Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 230 - Department of Business Regulation › Chapter 20 - Insurance › Subchapter 25 - LIFE AND ANNUITIES › Part 5 - Advertisements of Life Insurance and Annuities (230-RICR-20-25-5) › Section 230-RICR-20-25-5.6 - Disclosure Requirements

Current through June 14, 2024
A. 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 be confusing or misleading.
B. An advertisement shall not omit material
				  information or use words, phrases, statements, references or illustrations if
				  the omission or use has the capacity, tendency or effect of misleading or
				  deceiving purchasers or prospective purchasers as to the nature or extent of
				  any policy benefit payable, loss covered, premium payable, Life Insurance
				  Advertising 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 or that the policy or contract includes a "free
				  look" period that satisfies or exceeds regulatory requirements, does not remedy
				  misleading statements.
C. In the
				  event an advertisement uses "non-medical," "no medical examination required,"
				  or similar terms where issue is not guaranteed, 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 set forth in the application.
D. An advertisement shall not use as the name
				  or title of a life insurance policy any phrase that does not include the words
				  "life insurance" unless accompanied by other language clearly indicating it is
				  life insurance. An advertisement shall not use as the name or title of an
				  annuity contract any phrase that does not include the word "annuity" unless
				  accompanied by other language clearly indicating it is an annuity. An annuity
				  advertisement shall not refer to an annuity as a CD annuity, or deceptively
				  compare an annuity to a certificate of deposit.
E. An advertisement shall prominently
				  describe the type of policy advertised.
F. An advertisement of an insurance policy
				  marketed by direct response techniques shall not state or imply that because
				  there is no insurance producer or commission involved there will be a cost
				  saving to prospective purchasers unless that is the fact. No cost savings may
				  be stated or implied without justification satisfactory to the commissioner
				  prior to use.
G. An advertisement
				  for a life insurance 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, that fact shall be
				  commonly disclosed. An advertisement of or for a life insurance policy under
				  which the death benefit varies with the length of time the policy has been in
				  force shall accurately describe and clearly call attention to the amount of
				  minimum death benefit under the policy.
H. An advertisement for the types of policies
				  described in Subsections F and G of this section shall not use the words
				  "inexpensive," "low cost," or other phrase or words of similar import when the
				  policies being marketed are guaranteed issue.
I. Premiums
1. An advertisement for a policy with
				  non-level premiums shall prominently describe the premium changes.
2. An advertisement in which the insurer
				  describes a policy where it reserves the right to change the amount of the
				  premium during the policy term, but which does not prominently describe this
				  feature, is deemed to be deceptive and misleading and is prohibited.
3. An advertisement shall not contain a
				  statement or representation that premiums paid for a life insurance policy can
				  be withdrawn under the terms of the policy. Reference may be made to amounts
				  paid into an advance premium fund, which are intended to pay premiums at a
				  future time, to the effect that they may be withdrawn under the conditions of
				  the prepayment agreement. Reference may also be made to withdrawal rights under
				  any unconditional premium refund offer.
4. An advertisement that represents that a
				  pure endowment benefit has a "profit" or "return" on the premium paid, rather
				  than a policy benefit for which a specified premium is paid is deemed to be
				  deceptive and misleading and is prohibited.
5. An advertisement shall not represent in
				  any way that premium payments will not be required for each year of the policy
				  in order to maintain the illustrated death benefits, unless that is the
				  fact.
6. An advertisement shall not
				  use the term "vanish" or "vanishing premium," or a similar term that implies
				  the policy becomes paid up, to describe a plan using nonguaranteed elements to
				  pay a portion of future premiums.