An insurer or group of affiliated insurers authorized to do business in New Mexico that uses credit information to underwrite, rate or renew personal insurance coverage shall not:

A. use an insurance score that is calculated using income, gender, address, race, color, national origin, religion or marital status of the consumer as a factor;

B. deny, cancel or fail to renew coverage, or base a consumer's company placement, tier placement or rates, on the basis of credit information or an insurance score without consideration of other underwriting factors permitted by state law;

C. consider an absence of credit information or an inability to calculate an insurance score in underwriting, rating or renewing personal insurance coverage unless the insurer:

(1) classifies the consumer as having average or better than average credit information for that insurer or group of affiliated insurers; or

(2) excludes the use of credit information as a factor in rating or underwriting personal insurance coverage;

D. take adverse action against a consumer based upon credit information, or upon an insurance score calculated from credit information, submitted more than ninety days before the date of notice of the adverse action;

E. use credit information upon renewal unless the insurer obtains current credit information and recalculates the insurance score at least every thirty-six months. Upon the request of a consumer, an insurer that uses credit information upon renewal shall obtain current credit information and recalculate an insurance score. An insurer shall not be required to obtain current credit information or recalculate an insurance score more frequently than every twelve months except for the correction of an error as described in Section 6 [59A-17A-6 NMSA 1978] of the Personal Insurance Credit Information Act. The Personal Insurance Credit Information Act does not require an insurer to obtain current credit information or recalculate an insurance score if:

(1) an improved insurance score would not cause the consumer to be placed in a more favorably priced company or tier of the insurer; or

(2) the insurer does not rely upon credit information or an insurance score to underwrite, rate or renew the consumer's personal insurance coverage;

F. use an insurance score in whole or in part to deny, restrict or alter the fees charged for a premium payment plan; or

G. use credit inquiries as a factor in any insurance scoring methodology or to underwrite, rate or renew personal insurance coverage.

History: Laws 2005, ch. 275, § 4.

Effective dates. — Laws 2005, ch. 275, § 13 made Laws 2005, ch. 275, § 4 effective January 1, 2006.

Applicability. — Laws 2005, ch. 275, § 12 provided that Laws 2005, ch. 275, §§ 1 through 11 apply to personal insurance policies written to be effective or renewed on or after January 1, 2006.