Current through Register 1536, December 6, 2024
Section 31.07 - General Rules(1) Each insurer shall maintain at its home office or principal office, a complete file containing one copy of each form authorized by the insurer for use pursuant to 211 CMR 31.00. Such file shall contain one copy of each authorized form for a period of three years following the date of its last authorized use unless otherwise provided by 211 CMR 31.00.(2) An insurance producer shall inform the prospective purchaser, prior to commencing a life insurance sales presentation, that he is acting as an insurance producer and inform the prospective purchaser of the full name of the insurance company which he is representing to the buyer. In sales situations in which an insurance producer is not involved, the insurer shall identify its full name.(3) Terms such as financial planner, investment advisor, financial consultant, or financial counseling shall not be used in such a way as to imply that the insurance producer is primarily engaged in an advisory business in which compensation is unrelated to sales unless such is actually the case. This provision is not intended to preclude persons who hold some form of formal recognized financial planning or consultant designation from using this designation even when they are only selling insurance. This provision also is not intended to preclude persons who are members of a recognized trade or professional association having such terms as part of its name from citing membership, providing that a person citing membership, if authorized only to sell insurance products, shall disclose that fact. This provision does not permit persons to charge an additional fee for services that are customarily associated with the solicitation, negotiation or servicing of policies.(4) Any reference to nonguaranteed elements must include a statement that the item is not guaranteed and is based on the company's current scale of nonguaranteed elements. If a nonguaranteed element would be reduced by the existence of a policy loan, a statement to that effect shall be included in any reference to nonguaranteed elements. A presentation or depiction of a policy issued after the effective date of 211 CMR 28.00 that includes nonguaranteed elements over a period of years shall be governed by 211 CMR 28.00.(5) For the purposes of 211 CMR 31.00, the company must show the maximum annual premium if it reserves the right to change the premium.