Washington Administrative Code › Title 284 - Insurance Commissioner, Office of the › Chapter 284-50 - Washington disability insurance regulations › ADVERTISING › Section 284-50-060 - Deceptive words, phrases, or illustrations prohibited

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) No advertisement shall omit information
				or use words, phrases, statements, references, or illustrations if the omission
				of such information or use of such words, phrases, statements, references, or
				illustrations 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, or premium payable. 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.
(2) No advertisement shall contain or use
				words or phrases such as, "all"; "full"; "complete"; "comprehensive";
				"unlimited"; "up to"; "as high as"; "this policy will help pay your hospital
				and surgical bills"; "this policy will help fill some of the gaps that medicare
				and your present insurance leave out"; "this policy will help to replace your
				income" (when used to express loss of time benefits); or similar words and
				phrases, in a manner which exaggerates any benefits beyond the terms of the
				policy.
(3) An advertisement shall
				not contain descriptions of a policy limitation, exception, or reduction,
				worded in a positive manner to imply that it is a benefit, such as, describing
				a waiting period as a "benefit builder," or stating "even preexisting
				conditions are covered after two years." Words and phrases used in an
				advertisement to describe such policy limitations, exceptions, and reductions
				shall fairly and accurately describe the negative features of such limitations,
				exceptions, and reductions of the policy offered.
(4) No advertisement of a benefit for which
				payment is conditional upon confinement in a hospital or similar facility shall
				use words or phrases such as "extra cash"; "extra income"; "extra pay"; or
				substantially similar words or phrases because such words and phrases have the
				capacity, tendency, or effect of misleading the public into believing that the
				policy advertised will, in some way, enable them to make a profit from being
				hospitalized.
(5) No advertisement
				of a hospital or other similar facility confinement benefit shall advertise
				that the amount of the benefit is payable on a monthly or weekly basis when, in
				fact, the amount of the benefit payable is based upon a daily pro rata basis
				relating to the number of days of confinement. When the policy contains a limit
				on the number of days of coverage provided, such limit must appear in the
				advertisement.
(6) No advertisement
				of a policy covering only one disease or a list of specified diseases shall
				imply coverage beyond the terms of the policy. Synonymous terms shall not be
				used to refer to any disease so as to imply broader coverage than is the
				fact.
(7) An advertisement for a
				policy providing benefits for specified illnesses only, such as cancer, or for
				specified accidents only, such as automobile accidents, shall clearly and
				conspicuously in prominent type state the limited nature of the policy. The
				statement shall be worded in language identical to, or substantially similar to
				the following: "THIS IS A LIMITED POLICY"; "THIS IS A CANCER ONLY POLICY";
				"THIS IS AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT ONLY POLICY."
(8) An advertisement of a direct response
				insurance product shall not imply that because "no insurance agent will call
				and no commissions will be paid to agents" that it is "a low cost plan," or use
				other similar words or phrases because the cost of advertising and servicing
				such policies is a substantial cost in the marketing of a direct response
				insurance product.
(9) The phrase
				"tax free" shall not be used in or as a heading, caption, or title in any
				advertisement and shall not be unduly or deceptively emphasized, but it may be
				used in connection with a reasonably complete explanation of the Internal
				Revenue Service rules applicable to the particular benefits afforded by the
				policy or policies advertised.
Order R-73-1, §
											284-50-060, filed 2/28/73,
					 effective 4/1/73.