215 ILCS 5/149
2021 Illinois Compiled Statutes|Chapter 215 - INSURANCE|215 ILCS 5/ - Illinois Insurance Code.|Article IX - Provisions Applicable To All Companies

 (from Ch. 73, par. 761)Sec. 149.     Misrepresentation and defamation prohibited.(1) No company doing business in this State, and no officer, director,  agent, clerk or employee thereof, broker, or any other person, shall make,  issue or circulate or cause or knowingly permit to be made, issued or  circulated any estimate, illustration, circular, or verbal or written  statement of any sort misrepresenting the terms of any policy issued or to  be issued by it or any other company or the benefits or advantages promised  thereby or any misleading estimate of the dividends or share of the surplus  to be received thereon, or shall by the use of any name or title of any  policy or class of policies misrepresent the nature thereof.(2) No such company or officer, director, agent, clerk or employee  thereof, or broker shall make any misleading representation or comparison  of companies or policies, to any person insured in any company for the  purpose of inducing or tending to induce a policyholder in any company to  lapse, forfeit, change or surrender his insurance, whether on a temporary  or permanent plan.(3) No such company, officer, director, agent, clerk or employee  thereof, broker or other person shall make, issue or circulate or cause or  knowingly permit to be made, issued or circulated any pamphlet, circular,  article, literature or verbal or written statement of any kind which  contains any false or malicious statement calculated to injure any company  doing business in this State in its reputation or business.(4) No such company, or officer, director, agent, clerk or employee  thereof, no agent, broker, solicitor, or company service representative,  and no other person, firm, corporation, or association of any kind or  character, shall make, issue, circulate, use, or utter, or cause or  knowingly permit to be made, issued, circulated, used, or uttered, any  policy or certificate of insurance, or endorsement or rider thereto, or  matter incorporated therein by reference, or application blanks, or any  stationery, pamphlet, circular, article, literature, advertisement or  advertising of any kind or character, visual, or aural, including radio  advertising and television advertising, or any other verbal or written  statement or utterance (a) which tends to create the impression or from  which it may be implied or inferred, directly or indirectly, that the  company, its financial condition or status, or the payment of its claims,  or the merits, desirability, or advisability of its policy forms or kinds  or plans of insurance are approved, endorsed, or guaranteed by the State of  Illinois or United States Government or the Director or the Department or  are secured by Government bonds or are secured by a deposit with the  Director, or (b) which uses or refers to any deposit with the Director or  any certificate of deposit issued by the Director or any facsimile,  reprint, photograph, photostat, or other reproduction of any such  certificate of deposit.(5) Any company, officer, director, agent, clerk or employee thereof,  broker, or other person who violates any of the provisions of this Section,  or knowingly participates in or abets such violation, is guilty  of a  business offense and shall be required to pay a penalty of not less than  $200 nor more than $10,000, to be recovered in  the name of the People of the State of Illinois either by the Attorney  General or by the State's Attorney of  the county in which the violation occurs. The penalty so recovered  shall  be paid into the county treasury if recovered by the State's Attorney or  into the State treasury if recovered by the Attorney General.(6) No company shall be held guilty of having violated any of the  provisions of this Section by reason of the act of any agent, solicitor or  employee, not an officer, director or department head thereof, unless an  officer, director or department head of such company shall have knowingly  permitted such act or shall have had prior knowledge thereof.(7) Any person, association, organization, partnership, business trust  or corporation not authorized to transact an insurance business in this  State which disseminates in or causes to be disseminated in this State any  advertising, invitations to inquire, questionnaires or requests for  information designed to result in a solicitation for the purchase of  insurance by residents of this State is also subject to the sanctions of  this Section.  The phrase "designed to result in a solicitation for the  purchase of insurance" includes but is not limited to:(a) the use of any form or document which provides     either generalized or specific information or recommendations regardless of the insurance needs of the recipient or the availability of any insurance policy or plan; or(b) any offer to provide such information or     recommendation upon subsequent contacts or solicitation either by the entity generating the material or some other person; or(c) the use of a coupon, reply card or request to     write for further information; or(d) the use of an application for insurance or an     offer to provide insurance coverage for any purpose; or(e) the use of any material which, regardless of the     form and content used or the information imparted, is intended to result, in the generation of leads for further solicitations or the preparation of a mailing list which can be sold to others for such purpose.   (Source: P.A. 93-32, eff. 7-1-03.)