SB65 Alabama 2024 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Wes KitchensSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2024

Title

Insurance Department, insurance fraud, statute of limitations increased, investigators of Department of Insurance Fraud Unit, power of arrest to include other state laws

Summary

SB65 extends the time to prosecute insurance fraud to seven years after detection and broadens the Insurance Fraud Unit’s powers to enforce the law, including arrest authority.

What This Bill Does

It increases the statute of limitations for insurance fraud prosecutions from two to seven years after the fraud is detected. It expands the Insurance Fraud Unit’s powers to include full law enforcement abilities, such as arrest and serving process, as needed to enforce the chapter and any related state laws discovered during investigations, and to cooperate with other states. It imposes disqualification from the insurance business for individuals convicted of first- or second-degree insurance fraud and prohibits allowing convicted individuals to transact in insurance in Alabama; it also requires information about criminal activity found during investigations to be shared with the Department of Public Safety.

Who It Affects

• Individuals convicted of insurance fraud in the first or second degree in Alabama and those who would transact in the insurance business; they would be disqualified from engaging in the business of insurance and may be restricted from allowing others to transact on their behalf.
• The Insurance Fraud Unit, the Alabama Department of Insurance, and related law enforcement and public safety entities; they gain expanded enforcement powers (including arrest and service of process), authority to conduct cross-state investigations, and duties to share information with the Department of Public Safety.

Key Provisions

• Prosecution window for insurance fraud increased from 2 years to 7 years after detection (27-12A-6(a)).
• Disqualification from engaging in the insurance business for individuals convicted of insurance fraud in the first or second degree; prohibition on permitting convicted individuals to transact in the business (27-12A-6(b)-(c)).
• Insurance Fraud Unit established within the Department of Insurance with authority to investigate, subpoena, administer oaths, and share records with other agencies (27-12A-40).
• Investigators of the unit have powers of arrest and service of process, and may pursue violations of this chapter or other state laws discovered during investigations (27-12A-40(d)).
• Unit may conduct investigations outside Alabama and coordinate with other states; information requests may be fulfilled by designated representatives (27-12A-40(c)).
• Information about criminal activity discovered during investigations must be provided to the Alabama Department of Public Safety (27-12A-40(e)).
• Effective date: October 1, 2024.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Insurance