(a) No insurance contract entered into in violation of this article shall preclude the insured from enforcing his or her rights under the contract in accordance with the terms and provisions of the contract and the laws of this state against any unauthorized insurer or any person assisting the unauthorized insurer to the same degree those rights would have been enforceable had the contract been lawfully procured.
(b) No insurance contract entered into in violation of this article shall preclude a provider of health care services from enforcing the rights of the insured under the contract in accordance with the terms and provisions of the contract and the laws of this state against any unauthorized insurer or any person assisting the unauthorized insurer pursuant to an assignment of rights executed between the insured and the health care provider.
(c) In an action against an unauthorized insurer upon a contract of insurance issued or delivered to a resident of this state or to a corporation authorized to do business in this state, if the trier of fact finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the unauthorized insurer has failed to make payment in accordance with the terms of the contract, the trier of fact shall award to the insured or the health care provider:
(1) Contract damages in accordance with the terms and provisions of the contract and the laws of this state to the same degree those rights would have been enforceable had the contract been lawfully procured;