AN ACT to clarify when notices of cancellation of workers' compensation policies are presumed effective and complete and to provide the procedure to be followed when the deputy or member of the commission that heard the parties at issue and their representatives and witnesses is unable to decide the case and issue an award.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 58‑36‑105(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Any cancellation permitted by subsection (a) of this section is not effective unless written notice of cancellation has been given to the insured not less than 15 days before the proposed effective date of cancellation. The notice may be given by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the insured and any other person designated in the policy to receive notice of cancellation at their addresses shown in the policy or, if not indicated in the policy, at their last known addresses. The notice shall state the precise reason for cancellation. Whenever notice of intention to cancel is given by registered or certified mail, no cancellation by the insurer shall be effective unless and until such method is employed and completed. Notice of intent to cancel given by registered or certified mail shall be conclusively presumed completed three days after the notice is sent if, on the same day that the notice is sent by registered or certified mail, the insurer also provides notice by first‑class mail and by electronic means if available as defined in G.S. 58‑2‑255(a) to the insured and any other person designated in the policy to receive notice. Any such supplemental notice given by electronic means shall be effective for the limited purpose of establishing this conclusive presumption. Notice of cancellation, termination, or nonrenewal may also be given by any method permitted for service of process pursuant to Rule 4 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure. Failure to send this notice, as provided in this section, to any other person designated in the policy to receive notice of cancellation invalidates the cancellation only as to that other person's interest."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 58‑2‑255(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	When any insurance law of this State requires a communication to be provided to a party in writing, signed by a party, provided by means of a specific delivery method, or retained by an insurer, those requirements are satisfied if the insurer complies with Article 40 of Chapter 66 of the General Statutes."

SECTION 3.  G.S. 97‑84 reads as rewritten:
"§ 97‑84.  Determination of disputes by Commission or deputy.
The Commission or any of its members or deputies shall hear the parties at issue and their representatives and witnesses, and shall determine the dispute in a summary manner. The case shall be decided and findings of fact issued based upon the preponderance of the evidence in view of the entire record. The award, together with a statement of the findings of fact, rulings of law, and other matters pertinent to the questions at issue shall be filed with the record of the proceedings, within 180 days of the close of the hearing record unless time is extended for good cause by the Commission, and a copy of the award shall immediately be sent to the parties in dispute. If the deputy or member of the Commission that heard the parties at issue and their representatives and witnesses is unable to determine the matters in dispute and issue an award, the Commission may assign another deputy or member to decide the case and issue an award."
SECTION 4.  Notwithstanding G.S. 97‑31.1, Section 3 of this act is effective when it becomes law and applies to claims pending on or after the effective date of this act. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law and applies to notices of cancellation of workers' compensation policies sent on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 29th day of June, 2017.

	s/	 Daniel J. Forest
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Tim Moore
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Roy Cooper
	 Governor

Approved 4:18 p.m. this 20th day of July, 2017