Legal Rights of Persons With Disabilities - Ossh.com

and uniform standards for HIV testing and for determining insurability. Strict confidentiality is required of
personal information obtained through testing. (Ins. Code, ' 799 et seq.)
B. Health Insurance
No insurance plan or nonprofit hospital service corporation providing individual or group health
care service can limit the extent or kind of coverage available, refuse to cover, or charge a different rate
solely because of an individual's physical or mental impairment. A plan can only refuse to insure, limit
coverage, or charge different rates if based on sound actuarial principles or underwriting practices. (Health
& Saf. Code, ' 1367.8; Ins. Code, ' 11512.19.)
A group health plan cannot discriminate against individuals with disabilities or groups with
members who have disabilities, although it may reasonably exclude coverage for services related to the
disabling condition. (Health & Saf. Code, ' 1373, subd. (f).) Life and disability income insurers are
prohibited from requiring an HIV antibody test if the results would be used to determine eligibility for
hospital, medical or surgical insurance coverage or for coverage under a hospital service plan or health care
service plan. (Ins. Code, ' 799.09.)
An insurer may not delay more than 60 days in the payment or provision of hospital, medical or
surgical benefits for AIDS or AIDS-related complex for the purpose of investigating whether the condition
arose prior to commencement of coverage. However, this 60-day period does not include any time during
which the insurer awaits medical information from a health care provider. (Ins. Code, ' 790.03, subd.
(h)(16).)
C. Automobile Insurance
Automobile insurers cannot discriminate against persons with disabilities. Insurers cannot refuse
to issue automobile insurance or charge higher rates solely because of a person's disability. A Ahandicapped
person@ is defined for purposes of this law as an individual who has suffered an impairment of physical
ability, hearing, or speech which has been compensated for, when necessary, by vehicle equipment
adaptation or modification. The insurer may require a person with a disability to furnish proof that he or
she has qualified for a new or renewed driver's license since the occurrence of the disabling condition. (Ins.
Code, ' 11628.5.)
No insurer may refuse to insure the owner of a motor vehicle solely because the owner is blind.
However, an insurer may exclude from coverage under the policy injuries and damages incurred while the
insured vehicle is operated by an unlicensed owner who is blind. An insurer cannot raise the premiums or
cancel the policy of an insured person who is blind solely because the operators of the insured vehicle are
changed frequently. (Ins. Code, ' 11628.7.)
An insurer may cancel or fail to renew an automobile insurance policy only if a premium is not
paid, there is a substantial increase in the hazard insured against, or there is fraud. The criteria by which an
insurer must determine automobile insurance premiums are: the insured's driving safety record, the number
of miles he or she drives annually, and the number of years of driving experience he or she has had. Good
Driver Discount policies may be purchased by anyone whose driving record
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