Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a)
1) An
advertisement of an individual policy shall not directly or by implication
represent that a contract or combination of contracts is an introductory,
initial or special offer, or that applicants will receive substantial
advantages not available at a later date, or that the offer is available at a
later date, or that the offer is available only to a specified group of
individuals, unless such is the fact. An advertisement shall not contain
phrases describing an enrollment period as "special," "limited," or similar
words or phrases when the insurer uses such enrollment periods as the usual
method of advertising accident and sickness insurance. The Guideline for this
paragraph (a) (1) is found in Appendix A, Illustration II.
2) An enrollment period during which a
particular insurance product may be purchased on an individual basis shall not
be offered within this State unless there has been a lapse of not less than six
months between the close of the immediately preceding enrollment period for the
same product and the opening of the new enrollment period. The advertisement
shall indicate the date by which the applicant must mail the application which
shall be not less than ten days and not more than forty days from the date that
such enrollment period is advertised for the first time. This Part applies to
all advertising media: i.e., mail, newspapers, radio, television, magazines and
periodicals, by any one insurer. It is inapplicable to solicitations of
employees or members of a particular group or association which otherwise would
be eligible under specific provisions of the Insurance Code for group or
blanket insurance. The phrase "any one insurer" includes all the affiliated
companies of a group of insurance companies under common management or control.
The Guideline for this paragraph (a) (2) is found in Appendix A, Illustration
JJ.
3) This Part prohibits any
statement or implication to the effect that only a specific number of policies
will be sold, or that a time is fixed for the discontinuance of the sale of the
particular policy advertised because of special advantages available in the
policy, unless such is the fact.
4)
The phrase "a particular insurance product" in paragraph (a)(2) of this Section
means an insurance policy which provides substantially different benefits than
those contained in any other policy. Different terms of renewability; an
increase or decrease in the dollar amounts of benefits; an increase or decrease
in any elimination period or waiting period from those available during an
enrollment period for another policy shall not be sufficient to constitute the
product being offered as a different product eligible for concurrent or
overlapping enrollment periods. The Guideline for this paragraph (a)(4) is
found in Appendix A, Illustration KK.
b) An advertisement shall not offer a policy
which utilizes a reduced initial premium rate in a manner which overemphasizes
the availability and the amount of the initial reduced premium. When an insurer
charges an initial premium that differs in amount from the amount of the
renewal premium payable on the same mode, the advertisement shall not display
the amount of the reduced initial premium either more frequently or more
prominently than the renewal premium, and both the initial reduced premium and
the renewal premium must be stated in juxtaposition in each portion of the
advertisement where the initial reduced premium appears. The Guideline for this
paragraph (b) is found in Appendix A, Illustration LL.
c) Special awards, such as a "safe drivers'
award," shall not be used in connection with advertisements of accident or
accident and sickness insurance. The Guideline for this paragraph (c) is found
in Appendix A, Illustration MM.
