(a) (1) No admitted insurer that is licensed to issue and issuing motor vehicle liability policies, as defined in Section 16450 of the Vehicle Code, shall fail or refuse to accept an application for that insurance, to issue that insurance to an applicant therefor, or issue or cancel that insurance under conditions less favorable to the insured than in other comparable cases, except for reasons applicable alike to persons of every characteristic listed or defined in subdivision (b) or (e) of Section 51 of the Civil Code, including, but not limited to, language, or persons of the same geographic area; nor shall any characteristic listed or defined in subdivision (b) or (e) of Section 51 of the Civil Code, including, but not limited to, language, or location within a geographic area, of itself, constitute a condition or risk for which a higher rate, premium, or charge may be required of the insured for that insurance. (2) As used in this section âgeographic areaâ means a portion of this state of not less than 20 square miles defined by description in the rating manual of an insurer or in the rating manual of a rating bureau of which the insurer is a member or subscriber. In order that geographic areas used for rating purposes may reflect homogeneity of loss experience, a record of loss experience for the geographic area shall include the breakdown of actual loss experience statistics by ZIP Code area (as designated by the United States Postal Service) within each geographic area for family owned private passenger motor vehicles and lightweight commercial motor vehicles, under 1 1 2 -ton load capacity, used for local service or retail delivery, normally within a 50-mile radius of garaging, and that are not part of a fleet of five or more motor vehicles under one ownership. A record of loss experience for the geographic area, including that statistical data by ZIP Code area, shall be submitted biennially to the commissioner for examination by each insurer licensed to issue and issuing motor vehicle liability policies, motor vehicle physical damage policies, or both. Loss experience shall include separate loss data for each type of coverage, including liability or physical damage coverage, underwritten. The biennial report shall include the insurerâs statewide loss ratio, loss adjustment expense ratio, expense ratio, and combined ratio on its assigned-risk business. Statewide summary data shall be submitted annually to the commissioner. An insurer may satisfy its obligation to report statistical data under this subdivision by providing its loss experience data and statewide expense ratio and combined ratio on its assigned-risk business to a rating or advisory organization for submission to the commissioner. This data shall be made available to the public by the commissioner biennially after examination. However, the data shall be released in aggregate form by ZIP Code or statewide basis in order that no individual insurerâs loss experience for any specific geographic area be revealed. Differentiation in rates between geographical areas shall not constitute unfair discrimination. (3) All information reported to the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be confidential. (4) As used in this section: (A) âLanguageâ means the inability to speak, read, write, or comprehend the English language. (B) âDependentsâ shall include, but not be limited to, issue regardless of generation. (C) âSpouseâ shall be determined without regard to current marital status. (b) The commissioner may require insurers with combined ratios on statewide assigned-risk business that are 10 percent above the mean combined ratio for all plan participants to also report the following: (1) The reason for the excessive ratio. (2) A plan for reducing the ratio, and when the reduction can be expected to occur. The commissioner may require insurers subject to this subdivision to provide periodic reports on the progress in reducing the combined ra
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