N.M. Admin. Code § 13.10.4.14

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 24, December 23, 2024

Section 13.10.4.14 - USE OF STATISTICS

A. An advertisement relating to the dollar amounts of claims paid, the number of persons insured, or similar statistical information relating to any insurer or policy shall not use irrelevant facts, and shall not be used unless it accurately reflects all of the relevant facts. This type of advertisement shall not imply that the statistics are derived from the policy advertised unless that is the fact, and when applicable to other policies or plans shall specifically so state.

(1) An advertisement shall specifically identify the accident and health insurance policy to which statistics relate and where statistics are given which are applicable to a different policy, it must be stated clearly that the data do not relate to the policy being advertised.

(2) An advertisement using statistics which describe an insurer, such as assets and liabilities, corporate structure, financial standing, age, product lines or relative position in the insurance business, may be irrelevant and, if used at all, must be used with extreme caution because of the potential for misleading the public. As a specific example, an advertisement for accident and health insurance which refers to the amount of life insurance which the company has in force or the amounts paid out in life insurance benefits is not permissible unless the advertisement clearly indicates the amount paid out for each line of insurance.

B. An advertisement shall not represent or imply that claim settlements by the insurer are "liberal" or "generous," or use words of similar import, or that claim settlements are or will be beyond the actual terms of the contract. An unusual amount paid for a unique claim for the policy advertised is misleading and shall not be used.

C. The source of any statistics used in an advertisement shall be identified in the advertisement.

N.M. Admin. Code § 13.10.4.14

7/1/97; Recompiled 11/30/01