38.2-3737 - Application.
§ 38.2-3737. Application.
A. No contract of insurance upon a debtor shall be made or effectuated unlessat the time of the contract, the debtor, being of lawful age and competent tocontract for insurance, applies for the insurance in writing on a formapproved by the Commission.
B. The application or enrollment request shall be required to:
1. Contain the name and signature of the agent or creditor's representative,if any, who solicited the application or enrollment request;
2. Contain the name and address of the insurer and creditor; the name and ageof the debtor(s); the premium, rate or amount payable by the debtorseparately for credit life insurance and credit accident and sicknessinsurance; the type of insurance coverage provided; the date of application;and separately, the amount and term, including the effective and cancellationdates, of the insurance and loan contracts; and
3. Include the disclosure requirements set forth in subsections A, B, C, D,and E of § 38.2-3735 unless such requirements have been separately disclosedin another form or forms approved by the Commission.
C. The application or enrollment request form shall be separate and apartfrom the loan or credit transaction papers and will refer exclusively toinsurance coverage.
D. No individual or group credit life insurance or credit accident andsickness insurance application form shall contain a question of general goodhealth unless the application form contains appropriate specific questionsconcerning the applicant's health history or medical treatment history.
E. Neither this section nor subsection B of § 38.2-3735 shall apply to creditlife or credit accident and sickness insurance that will insure open-endmonthly outstanding balance credit transactions if the following criteria aremet:
1. The credit life insurance and credit accident and sickness insurance thatwill insure the open-end monthly outstanding balance credit transaction areoffered to the debtor after the loan or credit transaction that it willinsure has been approved by the creditor and has been effective at leastseven days;
2. The solicitation for the insurance is by mail or telephone. The personmaking the solicitation shall not condition the future use or continuation ofthe open-end credit upon the purchase of credit life or credit accident andsickness insurance;
3. The creditor makes available only one plan of credit life insurance andone plan of credit accident and sickness insurance to the debtor;
4. The debtor is provided written confirmation of the insurance coveragewithin thirty days of the effective date of such coverage. The effective dateof coverage shall begin on the date the solicitation is accepted; and
5. The individual policy or certificate has printed on it a notice statingthat if, during a period of at least thirty days from the date that thepolicy or certificate is delivered to the policyowner or certificate holder,the policy or certificate is surrendered to the insurer or its agent with awritten request for cancellation, the policy or certificate shall be voidfrom the beginning and the insurer shall refund any premium paid for thepolicy or certificate. This statement shall be prominently included on theface page of the policy or certificate, and shall be printed in capitalletters and in bold 12-point or larger type.
F. The following shall be applicable to open-end credit transactions by mail,telephone, or brochure solicitations, that are not excluded from therequirements of this section and of subsection B of § 38.2-3735 by subsectionE, where the insurer is offering only one plan of credit life insurance orone plan of credit accident and sickness insurance:
1. Section 38.2-3735 shall not apply to such transactions, provided that thefollowing disclosures are included in such solicitations, whether as part ofthe application or enrollment request or separately:
a. The name and address of the insurer(s) and creditor; and
b. A description of the coverage offered, including the amount of coverage,the premium rate for the insurance coverage offered, and a description of anyexceptions, limitations, or restrictions applicable to such coverage.
2. Subsections B and D of this section shall not apply to such transactions,provided that the application or enrollment request utilized as part of suchtransaction:
a. Is printed in a type size of not less than eight-point type, one pointleaded, notwithstanding the requirements set forth in subdivision D 5 of §38.2-3724 regarding minimum type size for policies and certificates;
b. Contains a prominent statement that the insurance offered is optional,voluntary, or not required;
c. Contains no questions relating to insurability other than the debtor's ageor date of birth and, if applicable, active employment status; and
d. If the disclosures required by subdivision 1 of this subsection are notincluded in the application or enrollment request, makes reference to suchdisclosures with sufficient information so as to assist the reader inlocating such disclosures within the solicitation.
3. Each insurer proposing to utilize an application or enrollment request insuch transactions shall file such form for approval by the Commission. If theinsurer anticipates utilizing such application or enrollment form in morethan one solicitation, the insurer shall submit, as part of its filing ofsuch form, a certification signed by an officer of the insurer, stating thatany such subsequent use of the application or enrollment form will utilizethe same form number and will not vary in substance from the wording andformat in which the form is submitted for approval. Upon approval of suchapplication or enrollment form by the Commission, the insurer shall bepermitted to utilize such form in various solicitation materials, providedthat the application or enrollment form, when incorporated into suchsolicitation materials, has the same form number and wording substantiallyidentical to that contained on the approved application or enrollment form.
G. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A, a contract of insurancemay be made or effectuated in connection with a credit transaction between acreditor regulated pursuant to Chapter 4.01 (§ 6.1-225.1 et seq.) of Title6.1 or 12 U.S.C. § 1751 et seq. and a debtor who is of lawful age, competentto contract for the insurance and a member of the creditor if:
1. The credit transaction and the solicitation for such insurance is effectedby mail, telephone or other electronic means;
2. The purchase of credit insurance is not required by the creditor and isnot a factor in granting the credit;
3. The creditor or insurer, within three business days after the credittransaction is effected, transmits to the debtor, either separately or withthe documents that pertain to the credit transaction, an application orenrollment request form approved by the Commission which includes or to whichis attached a prominent notice that clearly advises the debtor that unless hemails the completed and signed application or enrollment request to thecreditor within forty-five days following the date of the credit transaction,all such coverage requested in connection with the credit transaction will bevoid from the beginning; and
4. In the event the debtor does not transmit the completed and signedapplication or enrollment request to the creditor within the time specifiedin subdivision 3, the full amount of the premium charged for the insurance isreturned to or credited to the account of the debtor and written noticethereof is sent to the debtor within fifteen days of the date the policy orcertificate is cancelled.
(1992, c. 586; 1993, c. 627; 1994, c. 202; 1995, c. 167; 1999, c. 586; 2009,c. 643.)