Connecticut's Insurance and Real Estate Committee has rejected two bills that insurance trade groups contend would have had an adverse affect on consumers in the state.

The bills, SB 763 and SB 6444 were rejected by the committee last Thursday. SB 763 would have changed Connecticut's Unfair Insurance Practice Act by removing a provision that requires a heavy burden of proof in the form of a "general practice test". If the bill passed, attorneys and insureds would have been able to file law suits in cases of omissions without proving they were a general practice of the company. This would have a led to a flood of lawsuits and higher premiums in general, as insurers struggled to pay for litigation.SB 6444, a territorial rating and credit scoring bill, was amended by removing a provision that proposed establishing a 50-50 split between the use of territorial and state data. Language in the bill that prohibited the use of credit scoring has been deleted from the substitute bill although, there is an exception made for "extraordinary life circumstances". The insurance department's 2001 guidelines on the use of credit information have been codified and there have been a few restrictions put in place regarding the use of financial history measurement programs.The committee also approved HB 6280, which extends the state's flex rating law affecting personal lines until July 1, 2001.