HB2144

Oklahoma HB2144 establishes the Insurance Consumers Protection Act, creating a statutory cause of action for bad faith against insurers.

Oklahoma HB2144, known as the Insurance Consumers Protection Act, creates a statutory cause of action for bad faith against insurers. It allows first-party claimants or third-party beneficiaries to sue insurers for bad faith refusal to pay benefits. The act outlines specific factors for determining bad faith, including unreasonable refusal to pay claims and lack of reasonable basis for denial. It also permits punitive damages, with the jury considering factors like the insurer's profitability from misconduct and the duration of the misconduct.