Virginia Administrative Code › Title 14 - INSURANCE › Agency 5 - STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION, BUREAU OF INSURANCE › Chapter 41 - RULES GOVERNING ADVERTISEMENT OF LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES › Section 14VAC5-41-90 - Insurer identity and representations

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. An advertisement shall not contain
				statements, pictures, comparative financial ratios, or illustrations that are
				false, misleading, or irrelevant in fact or by implication, with respect to the
				assets, liabilities, insurance in force, corporate structure, financial
				condition, age, or relative position of the insurer in the insurance business
				or with regard to affiliates or subsidiaries of the insurer. An advertisement
				shall not contain a recommendation by any commercial rating service unless it
				clearly defines the scope and extent of the recommendation.
B. An advertisement shall not state or imply
				that a purchaser of a policy will share in or receive a stated percentage or
				portion of the earnings on the general account assets of the insurer unless
				that is a fact.
C. The name of the
				insurer shall be clearly identified in all advertisements about the insurer or
				its products, and if any specific policy is advertised it shall be identified
				either by its form number or other appropriate description. If an application
				is a part of the advertisement, the name of the insurer shall be shown on the
				application.
D. An advertisement
				shall not use a trade name, an insurance group designation, name of the parent
				company of the insurer, name of a particular division of the insurer, a
				reinsurer of the insurer, service mark, slogan, symbol, or other device or
				reference without disclosing the name of the insurer if the advertisement would
				have the capacity or tendency to mislead or deceive as to the true identity of
				the insurer, or create the impression that a company other than the insurer
				would have any responsibility for the financial obligations under a
				policy.
E. An advertisement shall
				not use any combination of words, symbols, or physical materials that by their
				content, phraseology, shape, color, or other characteristics are so similar to
				a combination of words, symbols, or physical materials used by a governmental
				program or agency or otherwise appear to be of a nature that they tend to
				mislead prospective insureds into believing that the solicitation is in some
				manner connected with a governmental program or agency.
F. An advertisement shall not use any
				combination of words, symbols, or physical materials that by their content,
				phraseology, shape, color, or other characteristics are so similar to a
				combination of words, symbols, or physical materials used by a noninsurance
				company with whom the prospective insured has a financial relationship or
				otherwise appear to be of a nature that it tends to mislead or deceive the
				prospective insured into believing that the purchase of insurance is required
				by the company.
G. An advertisement
				shall not represent that the mere size of an insurer or its total insurance in
				force necessarily affects either the solvency of the insurer or the reliability
				of the policies issued by the insurer.
H. An advertisement shall not contain any
				statement that would lead a prospective buyer or policyholder of life insurance
				or annuity to believe that he is acquiring stock in an insurer by purchasing
				the life insurance or annuity.
I.
				An advertisement shall not contain any statement that creates an inference that
				policyholders are entitled to benefits or profits on the same basis as
				stockholders.
J. An insurer or
				agent shall not use the terms "financial planner," "investment advisor,"
				"financial consultant," "financial counseling" or other similar terms in a way
				that implies that the person who is engaged in the business of insurance, is
				generally engaged in an advisory business in which compensation is unrelated to
				sales unless that is actually a fact. No person engaged in the business of
				insurance shall hold himself out, directly or indirectly, to the public as a
				"financial planner," "investment advisor," "financial consultant," "financial
				counselor" or any other specialist engaged in the business of giving complete
				financial planning advice relating to investments, insurance, real estate, tax
				matters, and trust and estate matters unless that person in fact is engaged in
				that business and renders those services. Not included in "services" is the
				presentation of computer printouts that fall into the category of advanced
				programming for the purpose of selling a policy.
K. An advertisement of a policy marketed by
				direct response techniques shall not state or imply that because there is no
				insurance agent or commission involved there will be a cost savings to
				prospective purchasers unless that is the fact.
L. An insurer or agent shall not use
				materials, statements, or communications of any kind that when used alone are
				not misleading, but become deceptive or misleading when combined.
M. An insurer or agent shall not offer or
				provide to a proposed insured or other person a gift of substantial value if an
				application, inquiry card, or reinstatement application is returned within a
				specified period of time. For purposes of this subsection, a nonmonetary gift
				valued at $25 or less shall not be considered a gift of substantial
				value.
Statutory Authority
§§ 12.1-13 and 38.2-223 of the Code of
					 Virginia.