Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 120 - OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INSURANCE, SAFETY FIRE COMMISSIONER AND INDUSTRIAL LOAN COMMISSIONER › Chapter 120-2 - RULES OF COMMISSIONER OF INSURANCE › Subject 120-2-11 - ADVERTISING OF LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITY CONTRACTS › Rule 120-2-11-.06 - Disclosure Requirements

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) The information required to be disclosed
				by this Regulation shall not be minimized, rendered obscure, or presented in an
				ambiguous fashion or intermingled with the text of the advertisement so as to
				confuse or mislead.
(2) No
				advertisement shall omit material information or use words, phrases,
				statements, references, or illustrations if such omission or such use has the
				capacity, tendency, or effect of misleading or deceiving purchasers or
				prospective purchasers as to the nature of their relationship with the insurer
				or as to the nature or extent of any policy benefit, loss covered, premiums
				payable at specified ages over the life of the contract unless premiums remain
				level, or state or federal tax consequences. The fact that the policy offered
				is made available to a prospective insured for inspection prior to consummation
				of the sale, or an offer is made to refund the premium if the purchaser is not
				satisfied, does not remedy misleading statements.
(3) In the event an advertisement uses the
				terms "Non-Medical," "No Medical Examination Required," or similar terms where
				issuance of a policy is not guaranteed, such terms shall be accompanied by a
				further disclosure of equal prominence and in juxtaposition thereto to the
				effect that issuance of the policy may depend upon the answers to the health
				questions contained in the application.
(4) An advertisement shall not use as the
				name or title of a policy any phrase which does not include the words "life
				insurance" or "annuity" unless accompanied by other language clearly indicating
				it is life insurance or an annuity.
(5) An advertisement shall clearly and
				prominently describe the type of policy discussed or advertised. The name or
				title of the policy, or description thereof, shall not be such as to deceive or
				mislead a person as to the true nature of the policy or as to the benefits
				provided thereunder.
(6) An
				advertisement of a policy marketed by direct response techniques shall not
				state or imply that because there is no agent or commission involved there will
				be a cost saving to prospective purchasers unless such is the fact. No such
				cost savings may be stated or implied in any advertisement without
				justification found to be satisfactory to the Commissioner prior to its use
				unless such is a provable fact.
(7)
				An advertisement for a policy containing graded or modified benefits shall
				prominently display any limitation of benefits. If the premium is level and
				coverage decreases or increases with age or duration, such fact shall be
				clearly and prominently disclosed.
(8) An advertisement for a policy with
				non-level premiums shall clearly and prominently describe the premium
				changes.
(9) The following
				requirements shall apply to advertisements which make reference to dividends:
(a) An advertisement shall not utilize or
				describe dividends in a manner which is misleading or has the capacity or
				tendency to mislead. In this connection, analogies and comparisons between
				dividends payable on shares of stock and dividends payable under a policy are
				prohibited unless the advertisement fully, clearly, and accurately describes
				the differences.
(b) An
				advertisement shall not state or imply that the payment of any amount of
				dividends is guaranteed. If dividends are illustrated, they must be based on
				the insurer's current dividend scale and the illustration must contain a
				prominent statement to the effect that such dividends are not to be construed
				as guarantees of dividends to be paid in the future.
(c) An advertisement shall not state nor
				imply that illustrated dividends under any participating policy and/or pure
				endowments will be or can be sufficient at any future time to assure, without
				the further payment of premiums, the receipt of benefits, such as a paid-up
				policy, unless the advertisement clearly and precisely explains what benefits
				or coverage would be provided at such time and under what conditions this would
				occur.
(d) Advertisements shall not
				state nor imply that dividends are other than a refund or return of part of the
				premium paid which is not guaranteed and which is dependent on the investment
				earnings, mortality experience and expense experience of the company.
(e) Any comparison between participating and
				non-participating policies or contracts must be true and accurate.