Title 58 — INSURANCE

This chapter applies to all individual and group health policies which are solicited or sold in this state that are subject to chapters 58-15 , 58-16 , 58-17 , 58-18 , 58-18B , 58-37A , 58-38 , 58-39 , 58-40 , and 58-41 . However, this chapter does not apply to insurance policies…

Any advertisements shall be truthful and not materially misleading in fact or by implication. The form and content of an advertisement of a policy shall be sufficiently complete and clear so as to avoid deception. No advertisement may have the capacity and tendency to materially …

Each insurer shall maintain at its home or principal office a complete file containing a specimen copy of every printed, published, or prepared advertisement of its policies and specimen copies of typical printed, published, or prepared advertisements of its blanket, franchise, a…

If the director has reason to believe that an advertisement has the capacity and tendency to mislead or deceive the public or otherwise does not comply with this chapter or the rules promulgated pursuant to this chapter, the director may require an insurer or insurance producer t…

Terms used in §§ 58-33A-14 to 58-33A-27 , inclusive, mean: (1) "Annuity," an annuity that is an insurance product under state law that is individually solicited, whether the product is classified as an individual or group annuity; (2) "Cash compensation," any discount, concession…

Sections 58-33A-13 to 58-33A-27 , inclusive, apply to any recommendation or sale of an annuity. The purpose of §§ 58-33A-13 to 58-33A-27 , inclusive, is to require producers, as defined in § 58-33A-13 , to act in the best interest of the consumer when making a recommendation of a…

Unless otherwise specifically included, §§ 58-33A-13 to 58-33A-27 , inclusive, do not apply to any transactions involving: (1) A direct response solicitation if there is no recommendation based on information collected from the consumer pursuant to §§ 58-33A-13 to 58-33A-27 , inc…

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 ahead of the consumer’s interest. For pu…

Producers must, in making a recommendation: (1) Exercise reasonable diligence, care, and skill to: (a) Know the consumer’s financial situation, insurance needs, and financial objectives; (b) Understand the available recommendation options after making a reasonable inquiry into op…

The requirements of § 58-33A-16.1 : (1) Apply to the particular annuity as a whole, the underlying subaccounts to which funds are allocated at the time of purchase or exchange of an annuity, and riders and similar product enhancements; (2) Create a regulatory obligation but do no…

In the case of an exchange or replacement of an annuity, the producer shall consider the whole transaction, which include taking into consideration whether: (1) The consumer will incur a surrender charge, be subject to the commencement of a new surrender period, lose existing ben…

Prior to or at the time of the recommendation or sale of an annuity, the producer shall have a reasonable basis to believe the consumer has been informed of various features of the annuity including the potential surrender period and surrender charge, potential tax penalty if the…

Prior to or at the time of the recommendation or sale of an annuity, the producer shall prominently disclose to the consumer on a form substantially similar to the form prescribed by the director and available on the division’s website: (1) A description of the scope and terms of…

Upon request of the consumer or the consumer’s designated representative, the producer shall disclose: (1) A reasonable estimate of the amount of cash compensation to be received by the producer, which may be stated as a range of amounts or percentages; and (2) Whether the cash c…

A producer shall identify and avoid or reasonably manage and disclose material conflicts of interest, including material conflicts of interest related to an ownership interest. The following factors, when considered in isolation, are not material conflicts of interest: (1) The pr…

Source: SL 2008, ch 273 , § 5; SL 2012, ch 250 , § 2; SL 2022, ch 186 , § 6.

Source: SL 2012, ch 250 , § 3; SL 2022, ch 186 , § 5.

Except as provided pursuant to § 58-33A-19 , a producer has no obligation to a consumer under §§ 58-33A-16.1 to 58-33A-16.3 , inclusive, and § 58-33A-17 related to any annuity transaction if: (1) A consumer refuses to provide relevant consumer profile information and the annuity …

An insurer's issuance of an annuity subject to § 58-33A-18 shall be reasonable under all the circumstances actually known to the insurer at the time the annuity is issued. Source: SL 2008, ch 273 , § 7; SL 2012, ch 250 , § 5; SL 2022, ch 186 , § 17, eff. Jan. 1, 2023.

Source: SL 2012, ch 250 , § 6; SL 2022, ch 186 , § 18.

A producer shall, at the time of the recommendation or sale: (1) Make a written record of any recommendation and the basis for the recommendation subject to the obligations required in §§ 58-33A-13 to 58-33A-27 , inclusive; (2) Obtain a consumer signed statement on a form substan…

Except as permitted under §§ 58-33A-18 and 58-33A-19 , an insurer may not issue an annuity recommended to a consumer unless there is a reasonable basis to believe the annuity would effectively address the particular consumer’s financial situation, insurance needs, and financial o…

The purpose of this chapter is to establish guidelines and permissible and impermissible standards of conduct in the solicitation of and advertising of life and health insurance in a manner which: (1) Prevents unfair, deceptive, and misleading advertising; (2) Is conducive to acc…

An insurer shall establish and maintain a supervision system that is reasonably designed to achieve compliance with §§ 58-33A-13 to 58-33A-27 , inclusive, including: (1) The insurer shall establish and maintain reasonable procedures to inform its producers of the requirements of …

Nothing in § 58-33A-20 or this section restricts an insurer from contracting for performance of a function required under § 58-33A-20 , including maintenance of procedures. An insurer is responsible for taking appropriate corrective action and may be subject to sanctions and pena…

No producer or insurer may dissuade, or attempt to dissuade, a consumer from: (1) Truthfully responding to an insurer's request for confirmation of consumer profile information; (2) Filing a complaint; or (3) Cooperating with the investigation of a complaint. Source: SL 2012, ch …

Recommendations and sales of annuities made in compliance with comparable standards shall satisfy the requirements of §§ 58-33A-13 to 58-33-27 , inclusive. This section applies to all recommendations and sales of annuities made by financial professionals in compliance with busine…

No producer may 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 product-specific …

Each course provider intending to comply with § 58-33A-25.1 shall cover all subjects listed in §

An insurer shall verify that a producer has completed the annuity training course required pursuant to § 58-33A-25.1 before allowing the producer to sell an annuity product for that insurer. An insurer may satisfy its responsibility under this section by obtaining certificates of…

Nothing in §§ 58-33A-13 to 58-33A-27 , inclusive, should be construed to require a producer to obtain any license other than a producer license with the appropriate line of authority to sell, solicit, or negotiate insurance in this state, including a securities license, in order …

The terms used in § 58-33A-25 mean: (1) "Comparable standards,": (a) With respect to broker-dealers and registered representatives of broker-dealers, applicable SEC and FINRA rules pertaining to best interest obligations and supervision of annuity recommendations and sales, inclu…

An insurer is responsible for compliance with §§ 58-33A-13 to 58-33A-27 , inclusive. If a violation occurs because of the action or inaction of the insurer or its producer, the director may order: (1) An insurer to take reasonably appropriate corrective action for any consumer ha…

Each insurer, general agent, independent agency and producer shall maintain or be able to make available to the director records of the information collected from the consumer, disclosures made to the consumer, including summaries of oral disclosures, and other information used i…

No multi-state plan as described in Section 1334 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119 (2010), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-152, 124 Stat. 1029 (2010) may sell, solicit, neg…

For the purposes of this chapter, the term, advertisement, includes: (1) Any printed and published material, audio visual material, and descriptive literature of an insurer used in direct mail, newspapers, magazines, radio scripts, TV scripts, billboards, and similar displays; (2…

For the purposes of this chapter, the term, advertisement, does not include: (1) Any material to be used solely for the training and education of an insurer's employees, representatives, or insurance producers; (2) Any material used in - house by insurers; (3) Any communications …

The term, outline of coverage, includes: (1) A statement identifying the applicable category or categories of coverage provided by the policy or contract as prescribed by the director; (2) A description of the principal benefits and coverage provided in the policy or contract; (3…

The director shall prescribe the general format and content of the outline of coverage required by §

The director may promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26 to establish specific standards consistent with §

Any information required to be disclosed by rules promulgated pursuant to this chapter shall be set out conspicuously and in close conjunction with the statements to which the information relates or under appropriate captions of such prominence that it does not minimize, render o…

Any insurer that is subject to § 58-33A-1 offering to provide health benefits in this state through a policy, contract, or certificate that contains a provision limiting coverage to usual, customary, or reasonable charges shall provide prominent disclosure that the policy, certif…

Prior to accepting the applicant's initial premium or premium deposit, the insurer shall provide, to all prospective life insurance purchasers, a buyer's guide, and a policy summary. However, in lieu of a policy summary, an insurer may provide an illustration which complies with …