Criminal Restitution Prohibited for Insurers

For the purpose of criminal restitution, the bill excludes from the definition of "restitution" losses for which a victim may be compensated through a private insurance policy, except for worker's compensation insurance. Current law defines a "victim" as any person who has suffered losses because of a contractual relationship, including an insurer. The bill excludes an insurer a person from the definition of "victim" and instead because of a contractual relationship but clarifies that an insurance company is a "victim" if the insurance company is a victim of a scheme to defraud the insurance company or when the insurance company's property is damaged or stolen through a criminal act. The bill authorizes the court to award a victim restitution for a deductible amount under the victim's insurance policy. The bill authorizes an insurer to file a civil action or pursue any other civil action against the offender a defendant to recover losses if the insurer has suffered. because of a contractual relationship with the victim.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)