Sec. 21.42.120. - Filing, approval of forms.
(a) A basic insurance policy or annuity contract form, or application form where written application is required and is to be made a part of the policy or contract, or printed rider or endorsement form or form of renewal certificate, may not be delivered, or issued for delivery in this state, unless the form has been filed with and approved by the director. This provision does not apply to surety bonds or to specially rated inland marine risks, nor to policies, riders, endorsements, or forms of unique character designed for and used with relation to insurance upon a particular subject, or that relate to the manner of distribution of benefits or to the reservation of rights and benefits under life or health insurance policies and are used at the request of the individual policyholder, contract holder, or certificate holder; or to policies of commercial insurance that the director has authorized under (d) of this section to be filed on or before the date of use and that are not subject to the prior approval of the director. The filing required by this section of forms for use in property, marine other than wet marine and transportation coverages, casualty, and surety coverages may be made by a rating organization on behalf of its members and subscribers; but this provision does not prohibit a member or subscriber from filing the forms on its own behalf.
(b) Each insurer or rating organization shall submit a filing under one of the following procedures, clearly specifying the filing procedure under which the filing is being made:
(1) for prior approval under AS 21.42.123 ; or
(2) for file and use under AS 21.42.125 .
(c) An order of the director disapproving the form or withdrawing a previous approval shall state the grounds and the particulars in such detail as reasonably to inform the insurer thereof.
(d) The director may, by order, require that a form or document be filed for informational purposes or may exempt a form or document from the requirements of this section for a time determined by the director when, in the opinion of the director, this section may not practicably be applied, or the filing or approval of the form or document is, in the opinion of the director, not desirable or necessary for the protection of the public.
(e) This section applies to a form used by domestic insurers for delivery in a jurisdiction outside this state, if the insurance supervisory official of that jurisdiction informs the director that the form is not subject to approval or disapproval by the official, and upon the director's order requiring the form to be submitted for review and approval under this section. The applicable same standards shall apply to these forms as apply to forms for domestic use.
(f) This section does not apply to a type of insurance subject to AS 21.57 or to policies issued under AS 21.34.
(g) An insurer who has submitted an application for a certificate of authority under AS 21.09.110 may file a proposed policy form as described in this section. The director's approval of the policy form is contingent upon the issuance of a certificate of authority under AS 21.09.120 .
(h) The director may adopt regulations detailing the format and content of the filing of a policy form under this section.
(i) The director may by order require an insurance document, form, or type of insurance document or form as specified in the order, to be submitted for prior approval if, in the opinion of the director, the approval of the insurance document, form, or type of insurance document or form is necessary for the protection of the public.