44-1525 Unfair trade practices; enumerated. - Nebraska Statutes

44-1525. Unfair trade practices; enumerated.Any of the following acts or practices, if committed in violation of section 44-1524, shall be unfair trade practices in the business of insurance:(1) Making, issuing, circulating, or causing to be made, issued, or circulated any estimate, illustration, circular, statement, sales presentation, omission, or comparison which:(a) Misrepresents the benefits, advantages, conditions, or terms of any policy;(b) Misrepresents the dividends or share of the surplus to be received on any policy;(c) Makes any false or misleading statements as to the dividends or share of surplus previously paid on any policy;(d) Misleads as to or misrepresents the financial condition of any insurer or the legal reserve system upon which any life insurer operates;(e) Uses any name or title of any policy or class of policies which misrepresents the true nature thereof;(f) Misrepresents for the purpose of inducing or tending to induce the purchase, lapse, forfeiture, exchange, conversion, or surrender of any policy, including intentionally misquoting any premium rate;(g) Misrepresents for the purpose of effecting a pledge or assignment of or effecting a loan against any policy; or(h) Misrepresents any policy as being shares of stock;(2) Making, publishing, disseminating, circulating, or placing before the public, or causing, 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 any radio or television station, or in any other way, an advertisement, announcement, or statement containing any assertion, representation, or statement with respect to the business of insurance or with respect to any insurer in the conduct of his or her insurance business which is untrue, deceptive, or misleading;(3) Making, publishing, disseminating, or circulating, directly or indirectly, or aiding, abetting, or encouraging the making, publishing, disseminating, or circulating of any oral or written statement or any pamphlet, circular, article, or literature which is false or maliciously critical of or derogatory to the financial condition of any insurer and which is calculated to injure such insurer;(4) Entering into any agreement to commit or by any concerted action committing any act of boycott, coercion, or intimidation resulting in or tending to result in unreasonable restraint of or monopoly in the business of insurance;(5)(a) Knowingly filing with any supervisory or other public official, or knowingly making, publishing, disseminating, circulating, or delivering to any person, or placing before the public, or knowingly causing, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, delivered to any person, or placed before the public, any false material statement of fact as to the financial condition of an insurer; or(b) Knowingly making any false entry of a material fact in any book, report, or statement of any insurer or knowingly omitting to make a true entry of any material fact pertaining to the business of such insurer in any book, report, or statement of such insurer;(6) Issuing or delivering or permitting agents, officers, or employees to issue or deliver agency company stock or other capital stock, or benefit certificates or shares in any common-law corporation, or securities or any special or advisory board contracts or other contracts of any kind promising returns and profits as an inducement to insurance;(7)(a) Making or permitting any unfair discrimination between individuals of the same class and equal expectation of life in the rates charged for any life insurance policy or annuity or in the dividends or other benefits payable thereon or in any other of the terms and conditions of such policy or annuity;(b) Making or permitting any unfair discrimination between individuals of the same class involving essentially the same hazards in the amount of premium, policy fees, or rates charged for any sickness and accident insurance policy or in the benefits payable thereunder, in any of the terms or conditions of such policy, or in any other manner, except that this subdivision shall not limit the negotiation of preferred provider policies and contracts under sections 44-4101 to 44-4113;(c) Making or permitting any unfair discrimination between individuals or risks of the same class and of essentially the same hazards by refusing to issue, refusing to renew, canceling, or limiting the amount of insurance coverage on a property or casualty risk because of the geographic location of the risk unless:(i) The refusal, cancellation, or limitation is for a business purpose which is not a pretext for unfair discrimination; or(ii) The refusal, cancellation, or limitation is required by law, rule, or regulation;(d) Making or permitting any unfair discrimination between individuals or risks of the same class and of essentially the same hazards by refusing to issue, refusing to renew, canceling, or limiting the amount of insurance coverage on a residential property risk, or the personal property contained therein, because of the age of the residential property unless:(i) The refusal, cancellation, or limitation is for a business purpose which is not a pretext for unfair discrimination; or(ii) The refusal, cancellation, or limitation is required by law, rule, or regulation;(e) Refusing to insure, refusing to continue to insure, or limiting the amount of coverage available to an individual solely because of the sex or marital status of the individual. This subdivision shall not prohibit an insurer from taking marital status into account for the purpose of defining individuals eligible for dependent benefits; or(f) Terminating or modifying coverage or refusing to issue or refusing to renew any property or casualty insurance policy solely because the applicant or insured or any employee of the applicant or insured is mentally or physically impaired unless:(i) The termination, modification, or refusal is for a business purpose which is not a pretext for unfair discrimination; or(ii) The termination, modification, or refusal is required by law, rule, or regulation.This subdivision (f) shall not apply to any sickness and accident insurance policy sold by a casualty insurer and shall not be interpreted to modify any other provision of law relating to the termination, modification, issuance, or renewal of any policy;(8)(a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by law:(i) Knowingly permitting or offering to make or making any life insurance policy, annuity, or sickness and accident insurance policy, or agreement as to any such policy or annuity, other than as plainly expressed in the policy or annuity issued thereon, or paying, allowing, or giving, or offering to pay, allow, or give, directly or indirectly, as inducement to such policy or annuity, any rebate of premiums payable on the policy or annuity, or any special favor or advantage in the dividends or other benefits thereon, or any valuable consideration or inducement whatever not specified in the policy or annuity; or(ii) Giving, selling, purchasing, or offering to give, sell, or purchase as inducement to such policy or annuity or in connection therewith any stocks, bonds, or other securities of any insurer or other corporation, association, partnership, or limited liability company, or any dividends or profits accrued thereon, or anything of value not specified in the policy or annuity.(b) Nothing in subdivision (7) or (8)(a) of this section shall be construed as including within the definition of discrimination or rebates any of the following acts or practices:(i) In the case of any life insurance policy or annuity, paying bonuses to policyholders or otherwise abating their premiums in whole or in part out of surplus accumulated from nonparticipating insurance if such bonuses or abatement of premiums are fair and equitable to policyholders and for the best interests of the insurer and its policyholders;(ii) In the case of life insurance policies issued on the industrial debit plan, making allowance to policyholders who have continuously for a specified period made premium payments directly to an office of the insurer in an amount which fairly represents the saving in collection expenses; or(iii) Readjustment of the rate of premium for a group insurance policy based on the loss or expense thereunder, at the end of the first or any subsequent policy year of insurance thereunder, which may be made retroactive only for such policy year;(9) Failing of any insurer to maintain a complete record of all the complaints received since the date of its last examination conducted pursuant to the Insurers Examination Act. This record shall indicate the total number of complaints, their classification by line of insurance, the nature of each complaint, the disposition of each complaint, and the time it took to process each complaint. For purposes of this subdivision, complaint shall mean any written communication primarily expressing a grievance;(10) Making false or fraudulent statements or representations on or relative to an application for a policy for the purpose of obtaining a fee, commission, money, or other benefit from any insurer, agent, broker, or individual person;(11) Failing of any insurer, upon receipt of a written inquiry from the department, to respond to such inquiry or request additional reasonable time to respond within fifteen working days;(12) Accepting applications for or writing any policy of insurance sold, negotiated, or solicited by an insurance producer or business entity not licensed or appointed as required by the Insurance Producers Licensing Act; and(13) Violating any provision of section 44-320, 44-348, 44-360, 44-361, 44-369, 44-393, 44-515 to 44-518, 44-522, 44-523, 44-7,101, 44-2132 to 44-2134, 44-3606, 44-4809, 44-4812, 44-4817, or 44-5266, the Privacy of Insurance Consumer Information Act, or the Unfair Discrimination Against Subjects of Abuse in Insurance Act. SourceLaws 1973, LB 349, § 4; Laws 1978, LB 766, § 1; Laws 1980, LB 877, § 13; Laws 1984, LB 902, § 17; Laws 1985, LB 2, § 3; Laws 1989, LB 92, § 174; Laws 1989, LB 319, § 70; Laws 1991, LB 233, § 46; Laws 1991, LB 235, § 5; Laws 1991, LB 234, § 7; Laws 1993, LB 121, § 231; Laws 1993, LB 583, § 74; Laws 1994, LB 978, § 22; Laws 1994, LB 1222, § 59; Laws 1995, LB 473, § 3; Laws 1997, LB 53, § 48; Laws 1998, LB 1035, § 4; Laws 1999, LB 191, § 2; Laws 2001, LB 51, § 28; Laws 2001, LB 52, § 46; Laws 2003, LB 73, § 11. Cross ReferencesInsurance Producers Licensing Act, see section 44-4047.Insurers Examination Act, see section 44-5901.Privacy of Insurance Consumer Information Act, see section 44-901.Unfair Discrimination Against Subjects of Abuse in Insurance Act, see section 44-7401. AnnotationsEvidence held insufficient to establish a violation of this section, even if a private action were to exist hereunder and even if the statutory language were to fit the circumstances alleged; such question not presented, the existence of a private right of action is not decided. White v. Medico Life Ins. Co., 212 Neb. 901, 327 N.W.2d 606 (1982).Sections of Nebraska Unfair Competition Act and Trade Practices Act governing insurance business do not contemplate private suits but only suits by State Director of Insurance. Allied Financial Services, Inc. v. Foremost Ins. Co., 418 F.Supp. 157 (D. Neb. 1976).