2017 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 59A - Insurance Code
Article 42 - Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association
Section 59A-42-17 - Prohibited advertisement; notice to policy owners.

59A-42-17. Prohibited advertisement; notice to policy owners.

A. No person, including an insurer, agent or affiliate of an insurer, shall make, publish, disseminate, circulate or place before the public, or cause directly or indirectly to be made, published, disseminated, circulated or placed before the public, in a newspaper, magazine or other publication, or in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter or poster, or over a radio station or television station, or in any other way, an advertisement, announcement or statement, written or oral, that uses the existence of the association for the purpose of sales, solicitation or inducement to purchase insurance covered by the Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Act. However, this subsection shall not apply to the association or any other entity that does not sell or solicit insurance.

B. Within one hundred eighty days of the effective date of this 2012 act, the association shall prepare a summary document describing the general purposes and current limitations of that act and complying with Subsection C of this section. The document shall be submitted to the superintendent for approval. At the expiration of the sixtieth day after the date on which the superintendent approves the document, an insurer shall not deliver a policy or contract to a policy or contract owner unless the summary document is delivered to the policy or contract owner at the time of delivery of the policy or contract. The document shall also be available upon request by a policy owner. The distribution, delivery or contents or interpretation of this document does not guarantee that either the policy or the contract or the owner of the policy or contract is covered in the event of the impairment or insolvency of a member insurer. The description document shall be revised by the association as amendments to the Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Act may require. Failure to receive this document does not give the policy owner, contract owner, certificate holder or insured greater rights than those stated in the Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Act.

C. The document prepared pursuant to Subsection B of this section shall contain a clear and conspicuous disclaimer on its face. The superintendent shall establish the form and content of the disclaimer. The disclaimer shall:

(1) state the name and address of the association and insurance department;

(2) prominently warn the policy or contract owner that the association may not cover the policy or, if coverage is available, that it will be subject to substantial limitations and exclusions and conditioned on continued residence in this state;

(3) state the types of policies for which guaranty funds will provide coverage;

(4) state that the insurer and its agents are prohibited by law from using the existence of the association for the purpose of sales, solicitation or inducement to purchase any form of insurance;

(5) state that the policy or contract owner should not rely on coverage pursuant to the Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Act when selecting an insurer;

(6) explain rights available and procedures for filing a complaint to allege a violation of the provisions of the Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Act; and

(7) provide other information as directed by the superintendent, including sources for information about the financial condition of insurers, provided that the information is not proprietary and is subject to disclosure pursuant to the Inspection of Public Records Act [Chapter 14, Article 2 NMSA 1978].

D. A member insurer shall retain evidence of compliance with Subsection B of this section for as long as the policy or contract for which the notice is given remains in effect.

History: Laws 2012, ch. 9, 20.