Washington Administrative Code › Title 284 - Insurance Commissioner, Office of the › Chapter 284-23 - Washington life insurance regulations › ADVERTISING REGULATION › Section 284-23-050 - Disclosure requirements

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) The
				information required to be disclosed by these rules 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.
(2) No advertisement shall omit material
				information or use words, phrases, statements, references or illustrations if
				such omission or such 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 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, does not
				remedy misleading statements.
(3)
				In the event an advertisement uses "nonmedical," "no medical examination
				required," or similar terms where issue is not guaranteed, such 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.
(4) An
				advertisement shall not use as the name or title of a life insurance policy or
				an annuity any phrase which does not include the words "life insurance" or
				"annuity" unless accompanied by other language clearly indicating it is life
				insurance or an annuity.
(5) An
				advertisement shall prominently describe the type of policy
				advertised.
(6) An advertisement of
				an insurance policy marketed by direct response techniques shall not state or
				imply that because there is no agent or commission involved there will be a
				cost saving to prospective purchasers unless such is the fact. No such cost
				savings may be stated or implied without justification satisfactory to the
				insurance commissioner prior to use.
(7) An advertisement for a 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, such fact shall be prominently disclosed.
(8) An advertisement for a policy with
				nonlevel premiums shall prominently describe the premium changes.
(9) With respect to dividends:
(a) An advertisement shall not utilize or
				describe dividends in a manner which is misleading or has the capacity or the
				tendency to mislead.
(b) An
				advertisement shall not state or imply that the payment or amount of dividends
				is guaranteed. If dividends are illustrated, they must be based on the
				insurer's current dividend scale and the illustration must contain a statement
				to the effect that they are not to be construed as guarantees or estimates of
				dividends to be paid in the future.
(c) An advertisement shall not state or imply
				that illustrated dividends under a participating policy and/or pure endowments
				will be or can be sufficient at any future time to assure, without the further
				payment of premiums, the receipt of benefits, such as a paid-up policy, unless
				the advertisement clearly and precisely explains what benefits or coverage
				would be provided at such time and under what conditions this would
				occur.