Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
(a)
Format. A basic illustration shall conform with the following requirements:
(1) The illustration shall be labeled with
the date on which it was prepared.
(2) Each page, including any explanatory
notes or pages, shall be numbered and show its relationship to the total number
of pages in the illustration (e.g., the fourth page of a seven-page
illustration shall be labeled "page 4 of 7 pages").
(3) The assumed dates of payment receipt and
benefit pay-out within a policy year shall be clearly identified.
(4) If the age of the proposed insured is
shown as a component of the tabular detail, it shall be issue age plus the
numbers of years the policy is assumed to have been in force.
(5) The assumed payments on which the
illustrated benefits and values are based shall be identified as premium outlay
or contract premium, as applicable. For policies that do not require a specific
contract premium, the illustrated payments shall be identified as premium
outlay.
(6) Guaranteed death
benefits and values available upon surrender, if any, for the illustrated
premium outlay or contract premium shall be shown and clearly labeled
guaranteed.
(7) If the illustration
shows any non-guaranteed elements, they shall not be based on a scale more
favorable to the policy owner than the insurer's illustrated scale at any
duration. These elements shall be clearly labeled non-guaranteed.
(8) The guaranteed elements, if any, shall be
shown before corresponding non-guaranteed elements and shall be specifically
referred to on any page of an illustration that shows or describes only the
non-guaranteed elements (e.g., "see page one for guaranteed
elements").
(9) The account or
accumulation value of a policy, if shown, shall be identified by the name this
value is given in the policy being illustrated and shown in close proximity to
the corresponding value available upon surrender.
(10) The value available upon surrender shall
be identified by the name this value is given in the policy being illustrated
and shall be the amount available to the policy owner in a lump sum after
deduction of surrender charges, policy loans and policy loan interest, as
applicable.
(11) Illustrations may
show policy benefits and values in graphic or chart form in addition to the
tabular form.
(12) Any illustration
of non-guaranteed elements shall be accompanied by a statement indicating that:
(A) The benefits and values are not
guaranteed;
(B) The assumptions on
which they are based are subject to change by the insurer; and
(C) Actual results may be more or less
favorable.
(13) If the
illustration shows that the premium payer may have the option to allow policy
charges to be paid using non-guaranteed values, the illustration must clearly
disclose that a charge continues to be required and that, depending on actual
results, the premium payer may need to continue or resume premium outlays.
Similar disclosure shall be made for premium outlay of lesser amounts or
shorter durations than the contract premium. If a contract premium is due, the
premium outlay shall not be left blank or show zero unless accompanied by an
asterisk or similar mark to draw attention to the fact that the policy is not
paid up.
(14) If the applicant
plans to use dividends or policy values, guaranteed or non-guaranteed, to pay
all or a portion of the contract premium or policy charges, or for any other
purpose, the illustration may reflect those plans and the effect on future
policy benefits and values.
(b) Narrative Summary. A basic illustration
shall include the following:
(1) A brief
description of the policy being illustrated, including a statement that it is a
life insurance policy.
(2) A brief
description of the premium outlay or contract premium, as applicable, for the
policy. For a policy that does not require payment of a specific contract
premium, the illustration shall show the premium outlay that must be paid to
guarantee coverage for the term of the policy, subject to maximum premiums
allowable to qualify as a life insurance policy under the applicable provisions
of the Internal Revenue Code.
(3) A
brief description of any policy features, riders or options, guaranteed or
non-guaranteed, shown in the basic illustration and the effect they may have on
the benefits and values of the policy.
(4) Identification and a brief definition of
column headings and key terms used in the illustration.
(5) A statement containing the following:
This illustration assumes that the currently illustrated non-guaranteed
elements will continue unchanged for all years shown. This is not likely to
occur. Actual results may be more or less favorable than those shown.
(c) Numeric Summary.
(1) Following the narrative summary, a basic
illustration shall include a numeric summary of the death benefits and values
and the premium outlay and contract premium, as applicable. For a policy that
provides for a contract premium, the guaranteed death benefits and values shall
be based on the contract premium. This summary shall be shown for at least
policy years 5, 10 and 20 and at age 70, if applicable, on the three bases
shown below. For multiple life policies the summary shall show policy years 5,
10, 20 and 30. The columns of the numeric summary shall be as follows:
(A) Policy guarantees;
(B) Insurer's illustrated scale;
and
(C) Insurer's illustrated scale
used but with the non-guaranteed elements reduced as follows:
(i) Dividends at 50 percent of the dividends
contained in the illustrated scale used;
(ii) Non-guaranteed credited interest at
rates that are the average of the guaranteed rates and the rates contained in
the illustrated scale used; and
(iii) All non-guaranteed charges, including
but not limited to, term insurance charges, mortality and expense charges, at
rates that are the average of the guaranteed rates and the rates contained in
the illustrated scale used.
(2) In addition, if coverage would cease
before policy maturity or age 100, the year when coverage ceases shall be
identified for each of the three bases.
(d) Statements. Statements substantially
similar to the following shall be included on the same page as the numeric
summary and signed by the applicant, or the policy owner in the case of an
illustration provided at time of delivery, as required in this Section.
(1) A statement to be signed and dated by the
applicant or policy owner reading as follows: "I have received a copy of this
illustration and understand that any non-guaranteed elements illustrated are
subject to change and could be either higher or lower. The agent has told me
they are not guaranteed."
(2) A
statement to be signed and dated by the insurance producer or other authorized
representative of the insurer reading as follows: "I certify that this
illustration has been presented to the applicant and that I have explained that
any non-guaranteed elements illustrated are subject to change. I have made no
statements that are inconsistent with the illustration."
(e) Tabular Detail.
(1) A basic illustration shall include the
following for at least each policy year from one to 10 and for every fifth
policy year thereafter ending at age 100, policy maturity or final expiration,
and except for term insurance beyond the 20th year, for any year in which the
premium outlay and contract premium, if applicable is to change:
(A) The premium outlay and mode the applicant
plans to pay and the contract premium, as applicable;
(B) The corresponding guaranteed death
benefit, as provided in the policy; and
(C) The corresponding guaranteed value
available upon surrender, as provided in the policy.
(2) For a policy that provides for a contract
premium, the guaranteed death benefit and value available upon surrender shall
correspond to the contract premium.
(3) Non-guaranteed elements may be shown if
described in the policy. In the case of an illustration for a policy on which
the insurer intends to credit terminal dividends, they may be shown if the
insurer's current practice is to pay terminal dividends. If any non-guaranteed
elements are shown they must be shown at the same durations as the
corresponding guaranteed elements, if any. If no guaranteed benefit or value is
available at any duration for which a non-guaranteed benefit or value is shown,
a zero shall be displayed in the guaranteed column.
Authority
G.S.
58-2-40;
58-58-1;
58-58-40;
58-60-15;
58-60-20;
58-63-15;
58-63-65;
Eff. January
1, 1997;
Readopted Eff. December 1,
2021.