DE| Delaware Insurance Department Bulletin No. 161, issued October 31, 2025, notifies all insurance carriers operating in Delaware about the implementation of House Substitute 1 for House Bill 55, which designates military status as a protected class under the state’s anti-discrimination law. Effective July 23, 2025, insurers are prohibited from using military status as a basis to deny, cancel, exclude, or change coverage terms for any insurance product except where required by law or government contract, applying protections to active military, reservists, veterans, and their dependents.
Key Points:
- Insurers must update policies, underwriting guidelines, and related documents to eliminate adverse terms based solely on military status, unless specific exceptions apply by law or contract.
- All operational, marketing, sales, and claims practices must comply with these anti-discrimination requirements, and any permissible distinctions must be well-documented and legally justified.