Tennessee § 56-12-218 - Sales promotions listing association prohibited — Disclaimer notice.

§ 56-12-218. Sales promotions listing association prohibited — Disclaimer notice.

No person, including a member insurer or agent or affiliate of a member insurer shall make, publish, disseminate, circulate, or place before the public, or cause directly or indirectly to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, or placed before the public in any newspaper, magazine, or other publication, or in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter, or poster, or over any radio or television broadcast, or in any other way, any advertisement, announcement, or statement, written or oral, that uses the existence of the Tennessee life and health insurance guaranty association for the purpose of sales, solicitation, or inducement to purchase any form of insurance or other coverage covered by this part. However, this section does not apply to the Tennessee life and health insurance guaranty association or any other entity that does not sell or solicit insurance or coverage by a health maintenance organization. The association shall prepare a summary document that describes the general purposes and current limitations of this part and that complies with subsection (c). This document must be submitted to the commissioner for approval. At the expiration of the sixtieth day after the date on which the commissioner approves the document, a member insurer shall not deliver a policy or contract to a policy owner, contract owner, certificate holder, or enrollee unless the summary document is delivered to the policy owner, contract owner, certificate holder, or enrollee at the time of delivery of the policy or contract. The document must also be available upon request by a policy owner, contract owner, certificate holder, or enrollee. The distribution, delivery, or contents or interpretation of this document does not guarantee that either the policy or the contract, or the policy owner, contract owner, certificate holder, or enrollee is covered in the event of the impairment or insolvency of a member insurer. The association shall revise the document as amendments to this part require. Failure to receive the summary document does not give the policy owner, contract owner, certificate holder, enrollee, or insured any greater rights than those stated in this part. The document prepared under subsection (b) must contain a clear and conspicuous disclaimer on its face. The commissioner shall establish the form and content of the disclaimer. The disclaimer must: State the name and address of the Tennessee life and health insurance guaranty association and department of commerce and insurance; Prominently warn the policy owner, contract owner, certificate holder, or enrollee that the Tennessee life and health insurance guaranty association may not cover the policy or contract or, if coverage is available, it will be subject to substantial limitations and exclusions and conditioned on continued residence in this state; State the types of policies or contracts for which guaranty funds will provide coverage; State that the member insurer and its agents are prohibited by law from using the existence of the Tennessee life and health insurance guaranty association for the purpose of sales, solicitation, or inducement to purchase any form of insurance or health maintenance organization coverage; State that the policy owner, contract owner, certificate holder, or enrollee should not rely on coverage under the Tennessee life and health insurance guaranty association when selecting an insurer or health maintenance organization; Explain the rights available and procedures provided for filing a complaint to allege a violation of this part; and Provide other information as directed by the commissioner, including, but not limited to, sources for information about the financial condition of insurers; provided, that the information is not proprietary or is not protected from disclosure under Tennessee's public records law. A member insurer shall retain evidence of compliance with subsection (b) for so long as the policy or contract for which the notice is given remains in effect. Acts 1988, ch. 1032, § 18; 2019, ch. 5, § 7. Amendments. The 2019 amendment rewrote the section, which read:“(a) No person, including an insurer, agent or affiliate of an insurer, shall make, publish, disseminate, circulate, or place before the public, or cause, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated or placed before the public, in any newspaper, magazine or other publication, or in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter or poster, or over any radio station or television station, or in any other way, any advertisement, announcement or statement, written or oral, which uses the existence of the association for the purpose of sales solicitation, or inducement to purchase any form of insurance covered by this part. “(b) The association shall prepare a summary document describing the general purposes and current limitations of this part and complying with subsection (c). This document shall be submitted to the commissioner for approval. Sixty (60) days after receiving the approval, no insurer may deliver a policy or contract described in § 56-12-204(b)(1) to a policy or contract holder, unless the document is delivered to the policy or contract holder prior to or at the time of delivery of the policy or contract, except if subsection (d) applies. The document shall also be available upon request by a policyholder. The distribution, delivery, or contents or interpretation of this document shall not mean that either the policy or the contract or the holder thereof would be covered in the event of the impairment or insolvency of a member insurer. The description document shall be revised by the association as amendments to this part may require. Failure to receive this document does not give the policyholder, contract holder, certificate holder, or insured any greater rights than those stated in this part.“(c) The document prepared pursuant to subsection (b) shall contain a clear and conspicuous disclaimer on its face. The commissioner shall promulgate a rule establishing the form and content of the disclaimer. The disclaimer shall: “(1) State the name and address of the life and health insurance guaranty association and the department of commerce and insurance; “(2) Prominently warn the policy or contract holder that the life and health insurance guaranty association may not cover the policy or, if coverage is available, it will be subject to substantial limitations and exclusions and will be conditioned on continued residence in the state; “(3) State that the insurer and its agents are prohibited by law from using the existence of the life and health insurance guaranty association for the purpose of sales, solicitation or inducement to purchase any form of insurance; “(4) Emphasize that the policy or contract holder should not rely on coverage under the life and health insurance guaranty association when selecting an insurer; and “(5) Provide other information as directed by the commissioner.“(d) No insurer or agent may deliver a policy or contract described in § 56-12-204(b)(1) and excluded by § 56-12-204(b)(2)(A) from coverage under this part unless the insurer or agent, prior to or at the time of delivery, gives the policy or contract holder a separate written notice that clearly and conspicuously discloses that the policy or contract is not covered by the life and health insurance guaranty association. The commissioner shall by rule specify the form and content of the notice.“(e) This section does not apply to the association or any other entity that does not sell or solicit insurance.” Effective Dates. Acts 2019, ch. 5, § 9. July 1, 2019.