Illinois Administrative Code › Title 50 - INSURANCE › Part 2002 - ADVERTISING OF ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURANCE › Appendix A - Guidelines › ILLUSTRATION I - Guideline to Section 2002.70(a)(1)

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
This Section prohibits words, phrases or illustrations which
				  create deception to the reader by omission or commission. The following
				  examples are illustrations of the prohibitions created by the Section:
a) An advertisement which describes any
				benefits that vary by age must disclose that fact in a manner as described in
				this Part. (See also ILLUSTRATION O.)
b) An advertisement which uses a phrase such
				as "no age limit," if benefits or premiums vary by age or if age is an
				underwriting factor, must disclose that fact in a manner as described in this
				Part. (See also ILLUSTRATION O.)
c)
				"Individualized" advertisements, applications, requests for additional
				information and similar materials are unacceptable if they state or imply that
				the recipient has been individually selected to be offered insurance or has had
				his eligibility for such insurance individually determined in advance, when the
				advertisement is directed to all persons in a group or to all persons whose
				names appear on a mailing list.
d)
				Advertisements which indicate that a particular coverage or policy is
				exclusively for "preferred risks" or a particular segment of the population or
				that a particular segment of the population are acceptable risks, when such
				distinctions are not maintained in the issuance of policies, are not
				acceptable.
e) Advertisements for
				group or franchise plans which provide a common benefit or a common combination
				of benefits shall not imply that the insurance coverage is tailored or designed
				specifically for that group, unless such is the fact.
f) It is unacceptable to use terms such as
				"enroll" or "join" to imply group or blanket insurance coverage when such is
				not the fact.
g) Any advertisement
				which contains statements such as "anyone can apply" or "anyone can join" other
				than with respect to a guaranteed issue policy for which administrative
				procedures exist to assure that the policy is issued within a reasonable period
				of time after the application is received by the insurer is
				unacceptable.
h) An advertisement
				which states or implies immediate coverage or guaranteed issuance of a policy
				is unacceptable unless suitable administrative procedures exist so that the
				policy is issued within a reasonable period of time for such immediate coverage
				or guaranteed issuance coverage after the application is received by the
				insurer.
i) Any advertisement which
				uses any phrase or term such as "here is all you do to apply," "simply" or
				"merely" to refer to the act of applying for a policy which is not a guaranteed
				issue policy is unacceptable unless it refers to the fact that the application
				is subject to acceptance or approval by the insurer.
j) Applications, request forms for additional
				information, and similar related materials are unacceptable if they resemble
				paper currency, bonds, stock certificates, etc.
k) An advertisement may employ devices which
				are designed to create reasonable concern in the minds of those to whom they
				are directed. Unacceptable examples of devices which may create undue concern
				are:
1) the use of phrases such as "cancer
				kills somebody every two minutes" and "total number of accidents" without
				reference to the total population from which such statistics are drawn (As an
				example of a permissible device, data prepared by the American Cancer Society
				is acceptable provided the source is noted and it is not
				overemphasized.);
2) the use of
				phrases such as "the finest kind of treatment," implying that such treatment
				would be unavailable without insurance;
3) the reproduction of newspaper articles,
				etc., containing irrelevant facts and figures;
4) the use of illustrations which unduly
				emphasize automobile accidents, disabled persons or persons confined in beds
				who are in obvious distress or receiving hospital or medical bills or persons
				being evicted from their homes due to their hospital bills;
5) the use of phrases such as "financial
				disaster," "financial distress," "financial shock," or other phrases implying
				that financial ruin is likely without the insurance advertised where used in an
				advertisement which comes within Section
				2002.70(a)(7)
				 relating to policies covering specified
				illnesses or specified accidents only and other accident and health insurance
				designed primarily for supplementing an insured's basic insurance
				program.