[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4669 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4669

 To allow servicemembers to maintain their domicile for auto insurance 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 19, 2014

  Mr. Royce (for himself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To allow servicemembers to maintain their domicile for auto insurance 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Servicemembers Insurance Relief Act 
of 2014''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) When servicemembers move from one State to another they 
        are required to go through a burdensome process of changing 
        their auto insurance policies.
            (2) The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 501 
        et seq.) allows the men and women serving in the United States 
        Armed Forces to keep a stable domicile with respect to auto 
        licensing and fees even if they are forced to move temporarily 
        in compliance with military orders.
            (3) The Federal Insurance Office of the U.S. Department of 
        the Treasury, in its report of December 12, 2013, on how to 
        modernize and improve the system of insurance regulation in the 
        United States, found that ``an individual on active duty can 
        transfer credit cards, checking accounts, and other financial 
        services simply by submitting a change of address form. By 
        contrast, an individual moving from one state to another may be 
        required to obtain a new auto insurance policy on each 
        transfer''. Furthermore the report called on interested parties 
        ``to identify a more accommodating approach for service members 
        who have personal auto policies and are required to move across 
        state lines''.
            (4) Relief should be provided with respect to auto 
        insurance policies for servicemembers and their families that 
        are required to move in compliance with any temporary duty or 
        permanent change of station order.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to reduce the burdens and 
increase the protections involved in changing auto insurance policies 
for servicemembers and their families who are required to move in 
compliance with a temporary duty or permanent change of station order.

SEC. 3. MAINTENANCE OF DOMICILE FOR INSURANCE PURPOSES.

    (a) In General.--A member of a household of a servicemember shall 
neither lose nor acquire a residence or domicile for purposes of 
insuring a motor vehicle used primarily for personal, family, or 
household use if--
            (1) in the case of a member of the household who is a 
        servicemember, such servicemember has temporarily moved to 
        comply with any temporary duty or permanent change of station 
        order; or
            (2) in the case of any other member of the household, such 
        member has temporarily moved to accompany a servicemember of 
        such household who is complying with any temporary duty or 
        permanent change of station order.
    (b) Notice.--
            (1) Requirement.--If a member of a household of a 
        servicemember notifies an insurer of a motor vehicle of such 
        member of a move referred to in subsection (a), such insurer 
        shall provide such member with a servicemembers insurance 
        choice notice under paragraph (2).
            (2) Servicemembers insurance choice notice.--The Director 
        of the Federal Insurance Office of the Department of the 
        Treasury shall promulgate, in compliance with the rulemaking 
        requirements of subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United 
        States Code (commonly known as the Administrative Procedure 
        Act)--
                    (A) a standard servicemembers insurance choice 
                notice that shall--
                            (i) summarize clearly and in plain language 
                        the right of servicemembers and members of 
                        their households, in addition to options 
                        available under current law, to continue an 
                        existing auto insurance policy as allowed by 
                        the insurer with appropriate adjustments that 
                        relate only to location risk factors;
                            (ii) include language notifying the 
                        servicemember that the insurer to whom the 
                        servicemember provided the notice of a move 
                        shall explain the coverage options available to 
                        the servicemember as a result of the move; and
                            (iii) include standard language that 
                        requires no alterations or additions for an 
                        insurer providing the notice to be fully in 
                        compliance with paragraph (1); and
                    (B) standards regarding methods for transmittal of 
                such notice to a member of a household of a 
                servicemember that are sufficient to comply with 
                paragraph (1).
            (3) Safe harbor.--Paragraph (1) may not be construed to 
        impose any duty on an insurer who is notified of a move 
        referred to in subsection (a) to determine whether the person 
        providing such notice is a servicemember.
    (c) Limitations.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to--
            (1) require a person to maintain an existing auto insurance 
        policy;
            (2) allow an insurer to impose any penalties against a 
        member of a household of a servicemember based solely on a 
        decision to maintain or not maintain an existing auto insurance 
        policy, as allowed by the insurer with appropriate adjustments 
        that relate only to location risk factors; or
            (3) require an insurer to continue providing coverage to 
        such a member.
    (d) Preemption.--The provisions of this Act shall supersede any and 
all State or local laws that conflict with this Act, including--
            (1) any State or local law that requires a member of a 
        household of a servicemember to change the auto insurance 
        policy of such member;
            (2) any State or local law that seeks to assert control 
        over the regulation of such policy other than by the State in 
        which the auto insurance policy was issued or renewed; and
            (3) any State or local law regarding proof of insurance 
        that prohibits the electronic delivery of insurance documents.
    (e) Liability Limits.--Notwithstanding subsection (d)(2), the 
minimum security requirements for motor vehicles of the State where a 
servicemember resides shall apply to an auto insurance policy of a 
member of such servicemember's household.
    (f) Enforcement.--Authority to examine and enforce insurer 
compliance with the provisions of this Act shall be held by the State 
in which the auto insurance policy was issued or renewed.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
     (a) Member of a Household.--The term ``member of a household'' 
means, with respect to a servicemember--
            (1) the servicemember;
            (2) the spouse of the servicemember; or
            (3) any dependent residing with the servicemember or the 
        spouse of the servicemember.
    (b) Motor Vehicle.--The term ``motor vehicle'' has the meaning 
given the term in section 30102(a)(6) of title 49, United States Code.
    (c) Servicemember.--The term ``servicemember'' means a member of 
the uniformed services, as such term is defined in section 101(a) of 
title 10, United States Code, or of the National Guard or the reserve 
components thereof.
    (d) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several States of 
the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, 
territory, or possession of the United States.
    (e) Temporarily Moved.--The term ``temporarily moved'' means, with 
respect to a person, that the person has moved from one State to 
another but has not decided to reside indefinitely in the State to 
which such person moved.
                                 <all>