US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

§ 2740. Statement of policy.

It is the purpose of this subchapter to encourage the Commissioner to promulgate regulations by October 15, 1976, which assure that automobile insurance policies issued in Delaware, after the effective date of said regulations, will be understandable and readable by a person of average intelligence and education; or, in the event of the failure of the Commissioner to promulgate such regulations by October 15, 1976, to establish certain basic minimum readability requirements for automobile insurance policy forms. Accordingly, it is intended that subchapter III of this chapter shall become effective only upon the failure of the Commissioner to promulgate such regulations by October 15, 1976. (60 Del. Laws, c. 441, § 2.)

§ 2741. Commissioner's authority to promulgate readability rules and regulations.

(a) In addition to those general powers granted in § 314 of this title, the Commissioner is hereby authorized and empowered to make rules and regulations to the extent the Commissioner deems necessary to assure that automobile insurance policy forms as described in § 2742 of this title are readable and understandable by a person of average intelligence and education; provided, however, that such rules and regulations shall require, in the manner the Commissioner deems appropriate, that all such automobile insurance policy forms shall have a total "readability score" of 40 or more on the Flesch Scale, although forms with a Flesch Test Score of less than 40 may be approved where the length of sentences and words are sufficiently compensated for by compliance with other standards set forth in such rules and regulations.

(b) The Commissioner shall adopt and promulgate readability rules and regulations only after a hearing thereon of which notice has been given to all persons subject to the Commissioner's supervision under this title who are to be affected by the proposed rule or regulation. Any readability rules and regulations so adopted and promulgated shall be effective upon the date specified therein. (60 Del. Laws, c. 441, § 2.)