tort-feasor within the insurer's limit of liability insurance, which by its terms must be accepted within a specified period of time;

(3) "Tort-feasor", any person claimed to have caused or contributed to cause personal injury, bodily injury, or wrongful death to a claimant.

2. A time-limited demand to settle any claim for personal injury, bodily injury, or wrongful death shall be in writing, shall reference this section, shall be sent certified mail return-receipt requested to the tort-feasor's liability insurer, and shall contain the following material terms:

(1) The time period within which the offer shall remain open for acceptance by the tort-feasor's liability insurer, which shall not be less than ninety days from the date such demand is received by the liability insurer;

(2) The amount of monetary payment requested or a request for the applicable policy limits;

(3) The date and location of the loss;

(4) The claim number, if known;

(5) A description of all known injuries sustained by the claimant;

(6) The party or parties to be released if such time-limited demand is accepted;

(7) A description of the claims to be released if such time-limited demand is accepted; and

(8) An offer of unconditional release for the liability insurer's insureds from all present and future liability for that occurrence under section 537.060.

3. Such time-limited demand shall be accompanied by:

(1) A list of the names and addresses of health care providers who provided treatment to or evaluation of the claimant or decedent for injuries suffered from the date of injury until the date of the time-limited demand, and HIPAA compliant written authorizations sufficient to allow the liability insurer to obtain such records from the health care providers listed; and

(2) A list of the names and addresses of all the claimant's employers at the time the claimant was first injured until the date of the time-limited demand, and written authorizations sufficient to allow the liability insurer to obtain such records from all employers listed, if the claimant asserts a loss of wages, earnings, compensation, or profits however denominated.

4. If a liability insurer with the right to settle on behalf of an insured receives a time-limited demand, such insurer may accept the time-limited demand by providing written acceptance of the material terms outlined in subsection 2 of this section, delivered or postmarked to the claimant or the claimant's representative within the time period set in the time-limited demand.

5. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a claimant making a time-limited demand from requiring payment within a specified period; provided, however, that such period for payment shall not be less than ten days after the insurer's receipt of a fully executed unconditional release under section 537.060 as specified in subsection 2 of this section.

6. Nothing in this section applies to offers or demands or time-limited demands issued within ninety days of the trial by jury of any claim on which a lawsuit has been filed.

7. In any lawsuit filed by a claimant as an assignee of the tort-feasor or by the tort-feasor for the benefit of the claimant, a time-limited demand that does not comply with the terms of this section shall not be considered as a reasonable opportunity to settle for the insurer and shall not be admissible in any lawsuit alleging extracontractual damages against the tort-feasor's liability insurer.

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(L. 2017 H.B. 339 & 714)