Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 19 - Department of Insurance › Part 2 - Life Insurance › Chapter 15 - (2000-1) Viatical Settlements Regulations › Rule 19-2-15.07 - General Rules

Current through June 25, 2024
A. With respect to
				policies containing a provision for double or additional indemnity for
				accidental death, the additional payment shall remain payable to the
				beneficiary last named by the viator prior to entering into the viatical
				settlement contract, or to such other beneficiary, other than the viatical
				settlement provider, as the viator may thereafter designate, or in the absence
				of a beneficiary, to the estate of the viator.
B. Pursuant to
Miss. Code
				Ann
. §
									83-7-217(4) the
				viatical settlement provider shall pay the proceeds of the viatical settlement
				to an escrow or trust account in a state or federally chartered financial
				institution whose deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance
				Corporation (FDIC) within two business days of receiving the documents that
				effect the transfer of the insurance policy.
C. Payment of the proceeds to the viator
				pursuant to a viatical settlement shall be made in a lump sum except where the
				viatical settlement provider has purchased an annuity or similar financial
				instrument issued by a licensed insurance companyor bank, or an affiliate of
				either. Retention of a portion of the proceeds by the viatical settlement
				provider or escrow agent is not permissible.
D. A viatical settlement provider, viatical
				settlement broker or viatical settlement representative shall not discriminate
				in the making or solicitation of viatical settlements on the basis of race,
				age, sex, national origin, creed, religion, occupation, marital or family
				status or sexual orientation, or discriminate between viators with dependents
				and without.
E. A viatical
				settlement provider, viatical settlement broker or viatical
				settlementrepresentative shall not pay or offer to pay any finder's fee,
				commission or other compensation to any insured's physician, or to an attorney,
				accountant or other person providing medical, legal or financial planning
				services to the viator, or to any other person acting as an agent of the viator
				with respect to the viaticalsettlement.
F. A viatical settlement provider shall not
				knowingly solicit investors who have treated or have been asked to treat the
				illness of the insured whose coverage would be the subject of
				investment.
G. Advertising
				standards:
Advertising related to the viatical settlement shall be
				  truthful and notmisleading by fact or implication. The form and content of an
				  advertisement of a viatical settlement contract, product, or service shall be
				  sufficiently complete and clear so as to avoid deception. It shall not have the
				  capacity or tendency to mislead or deceive. Whether an advertisement has the
				  capacity or tendency to mislead or deceive shall be determined by the
				  Commissioner from the overall impression that the advertisement may reasonably
				  be expected to create upon a person of average education or intelligence within
				  the segment of the public to which it is directed.
1. If the advertiser emphasizes the speed
				with which the viatication will occur, the advertising must disclose the
				average time frame from completed application to the date of offer and from
				acceptance of the offer to receipt of the funds by the viator.
2. If the advertising emphasizes the dollar
				amounts available to viators, the advertising shall disclose the average
				purchase price as a percent of face value obtained by viators contracting with
				the advertiser during the past six (6) months.
3. An advertisement may not represent that a
				viatical settlement purchase agreement is guaranteed by any insurance guaranty
				fund.
4. An advertisement shall not
				make unfair or incomplete comparisons of insurance policies, benefits,
				dividends or rates. An advertisement shall not disparage insurers, insurance
				producers, policies, services or methods of marketing.
5. An advertisement shall not use a trade
				name, group designation, name of the parent company of the viatical settlement
				provider, name of a particular division of the viatical settlement provider,
				service mark, slogan, symbol, or other device or reference without disclosing
				the name of the viatical settlement provider, if the advertisement would have
				the capacity or tendency to mislead or deceive as to the true identity of the
				viatical settlement provider, or create the impression that a company other
				than the viatical settlement provider would have any responsibility for the
				financial obligation under a viatical settlement contract or viatical
				settlement purchase agreement.
6. A
				provider may not use any terminology, logo, or words so similar to the name of
				a governmental agency or governmental program as to have the tendency to
				confuse, deceive, or mislead a prospective viator. Further, a provider shall
				not use an advertisement that would create the impression that a division or
				agency of the state or federal government endorses, approves, or favors the
				provider, the financial condition or business practices of the provider, agents
				for the provider, or the merits of any viatical settlement contract.
7. Each viatical settlement provider shall
				file with the Commissioner with its annual statement a certificate of
				compliance executed by an authorized officer of the viatical settlement
				provider stating that to the best of his or her knowledge, information and
				belief, the advertisements that were disseminated or seen or heard in this
				state by or on behalf of the viatical settlement provider during the preceding
				statement year complied or were made to comply in all respects with the
				provisions of this regulation and
Miss. Code
				Ann
.§
										83-7-215(3).