Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Authority and Purpose
1. This directive is issued under the
authority granted to the Insurance Commissioner by the Louisiana
Insurance Code for the purpose of protecting the Louisiana
insurance-buying public and the insurers from the effect of sales of certain
types of insurance policies which experience has shown, in this and other
states, has not been in the public interest.
2. Effective November 12, 1962, no policy of
the type described in
§6901. A.3 shall be
approved for use in the state of Louisiana. Any such policy of the type
described in
§6901. A.3 which has
heretofore been approved for use in Louisiana shall not be used after March 1,
1963, the approval of such form being specifically revoked on such
date.
3.
a. A policy form which guarantees a certain
amount each year, either level or variable, where such amount is predicated
upon a specified number of shares of stock of the company. Such forms usually
provide that a certain amount is payable to the owner of the policy, usually
upon payment of the second annual premium, or it will provide that the owner of
the policy receive the same amount of money as the dividend which is declared
upon a given number of shares of stock of the company during the
year.
b. A policy which usually has
some identifying language indicating that it will be made available to a
limited number of persons or sold in specifically pre-determined numbers of
units of fixed dollar amounts. Also, any policy form which contains provisions
representing that the policyholder will be eligible to participate, with
special advantage not available to persons holding other types of participating
or nonparticipating policies issued by the same company, in any future
distribution of general company profits. Such forms are often so drafted that
it appears to a prospective policyholder that he is purchasing a preferential
share of future profits and earnings of the company, rather than purchasing
life insurance policies which may be subject to refunds of premiums.
i. Every participating contract shall
stipulate that dividends, if any, shall be ascertained and apportioned by the
Board of Directors, and shall not specify the sources of such
dividends.
c. Any policy
for which an extra premium is paid which is not used to purchase insurance but
where such extra premium is set aside in a fund which is to be invested by the
insurer for the benefit of the policyholders holding this type of contract.
Dividends or guaranteed allocations or coupons used in connection with the
policy are used to purchase stock in business corporations or other insurance
companies for the exclusive benefit of the purchasers of the policies. Such
policies contain language wherein it is indicated that dividends and capital
gains from stock purchased with the excess portion of the premium paid for the
policy are to be accumulated and distributed exclusively to those policyholders
who continue to be such to the end of a specified period of time. Those persons
who, for one reason or another, terminate or lapse their policies, or if the
face amount of the policy is paid by reason of death of the insured, do not
participate in the final distribution of the funds, although they may have
contributed substantially to its formation.
4. Policies of the type described in
§6901. A.3 generally
purport to provide a means to an end result that is not authorized by statute,
and in many cases, an end result that is without reasonable expectation of
achievement. Such policies usually represent as an inducement to the purchase
of insurance that the person who buys such a policy is procuring a preferential
interest in the future profits and earnings of the insurance company. Inasmuch
as distribution of earnings, profits or surplus must be fair and equitable to
all policyholders, and must not discriminate unfairly between individuals of
the same class and equal expectation of life, policies containing such
provisions will henceforth be considered as contrary to statute and the public
interest.
a. It is also in the public
interest that every policy of life insurance should bear in a prominent place a
reasonably accurate brief description of the nature of the insurance contract
afforded by the insurance policy. To that end, phrases as "profit sharing",
"charter plan", "Founder's Plan" and other such words and phrases when used in
connection with any type of life insurance policy shall be deemed to be
misleading and ambiguous and a violation of the insurance statutes of this
state.
5. Insurance
policies which include a series of coupons or additional benefits featured in
combination with an insurance contract will be permitted in this state. Such
coupons are usually pure endowments, and are essentially a return of a portion
of the premium which the policyholder has already paid. This being true, they
should be properly identified as such. Therefore, the policy shall state that a
portion of the premium charged is for the coupon benefit. Such language shall
be prominently displayed in proximity to the language used to set forth the
consideration for the policy.
a. For policies
issued under
R.S.
22:163, the reserves and nonforfeiture values
of such policies must be so calculated that the present value of the pure
endowments represented by the coupons, on the same mortality table and interest
rate as the policy, are included in the calculation of the nonforfeiture
factors, the first year and net renewal premiums and the reserves and
non-forfeiture values, but shall be excluded in the calculation of the
equivalent level amount.
b. For
policies issued under
R.S.
22:162(C), the calculations
under ordinary insurance shall conform to Illinois Standard Valuation or shall
produce reserves equivalent to such standard. The Illinois Standard referred to
reads as follows:
"If the premium charged for term insurance under a limited
payment life preliminary term policy providing for the payment of all premiums
thereon in less than twenty years from the date of the policy or under an
endowment preliminary term policy, exceeds that charged for like insurance
under twenty-payment life preliminary term policies of the same company, the
reserve thereon at the end of any year, including first, shall not be less than
the reserve on a twenty-payment life preliminary term policy issued in the same
year and at the same age together with an amount which shall be equivalent to
the accumulation of a net level premium sufficient to provide for a pure
endowment at the end of the premium payment period equal to the difference
between the value at the end of such period of such twenty-payment life
preliminary term policy and the full reserve at such time of such a limited
payment life or endowment policy. The premium-payment period is the period
during which premiums am concurrently payable under such twenty-payment life
preliminary term policy and such limited-payment life or endowment
policy."
c. The premiums
referred to shall be construed to mean net premiums so as to make the law's
application uniform for all companies. The new 20-payment life premium, on the
full one-year preliminary term basis, is thus made the measure for determining
whether the premium for, and the valuation of, other plans of insurance shall
be upon the full preliminary term basis or the 20-payment life preliminary term
basis. Therefore, the basis is determined not so much by plan of insurance as
by relative size of premium at the age of issue.
d. In order that the Insurance Department may
be sure that this directive is complied with, each such form which is filed
must include a complete and detailed description of the actuarial basis of the
policy together with formulae and calculations for at least one specimen age.
Also the cover letter must certify that the recommendations of the Hooker
Committee have been complied with for policies issued under
R.S.
22:163.
6. Before consideration will be given to any
policy, the letter of transmittal must contain a certification by an executive
officer that such policy has been approved by the insurer's domiciliary
state.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 22.162(C) and
22:163.