2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 31 - Insurance and Securities › Chapter 23M - Service Contract Regulation › § 31–2351.06. Prohibited acts

§ 31–2351.06. Prohibited acts.
(a)(1) A provider shall not use in its name the words insurance, casualty, surety, mutual, or any other words descriptive of the insurance, casualty, or surety business, or a name deceptively similar to the name or description of any insurance, casualty, or surety organization, or to the name of any other provider. The word "guaranty" or similar word may be used by a provider.
(2) This section shall not apply to a company that was using any of the prohibited language in its name prior to 180 days after February 22, 2019; provided, that a company using the prohibited language in its name shall include in its service contracts a statement that reads in substantially the following form:
"This agreement is not an insurance contract.".
(b) A provider or its representative shall not in its service contracts or literature make, permit, or cause to be made any false or misleading statement or deliberately omit any material statement that would be considered misleading if omitted.
(c) A person, such as a bank, savings and loan association, lending institution, manufacturer, or seller of any product, shall not require the purchase of a service contract as a condition of a loan or a condition for the sale of any property.
(d) A motor vehicle service contract provider or its representative shall not, directly or indirectly, represent in any manner, whether by written solicitation or telemarketing, a false, deceptive, or misleading statement with respect to:
(1) The provider's affiliation with a motor vehicle manufacturer;
(2) The provider's possession of information regarding a motor vehicle owner's current motor vehicle manufacturer's original equipment warranty;
(3) The expiration of a motor vehicle owner's current motor vehicle manufacturer's original equipment warranty; or
(4) A requirement that a motor vehicle owner register for a new motor vehicle service contract with the provider in order to maintain coverage under the motor vehicle owner's current motor vehicle service contract or manufacturer's original equipment warranty.
(e)(1) A provider or a seller shall not include an automatic renewal provision within a service contract offered in the District unless the provider or seller:
(A) In the case of in-person or online sales, discloses the terms of the automatic renewal provision in a clear and conspicuous manner in visual proximity to the request for consent to the automatic renewal provision and the consumer consents to the terms of the automatic renewal provision through the consumer's signature or electronic acknowledgment; or
(B) In the case of telephonic sales, on a recorded call, which shall be made available to the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking at its request, discloses the terms of the automatic renewal provision in a clear and conspicuous manner in temporal proximity to the request for consent to the automatic renewal provision and the consumer consents to the terms of the automatic renewal provision.
(2) For the purposes of this subsection, "automatic renewal provision" means a provision under which a service contract is renewed for a specified period of more than one month if the renewal causes the service contract to be in effect more than 6 months after the day of the initiation of the service contract and such renewal is effective unless the consumer gives notice to the provider or administrator of the consumer's intention to terminate the service contract.
(Feb. 22, 2019, D.C. Law 22-216, § 7, 65 DCR 12963.)