Indiana Administrative Code › Title 760 - DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE › Article 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Rule 18 - Accident and Sickness Insurance-Advertising › Section 18-8 - Testimonials in advertising

Current through July 10, 2024
Authority: IC 27-1-3-7
Affected: IC 27-4-1-4
Sec. 8.
TESTIMONIALS. Testimonials used in advertisements must be
				  genuine, represent the current opinion of the author, be applicable to the
				  policy advertised and be accurately reproduced. The insurer, in using a
				  testimonial, makes as its own all of the statements contained therein, and the
				  advertisement including such statements is subject to all of the provisions of
				  these rules
[ 760 IAC 1-18 ]
.
Interpretation of Section B 5
[this
				  section]
The purpose of this Section is to establish certain
				  requirements to be observed when using testimonials in advertisements.
				  Considering the rule in its component parts: first, all testimonials must be
				  genuine. They must not be fictitious. Under this rule, the manufacturing,
				  unscrupulous editing or "doctoring up" of a testimonial is clearly prohibited
				  as being false and misleading.
Next, the testimonial must represent the current opinion of
				  the author. When a testimonial is submitted in good faith, setting forth
				  appreciation for benefits and favorable treatment received from an insurer, it
				  follows, as a natural corollary, that the use of such testimonial must be
				  limited to those instances where the testimonial, no matter when written, is
				  still representative of the current opinion of the author. In other words, at
				  the time of publication, the author should still believe what he had originally
				  stated. The purpose of this requirement is to eliminate, as misleading, the use
				  of testimonials in those cases where it is reasonable to presume that the views
				  expressed in the testimonial do not correctly reflect current opinion of the
				  author. It is conceivable that the writer of a testimonial, for one reason or
				  another, might change his mind and no longer entertain the views originally
				  expressed. This does not mean, per se, that an insurer, in each instance, is
				  required to check with the author each time his testimonial is used to
				  ascertain that the views expressed have not altered; but an insurer may not use
				  a testimonial when it has information indicating a substantial change of view
				  on the part of the author. A testimonial should be checked before use in those
				  instances when a change of views might be probable or reasonable to assume,
				  particularly by virtue of the passage of a considerable period of time. In this
				  connection an insurer should not use a testimonial for more than two years
				  after the date it is originally given or following a prior confirmation without
				  obtaining a confirmation from the author that the testimonial represents his
				  then current opinion.
This Section, furthermore, prohibits testimonials which do
				  not correctly reflect the present practices of the insurer. In other words, a
				  testimonial even though recently written and otherwise usable under this
				  Section, cannot be used if its statements describe practices no longer followed
				  by the insurer. Such a testimonial would clearly be misleading.
A further possible misuse of testimonials is prohibited under
				  the third part of the Section in which it is required that the testimonial must
				  be applicable to the policy or benefit being advertised. This is intended to
				  eliminate the using of a testimonial given in connection with one policy to
				  advertise another policy where such use would be misleading. This, of course,
				  does not apply to testimonials of a general nature in which the author
				  expresses appreciation for courteous treatment received, the prompt payment of
				  benefits, and so forth.
Finally, this Section states that the testimonial must be
				  accurately reproduced. Any change or omission which distorts the plain meaning
				  or intent of the testimonial as originally written is prohibited. However, a
				  testimonial need not stand or fall in its entirety as originally written.
				  Certainly if a testimonial should reveal information of a personal nature or
				  contain a statement that is not absolutely correct insofar as company
				  procedures or practices are concerned, an insurer may omit such matter from a
				  testimonial and then use the residual matter in its advertising, provided, of
				  course, that in so doing the original view is not distorted. Also, a portion or
				  a segment of a testimonial can be used provided such use does not result in a
				  meaning different from that when such excerpt appeared in context in the
				  original testimonial. The basic purpose is to prohibit distortion of the
				  original views expressed in the testimonials in such manner that their use
				  would be misleading.
The purpose of the last sentence of the Section is to place
				  responsibility for the truthfulness and accuracy of the testimonial on the
				  insurer, and to prevent an insurer from avoiding the other requirements of the
				  rules by the exclusive use of testimonial advertising. For example, if a
				  testimonial refers to the dollar amount of any benefit, period of time for
				  which any benefit is payable, or the cost of any benefit or policy, it would
				  fall within the scope of Section B 2(b)
[
				  760
				  IAC 1-18-5(b) ]
and other
				  applicable sections of the Rules
[ 760 IAC 1-18 ]
in the same
				  manner as any other advertisements. However, a mere recital of the amount a
				  company had paid to a claimant over a designated period of time in connection
				  with a specific claim would not in itself render the testimonial subject to
				  Section B 2(b)
[
				  760
				  IAC 1-18-5(b) ]
.
When the amount of aggregate benefits which have been paid to
				  a particular claimant are recited in a testimonial, the statement of this claim
				  payment should not have the capacity and tendency to mislead a reader as to the
				  true nature of the insurance coverage for which the payment was made. For
				  example, if the author of a testimonial owned a loss-of-time policy which had
				  paid him $600 loss-of-time benefits for a three-month disability, it might
				  create the impression that the policy paid for hospital expenses if he said,
				  "When I was in the hospital for three months, the company paid me $600.00."