2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 31 - Insurance and Securities › Chapter 54 - Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association › § 31–5416. Prohibited advertisement of Association act in insurance sale; notice to policyholders

§ 31–5416. Prohibited advertisement of Association act in insurance sale; notice to policyholders.
(a)(1) No person, including an insurer, agent, or affiliate of an insurer shall make, publish, disseminate, circulate, or place before the public, or cause directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated or placed before the public, in any newspaper, magazine, or other publication, or in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter, or poster, or over any radio station or television station, or in any other way, any advertisement, announcement or statement, written or oral, which uses the existence of the District of Columbia Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association for the purpose of sales, solicitation, or inducement to purchase any form of insurance covered by this chapter.
(2) This subsection shall not apply to the Association or any other entity which does not sell or solicit insurance.
(b)(1) Within 180 days of July 22, 1992, the Association shall prepare a summary document describing the general purposes and current limitations of this chapter, which document shall be submitted to the Mayor for approval.
(2) Sixty days after the summary document is approved by the Mayor, no insurer may deliver a policy or contract described in § 31-5402(b)(1) to a policy or contract holder unless the summary document is delivered to the policy or contract holder prior to or at the time of delivery of the policy or contract except as provided in subsection (d) of this section.
(3) The delivery or contents or interpretation of the summary document shall not mean that either the policy or the contract or the holder of either would be covered in the event of the impairment or insolvency of a member insurer.
(4) The summary document shall be revised by the Association as amendments to this chapter may require.
(5) Failure to receive this document does not give the policy holder, contract holder, certificate holder, or insured any greater rights than the rights stated in this chapter.
(c) The summary document prepared under subsection (b) of this section shall contain a clear and conspicuous disclaimer on its face. The Mayor shall promulgate rules establishing the form and content of the disclaimer, which at a minimum shall:
(1) State the name and address of the Association and the Commissioner of Insurance and Securities [Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking];
(2) Prominently warn the policy or contract holder that the Association may not cover the policy, or, if coverage is available, it will be subject to substantial limitations and exclusions and conditioned on continued residence in the District of Columbia;
(3) State that the insurer and its agents are prohibited by law from using the existence of the Association for the purpose of sales, solicitation, or inducement to purchase any form of insurance;
(4) Emphasize that the policy or contract holder should not rely on coverage under the Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association when selecting an insurer; and
(5) Provide additional information as directed by the Mayor.
(d) No insurer or agent may deliver a policy or contract described in § 31-5402(b)(1) and excluded under § 31-5402(b)(2)(A) from coverage under this chapter unless the insurer or agent, prior to or at the time of delivery, gives the policy or contract holder a separate written notice which clearly and conspicuously discloses that the policy or contract is not covered by the Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association. The Mayor, by rule, shall specify the form and content of the notice.
(July 22, 1992, D.C. Law 9-129, § 17, 39 DCR 4036; May 21, 1997, D.C. Law 11-268, § 10(u), 44 DCR 1730.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 35-1956.