Section 30. Form and content of advertisements

A. An advertisement shall not be combined or included with an advertisement of a product or service that is not life insurance or an annuity that disguises, misleads, misinforms or otherwise minimizes the nature of the advertisement.

B. An advertisement shall be truthful and not misleading in fact or by implication. The form and content of an advertisement shall be sufficiently accurate, complete, and clear so as to avoid deception. It shall not have the capacity or tendency to mislead or deceive. Whether an advertisement has the capacity or tendency to mislead or deceive shall be determined by the commission from the overall impression that the advertisement may be reasonably expected to create within the segment of the public to which it is directed.

C. An advertisement shall not omit material information or use words, phrases, statements, references, or illustrations if the omission or use has the capacity, tendency, or effect of misleading or deceiving purchasers, prospective purchasers or policyowners as to the nature of their relationship with the insurer, or the nature or extent of any policy benefit, 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.

D. An advertisement shall not make unfair, inaccurate, or incomplete comparisons of policies, benefits, dividends, or rates of other insurers. An advertisement shall not disparage or falsely or unfairly describe other insurers, agents, policies, services, or methods of marketing.

E. An advertisement shall not use the terms "investment," "investment plan," "founder's plan," "charter plan," "expansion plan," "profit," "profits," "profit sharing," "deposit," "interest plan," "savings," "savings plan," "retirement plan," "private pension plan," or other similar terms in connection with a policy in a context or under circumstances or conditions as to have the capacity or tendency to mislead a purchaser or prospective purchaser of such policy to believe that he will receive, or that it is possible that he will receive, something other than a policy or some benefit not available to other persons of the same class and equal expectation of life.

F. An advertisement of a particular policy shall not state or imply that prospective insureds shall be or become members of a special class, group or quasi-group and as such enjoy special rates, dividends, or underwriting privileges, unless that is fact.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 27, Issue 14, eff. July 1, 2011.

Statutory Authority

§§ 12.1-13 and 38.2-223 of the Code of Virginia.