Free Oregon Property practice questions

Answer: A. 30 business days from the date the insurer receives the request

ORS 746.640(1) gives the insurer 30 business days, counted from the date it receives the written request, to take the steps the section lists, which include informing the individual of the nature and substance of the information and letting the individual see and copy it or get a copy by mail. The clock runs in business days, not calendar days, and starts at receipt, not mailing. The 21-business-day and 90-business-day figures belong to the adverse underwriting decision statute, ORS 746.650, not to access requests.

Answer: B. When the customer who is to receive the notice has agreed to get it in electronic form

ORS 746.620(3) requires the privacy notice to be in writing and clear and conspicuous, and it allows electronic delivery if the recipient agrees. The recipient's agreement is the condition. The section sets no requirement that a paper copy go out first and calls for no advance approval from the director. A website posting made without the recipient's agreement does not meet that condition.

Answer: C. Funds the producer judges prudent to set aside for paying return premiums

Oregon generally bars a producer from depositing anything other than premium funds in a premium fund trust account, with three exceptions: money reasonably sufficient to pay bank charges, money the producer decides is prudent for advancing premiums or building reserves to pay return premiums, and money for contingencies that may arise in receiving and transmitting premiums. A return premium reserve fits the second exception. Personal savings, payroll money and loan proceeds for rent fit none of the three, so they may not go into the trust account.

Answer: A. The section does not apply to the producer, since the insurer complies and the producer shares only with it

ORS 746.620(8) takes a producer outside the notice section when the insurer it acts for otherwise complies with that section and the producer discloses personal information only to the insurer or its affiliate, or as otherwise authorized by law. Both conditions are met here, so the producer owes no separate initial or annual notice. The section permits a joint notice from a licensee and its affiliates or other financial institutions, but it does not require a producer to sign on to the insurer's notice.

Answer: A. Yes, since disclosure to an insurance regulatory authority is permitted

Oregon's disclosure limits allow a licensee to disclose personal or privileged information collected in an insurance transaction when the disclosure meets one or more listed conditions, and one of those conditions is a disclosure to an insurance regulatory authority. Meeting any one listed condition is enough, so the insurer needs neither a written authorization from each claimant nor a subpoena or court order, and the regulatory condition does not turn on whether a claim is closed.

Answer: D. Investigating a theft claim, where specific file information gives a reasonable basis to suspect fraud, by questioning the claimant's former neighbor

The pretext interview law allows a single exception, and all of its conditions must be met together. The interview must be part of investigating a claim. The person questioned must lack a generally or statutorily recognized privileged relationship with the person the information is about. And specific information must give a reasonable basis to suspect criminal activity, fraud, material misrepresentation or material nondisclosure in connection with the claim. Questioning a former neighbor about a theft claim, on the strength of specific file information pointing to fraud, meets every condition. The underwriting scenario fails because the exception covers claim investigations only, and a general feeling is not specific information.

Answer: D. $100 in aggregate value

Oregon's rebate statute generally bars any valuable consideration or inducement for insurance that is not specified in the policy, but it permits giving prizes, goods or other property as advertising or as a promotional program when the aggregate value to a person is $100 or less in a calendar year. The exception excludes persons to whom an insurer issues health insurance or a health benefit plan, which does not describe a personal auto shopper. Figures of $25, $50 and $250 are not the statutory limit.

Answer: D. 24 months

ORS 746.630(2) states that an authorization is valid for no more than 24 months. The form must also tell the individual how long the authorization lasts and that it may be revoked at any time, so a revocation can end it sooner, but 24 months is the outer limit. Twelve, 36 and 60 months are not the limit this section sets.

Answer: A. The agreement is prohibited even though the agency is located outside Oregon

Except where the law expressly provides otherwise, Oregon bars any person, whether located in the state or outside it, from entering an agreement, understanding or combination with an insurer or its manager, agent or representative for the purpose of controlling the rates charged or the commissions paid for insuring risks in Oregon. The agency's location outside Oregon is no defense because the section reaches persons outside the state. Controlling commissions alone is enough, since the section lists rates or commissions, and a private contract to fix them is the very arrangement the section prohibits.

Answer: D. No later than the 30th day after June 1, the termination's effective date

When a producer ends an appointment, Oregon law requires written notice of the termination and its date to the director no later than the 30th day after the termination takes effect, with notice also going to the insurer. Here that means within 30 days after June 1. The 90-day figure runs in the other direction: an insurer that terminates a producer's appointment generally must notify the producer at least 90 days before the effective date. The statute sets no advance-notice period to the director for a producer's termination, and it does not tie the deadline to any acknowledgment from the insurer.