Chapter 15. UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES

DISCLOSURE FORM FOR SMALL FACE AMOUNT LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES Important Information About Your Policy The premiums you’ll pay for your policy may be more than the amount of your coverage (the face amount). You can find both the face amount and the annual premium in your policy. L…

Annuity Illustration Example [The following illustration is an example only and does not reflect specific characteristics of any actual product for sale by any company] ABC Life Insurance Company Company Product Name Flexible Premium Fixed Deferred Annuity with a Market Value Adj…

INSURANCE AGENT (PRODUCER) DISCLOSURE FOR ANNUITIES Do Not Sign Unless You Have Read and Understand the Information in this Form Date:________________________________ INSURANCE AGENT (PRODUCER) INFORMATION (“Me”, “I”, “My”) First Name: ____________________________ Last Name: ____…

CONSUMER REFUSAL TO PROVIDE INFORMATION Do Not Sign Unless You Have Read and Understand the Information in this Form Why are you being given this form? You’re buying a financial product – an annuity. To recommend a product that effectively meets your needs, objectives and situati…

Consumer Decision to Purchase an Annuity NOT Based on a Recommendation Do Not Sign This Form Unless You Have Read and Understand It. Why are you being given this form? You are buying a financial product – an annuity. To recommend a product that effectively meets your needs, objec…

This chapter is intended to establish certain minimum standards and guidelines of conduct by identifying unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the business of insurance, as prohibited by Iowa Code chapter 507B. [ARC 7734C, IAB 3/20/24, effecti…

15.10(1) Contents of notice. Automobile insurance policies delivered in this state shall include a notice that contains and is limited to the following language: NOTICE REGARDING UNINSURED/UNDERINSURED COVERAGE Uninsured/underinsured coverage does not cover damage done to your ve…

15.11(1) Sex discrimination. a. A contract shall not be denied to an individual based solely on that individual’s sex or marital status. No benefits, terms, conditions or type of coverage shall be restricted, modified, excluded, or reduced on the basis of the sex or marital statu…

15.12(1) Written release. No insurer shall obtain a test of any individual in connection with an application for insurance for the presence of an antibody to the human immunodeficiency virus unless the individual to be tested provides a written release on a form that contains the…

15.13(1) Complaint and business records. a. An insurer shall maintain its books, records, documents and other business records in such an order that data regarding complaints, claims, rating, underwriting and marketing are accessible and retrievable for examination by the insuran…

15.14(1) If, after hearing, the commissioner determines that a person has engaged in an unfair trade practice in violation of these rules, an unfair method of competition, or an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of Iowa Code chapter 507B, the commissioner shall red…

“Advertisement” for the purpose of these rules means material designed to create public interest in insurance or an insurer, or to induce the public to purchase, increase, modify, reinstate or retain a policy including: 1. Printed and published material, audio and visual material…

15.3(1) Form and content of advertisements. The format and content of an advertisement shall be truthful and sufficiently complete and clear to avoid deception or the capacity or tendency to misrepresent or deceive. Whether an advertisement has a capacity or tendency to misrepres…

No insurer shall issue checks or drafts in partial settlement of a loss or claim under a specific coverage that contains language purporting to release the insurer or its insured from total liability. [ARC 7734C, IAB 3/20/24, effective 4/24/24]

Effective July 1, 2002, the following provisions apply: 15.32(1) Definitions and scope. a. For purposes of this rule, the following definitions apply: “Circumstance requiring special treatment” means: 1. A claim that an insurer has a reasonable basis to suspect may be fraudulent …

15.33(1) Prohibitions. This rule applies to all claims paid on or after January 1, 2002: a. Absent a reasonable basis to suspect fraud, an insurer may not audit a claim more than two years after the submission of the claim to the insurer. Nothing in this rule prohibits an insurer…

15.4(1) The definition of terms applicable to this rule and its appendices will be found in Appendix I. 15.4(2) Except as hereafter exempted, this rule shall apply to any solicitation, negotiation or procurement of life insurance occurring within this state. This rule shall apply…

For purposes of this rule, “insurer” means property and casualty insurers. 15.41(1) An insurer shall fully disclose to first-party claimants all pertinent benefits, coverages or other provisions of a policy or contract under which a claim is presented. 15.41(2) Within 30 days aft…

For purposes of this rule, “insurer” means property and casualty insurers. 15.42(1) Upon receiving notification of a claim, an insurer shall, within 15 days, acknowledge the receipt of such notice unless payment is made within that period of time. If an acknowledgment is made by …

15.43(1) Loss calculation and deviation guidelines. a. Loss calculation. When the insurance policy provides for the adjustment and settlement of first- party automobile total losses on the basis of actual cash value or replacement with another automobile of like kind and quality,…

15.44(1) Replacement cost. When the policy provides for the adjustment and settlement of first-party losses based on replacement cost, the following shall apply: a. When a loss requires repair or replacement of an item or part, any consequential physical damage incurred in making…

15.45(1) Identification. All aftermarket crash parts supplied for use in this state shall comply with the identification requirements of Iowa Code section 537B.4. 15.45(2) Like kind and quality. An insurer shall not require the use of aftermarket crash parts in the repair of an a…

The sale of duplicate Medicare supplement insurance is prohibited. [ARC 7734C, IAB 3/20/24, effective 4/24/24]

The purpose of these rules is to ensure the provision of meaningful information to the purchasers of small face amount life insurance policies. The rules in this division apply to all small face amount policies not exempted under rule 191—15.53(507B) that are issued on or after J…

“Small face amount policy” means a life insurance policy or certificate with an initial face amount of $15,000 or less. [ARC 7734C, IAB 3/20/24, effective 4/24/24]

These rules apply to all group and individual life insurance policies and certificates except: 1. Variable life insurance; 2. Individual and group annuity contracts; 3. Credit life insurance; 4. Group or individual policies of life insurance issued to members of an employer group…

15.54(1) An insurer issuing a small face amount policy shall provide the disclosure included in Appendix IV if at any point in time over the term of the policy the cumulative premiums paid may exceed the face amount of the policy at that point in time. The required disclosure sha…

The insurer and its producers shall have a duty to provide information to policyholders or certificate holders that ask questions about the disclosure statement. [ARC 7734C, IAB 3/20/24, effective 4/24/24] 191—15.56 to 15.60 Reserved. DIVISION IV ANNUITY DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS…

The purpose of the rules in Division IV of this chapter is to provide standards for the disclosure of certain minimum information about annuity contracts to protect consumers and to foster consumer education. The rules specify the minimum information that must be disclosed, the m…

These rules apply to all annuities not exempted under this rule for which applications are taken on or after January 1, 2013, except that rule 191—15.66(507B) applies to all annuities not exempted under this rule that are in effect or for which applications are taken on or after …

For purposes of these rules: “Buyer’s Guide” means the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ approved Annuity Buyer’s Guide. “Contract owner” means the owner named in the annuity contract or the certificate holder in the case of a group annuity contract. “Determinable …

15.64(1) Delivery methods. The documents required under this rule may be delivered as follows: a. When an application for an annuity contract is taken in a face-to-face meeting, the applicant shall be given at or before the time of application both the disclosure document describ…

15.65(1) At a minimum, the following information shall be included in the disclosure document required to be provided under these rules: a. The generic name of the contract, the company product name, if different, and form number and the fact that it is an annuity; b. The insurer…

15.66(1) An insurer or producer may elect to provide a consumer an illustration at any time, provided that the illustration is in compliance with this rule and: a. Is clearly labeled as an illustration; b. Includes a statement referring consumers to the disclosure document and Bu…

For annuities in the payout period that include nonguaranteed elements and for deferred annuities in the accumulation period, the insurer shall provide each contract owner with a report, at least annually, on the status of the contract that contains at least the following informa…

In addition to any other penalties provided by the laws of this state, an insurer or producer that violates a requirement of these rules shall be guilty of a violation of Iowa Code chapter 507B. [ARC 7734C, IAB 3/20/24, effective 4/24/24]

If any provision of these rules or the application of these rules to any person or circumstance is for any reason held to be invalid by any court of law, the remainder of the rule and its application to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected. [ARC 7734C, IAB 3/20/24…

No insurer or producer shall engage in the act of twisting. [ARC 7734C, IAB 3/20/24, effective 4/24/24]

The purpose of these rules is to require producers, as defined in rule 191—15.74(507B), to act in the best interest of the consumer when making a recommendation of an annuity and to require insurers to establish and maintain a system to supervise recommendations so that the insur…

15.73(1) These rules shall apply to any sale or recommendation of an annuity on or after January 1, 2021. 15.73(2) Unless otherwise specifically included, these rules do not apply to transactions involving: a. Direct-response solicitations where there is no recommendation based o…

For purposes of this division: “Annuity” means an annuity that is an insurance product under state law, individually solicited, whether the product is classified as an individual or group annuity. “Cash compensation” means any discount, concession, fee, service fee, commission, s…

15.75(1) Best interest obligations. A producer, when making a recommendation of an annuity, shall act in the best interest of the consumer under the circumstances known at the time the recommendation is made, without placing the producer’s or the insurer’s financial interest ahea…

15.76(1) A producer shall not solicit the sale of an annuity product unless the producer has adequate knowledge of the product to recommend the annuity and the producer is in compliance with the insurer’s standards for product training. A producer may rely on insurer-provided pro…

15.77(1) An insurer is responsible for compliance with this regulation. If a violation occurs, either because of the action or inaction of the insurer or its producer, the commissioner may order: a. An insurer to take reasonably appropriate corrective action for any consumer harm…

15.78(1) Insurers, general agents, independent agencies, and producers shall maintain or be able to make available to the commissioner records of the information collected from the consumer, disclosures made to the consumer (including summaries of oral disclosures) and other info…

15.8(1) Required disclosures. A producer shall inform the prospective purchaser, prior to commencing an insurance sales presentation, that the producer is acting as an insurance producer and inform the prospective purchaser of the producer’s full name and the full name of the ins…

The purpose of the rules in this division is to require certain specific minimum training for insurance producers who wish to sell indexed annuities or indexed life insurance in Iowa. This additional training is necessary due to the complex nature of these indexed products and to…