Common carriers by motor vehicle, who are responsible to the public for adjustment or payment of bodily injury, property damage or cargo damage claims, or both, are prohibited from:
- (1) Misrepresenting pertinent facts relating to claims at issue.
- (2) Failing to acknowledge and act promptly upon written or oral communications with respect to insurance claims.
- (3) Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards for the prompt investigation of claims.
- (4) Refusing to pay claims without conducting a reasonable investigation based upon available information.
- (5) Failing to affirm or deny responsibility for claims within a reasonable time after proof of loss statements have been completed and communicated to the carrier or its representative.
- (6) Not attempting in good faith to effectuate prompt, fair and equitable settlements of claims in which the carrier’s liability has become reasonably clear.
- (7) Compelling persons to institute litigation to recover amounts due by offering substantially less than the amounts due and ultimately recovered in actions brought by those persons.
- (8) Making claim payments to claimants not accompanied by a statement defining which payments are being made.
- (9) Making known to claimants a policy of appealing from arbitration awards in favor of claimants to induce or compel them to accept settlements or compromises less than the amount awarded in arbitration.
- (10) Delaying the investigation or payment of claims by requiring a physician to submit a preliminary claim report and then requiring the subsequent submission of formal proof of loss forms, both of which submissions contain substantially the same information.
- (11) Failing to promptly provide a reasonable explanation in relation to the facts or applicable law for denial of a claim or for the offer of a compromise settlement.