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The Vermont Statutes Online
Title
08
:
Banking and Insurance
Chapter
103
:
LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES AND ANNUITY CONTRACTS
Subchapter
005B
:
LIFE SETTLEMENTS
§
3846. Advertising for life settlements
(a) No person
engaged in the business of life settlements shall make, issue, circulate, or
cause to be made, issued, or circulated, or placed before the public, in a
newspaper, magazine, or other publication, in the form of a notice, circular,
pamphlet, letter, or poster or over any radio station or television station, or
by Internet, or in any other way, any estimate, illustration, circular,
statement, sales presentation, omission, or comparison, which:
(1) misrepresents
or fails to adequately disclose the benefits, advantages, conditions,
exclusions, limitations, or terms of any life settlement contract;
(2) uses any
name or title of any life settlement contract or class of life settlement
contracts misrepresenting the true nature thereof; or
(3) is a
misrepresentation for the purpose of inducing or tending to induce a policy
owner to enter into a life settlement contract in violation of the provisions
of this chapter;
(4) is
inaccurate, untruthful, deceptive or misleading in fact or by implication. The
form and content of an advertisement of a life settlement contract shall be
sufficiently 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 from the overall
impression that the advertisement may be reasonably expected to create upon a
person of average education or intelligence within the segment of the public to
which it is directed;
(5) directly or
indirectly markets, advertises, solicits, or otherwise promotes the purchase of
a policy for the purpose or, or with an emphasis on entering into a life
settlement contract; or
(6) uses the
word "free," "no cost," "without cost," "no
additional cost," "at no extra cost," or words of similar import
in the marketing, advertising, soliciting or otherwise promoting of the
purchase of a policy.
(b) Every life
settlement licensee shall establish and at all times maintain a system of
control over the content, form, and method of dissemination of all
advertisements of its contracts, products, and services. All advertisements,
regardless of who wrote, created, designed, or presented them, shall be the
responsibility of the life settlement licensees as well as the individual who
created or presented the advertisement. A system of control shall include
regular routine notification, at least once a year, to agents and others
authorized by the life settlement licensee who disseminate advertisements of
the requirements and procedures for approval by the life settlement licensee
prior to the use of any advertisements not furnished by the life settlement
licensee.
(c) The name of
the life settlement licensee shall be clearly identified in all advertisements
about the licensee or its life settlement contract, products, or services, and
if any specific life settlement contract is advertised, the life settlement
contract shall be identified either by form number or some other appropriate description.
If an application is part of the advertisement, the name of the life settlement
provider shall be shown on the application.
(d) If the
advertising emphasizes the dollar amounts available to policy owners, the
advertising shall disclose the average purchase price as a percent of face
value obtained by policy owners contracting with the licensee during the past
six months.
(e) The fact
that the life settlement contract offered is made available for inspection
prior to consummation of the sale, or that an offer is made to refund the
payment if the policy owner is not satisfied, or that the life settlement
contract includes a "free look" period that satisfies or exceeds
legal requirements does not remedy any inaccurate, untruthful, deceptive or
misleading statements. (Added 2009, No. 53, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2010.)