MARYLAND. INSURANCE ADMINIsmATI0N

Transcription

1 MARKET CONDUCT EXAMINATION REPORT OF THE LIFE INSURANCE BUSINESS OF SENIOR LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (NAIC #78662) 1327 W. Jackson Street Thomasville, GA Report No. MCLH E Examination Period: July 1, March 31, ~i INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION STATE OF MARYLAND MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION ELIZABETH SAMMIS, ACTING COMMISSIONER JANUARY 5, 2011

2 MARTiN O MALLEY Governor ANTHONY G. BROWN Lt. Governor MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINIsmATI0N BETH SAMMIS Acting Commissioner KAREN STAKEM HORNIG Deputy Commissioner NANCY GRODIN Associate Commissioner Compliance & Enforcement January 5, St. Paul Place, Suite 2700, Baltimore, Maryland Direct Dial: Fax: ngrodin@mdinsurance.state.md.us TTY: The Honorable Elizabeth Sammis Acting Commissioner of Insurance State of Maryland 200 St. Paul Place, Suite 2700 Baltimore, Maryland Dear Commissioner Sammis: Pursuant to your instructions and authorization, an examination has been made of the market conduct affairs of: SENIOR LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY whose home office is located at 1327W. Jackson Street, Thomasville, Georgia The report of such Examination is being respectfully submitted. Sincerely, Signature on file with original Nancy Grodin, Associate Commissioner Compliance and Enforcement

3 MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION JANUARY 5,2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 II. SCOPE OF EXAMINATION 2 III. COMPANY PROFILE 3 IV. BUYER S GUIDE 4 V. POLICY SUMMARY 5 VI. EXAMINATION REPORT SUBMISSION 7 Senior Life Insurance Company

4 MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION JANUARY 5,2011 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Maryland Insurance Administration (hereinafter MIA ) conducted a targeted Market Conduct Examination of Senior Life Insurance Company (hereinafter Company ). The focus of the Examination was to review the Company s business practices as they relate to its life insurance line of business to determine whether the Company s disclosure and producer communication practices comply with Maryland insurance laws and regulations. The Company has provided the following certifications: The Life Insurance Buyer s Guide in use during the examination period was provided. The Company s policies provide at least 20 days for unconditional refund and distribute the Buyer s Guide with each policy;. The Company provided its policy schedule for its single and joint insured policies. The Company states prior to 2005 it included COST pages with all Maryland policies. Due to a miscommunication with the MIA during the filing of policy form pages, the Company stopped issuing COST pages with Maryland policies in 2005; The Company does not issue Pre-need Funeral Contracts or Prearrangements; The Company provided documents to demonstrate its communications to producers regarding the requirements under COMAR during the examination period; The Company provided an explanation of its internal quality control policies and procedures that ensure compliance with COMAR The MIA has reviewed the submitted documentation and found two violations of COMAR Mitigating circumstances are considered for the Policy Summary violation noted herein. The Company has certified that its Market Compliance Department has initiated development of a Statement of Policy Cost and Benefit Information document to comply with COMAR Senior Life Insurance Company

5 MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION JANUARY 5, 2011 II. SCOPE OF EXAMINATION A target Market Conduct Examination ( Examination ) has been performed on the Company and a Report thereon is submitted as follows: The Examination was conducted pursuant to the statutory authority granted under ~2-205, 2-207, 2-208, and of the Insurance Article and COMAR The period covered by the examination was July 1, 2009 through March 31, The purpose ofthe examination was to assess the Company s compliance with COMAR , amended effective May 18, 2009, titled Life Insurance Disclosure. All unacceptable or non-compliant practices may not have been discovered or noted in the report. Failure to identify or criticize improper or non-compliant business practices does not constitute acceptance of such practices. Senior Life Insurance Company 2

6 MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION JANUARY 5, 2011 III. COMPANY PROFILE Senior Life Insurance Company was originally known as Provident Security Life Insurance Company. Provident Security was incorporated in 1970 and wrote policies to the employees of a trucking firm in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina. In 2000, Dale and Ron Powell purchased Provident Security and changed the name to Senior Life Insurance Company. In late 2002 and early 2003, Senior Life began its first phase of expansion into Alabama, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Texas. This expansion led to a premium and surplus growth of over 150% and 21%, respectively, in three years that ended December 31, In 2005, the Company could see that agents needed marketing options, so final expense telesales was born. Telesales has proven to be a great tool for increasing production. Telesales centers have developed around the country and are a driving force to Senior Lifes continued growth. In addition, the Company is also licensed in Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and Virginia. Senior Life Insurance Company 3

7 MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINiSTRATION JANUARY 5, 2011 IV. BUYER S GUIDE Issue 1 -Violation of COMAR B The Company failed to provide the most current version of the NAIC Buyer s Guide to Maryland insureds. COMAR , titled Life Insurance Disclosure, provides in pertinent part: FINDING I.05 Duties of Carriers. B. If the policy for which application is made contains an unconditional refund provision of at least 10 days, the carrier shall provide the buyer s guide with the policy or before delivery of the policy. The Company failed to provide the most current version of the NAIC Buyer s Guide to Maryland insureds from May 18, 2009 through March 21, The NAIC Life Insurance Buyer s Guide that the Company submitted for review contained cost index information. In June of 2001, the NAIC removed the cost index information from its current version of the Buyer s Guide, available on the NAIC website. Per COMAR B (1) Buyer s guide is defined to be the most current version of the Life Insurance Buyer s Guide adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Senior Life Insurance Company 4

8 MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION JANUARY 5, 2011 V. POLICY SUMMARY Issue 2-Violation of COMAR C (2)(a) and (b) The Company failed to provide a Policy Summary to Maryland policyholders on forms not marketed with illustrations. COMAR , titled Life Insurance Disclosure, provides in pertinent part: FINDING 2.05 Duties of Carriers. C. Policy Forms Not Marketed With an Illustration. (2) Requirements for Forms Not Marketed With an Illustration. (a) The carrier shall provide a policy summary, showing guarantees only, to prospective purchasers. (b)the policy summary shall consist of a separate document with all required information set out in a manner that does not minimize or render any portion of the summary obscure. The Company provided two policy schedules for review. The policy schedules do not contain all required information under COMAR In addition, the policy schedule pages are attached to and made a part of the issued policy. Therefore, the policy schedules 1 COMAR , titled Policy Summary, states: A. A carrier shall include in a policy summary all of the following: (1) A prominently placed title as follows: STATEMENT OF POLICY COST AND BENEFIT INFORMATION. (2) The name and address of the insurance producer, or if an insurance proder is not involved, a statement of the procedure to be followed in order to receive responses to inquiries regarding the policy summary; (3) The full name and home office or administrative office address of the carrier in which the life insurance policy is to be or has been written; (4) The generic name of the basic policy and each rider; (5) The following amounts, when applicable, for the first 5 policy years and representative policy years thereafter sufficient to clearly illustrate the policy and benefit patterns, including at least one age from 60 years old through 65 years old and policy maturity: (a) The annual premium for the basic policy; (b) (c) (d) (e) The annual premium for each optional rider; The amount payable upon death at the beginning of the policy year regardless of the cause ofdeath, other than suicide or other specifically enumerated exclusions, which is provided by the basic policy and each optional rider, with benefits provided under the basic policy and each rider shown separately; The total guaranteed cash surrender values atthe end of the year with values shown separately for the basic policy and each rider; and Any endowment amounts payable under the policy which are not included under cash surrender values above; and (6) The date on which the policy summary is prepared. B. The policy summary shall include the effective policy loan annual interest rate, if the policy contains a policy loan provision, specifying whether the effective policy loan annual interest rate is applied in advance or in arrears. C. If the policy loan interest rate is adjustable, the policy summary shall also indicate that the annual percentage rate will be determined by the carrier in accordance with the provisions ofthe policy and the applicable law. Senior Life Insurance Company 5

9 MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION JANUARY 5, 2011 submitted are not separate documents as required by the regulation for a policy summary. In response to a form filing, a letter was sent by the MIA to the Company in November of 2005 stating, A disclosure statement was included in the policy submitted; however, disclosure statements are not part ofthe policy. Please remove these pages from the policy and confirm that they will not be inserted in the policy when it is delivered to the policyholder. The Company mistakenly thought the MIA was instructing it to stop sending the disclosure notice with an issued policy. In fact, the MIA was stating the disclosure notice could not be attached to the policy. The disclosure notice was still required and should have been sent as a separate document with the policy. Senior Life Insurance Company 6

10 MARYLAND INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION JANUARY 5, 2011 VI. EXAMINATION REPORT SUBMISSION The courtesy and cooperation extended to the examiners by the Company s officers and employees during the course of the examination are gratefully acknowledged. Signature on file with original Nancy Grodin, Associate Commissioner Compliance & Enforcement Unit In addition, the following individuals participated in this examination and in the preparation of this report. William W. Rogers, AlE, AIRC, FLMI, MCM Assistant Chief Examiner Compliance & Enforcement Unit Mary McAusland, ACS, AlE, AIRC, FLMI, MCM Market Conduct Examiner Compliance & Enforcement Unit Penny Schuster Market Conduct Examiner Compliance & Enforcement Unit Kristen A. Walter Market Conduct Associate Compliance & Enforcement Unit Senior Life Insurance Company 7

11 IN THE MATTER OF THE MARYLAND INSURANCE COMMISSIONER * BEFORE THE STATE OF MARYLAND * * INSURANCE COMMISSIONER * V. * SENIOR LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY * (NAIC # 78662) * 1327W. JACKSON STREET * THOMASVILLE, GA CASE NO. MIA- 20\ \ - - OO~o *********************************************************.* CONSENT ORDER The Maryland Insurance Commissioner ( Commissioner ) and Senior Life Insurance Company ( Respondent ), pursuant to ~2-108, 2-204, of the Insurance Article, Md. Code Ann., (the Insurance Article ), and any other applicable sections, enter into this Consent Order ( Order ) as follows: EXPLANATORY STATEMENT AND FINDINGS OF FACT 1. At all times relevant to this Order, Respondent has held and currently holds a certific~teof authority from the Maryland Insurance Administration ( Administration ) to operate as an insurer. 2. The Administration conducted a Market Conduct Examination ( Examination ) of Respondent. 3. Respondent admits tothe facts and accepts the Administration s conclusions as stated in Examination Report number MCLH E ( Report ), but denies liability to any third party as a result of the violations noted in this Report. Both Respondent and the Administration agree to the conditions of the Order and the remedial measures set forth herein. Respondent executes this Order knowingly and voluntarily. The parties { DOC I)

12 acknowledge that this Order is in the public interest and both parties desire to resolve this matter without further proceedings. 4. The Examination, the details of which are included in the Report, incorporated herein as if set forth in full, concluded that Respondent violated the following Maryland Regulations, COMAR3I B GGMAR-3-1~15;O-3~05-G-(-2-)(a)-afld-Eb)- WHEREFORE, pursuant to ~2-108 and 4-113(d)(1) of the Insurance Article, it is hereby ORDERED by the Commissioner and consented to by Respondent: A. Respondent shall accept the Report as final and waives any right to a hearing on or for judicial review of the Report. B. Respondent shall correct the violations as noted in the Report within ninety (90) days of the date this Order is executed by the Acting Insurance Commissioner or her designee. Respondent shall set forth in a letter to the Commissioner that the violation(s) have been successfully corrected. Such letter shall be accompanied by a certification, signed by an officer of the Respondent, certifying that the information is true and accurate. C. Respondent shall pay an administrative penalty to the State of Maryland for the violations stated herein in the amount of seven thousand dollars ($7,000.00) contemporaneously with Respondent s execution of this Order; provided however, that six thousand dollars ($6,000.00) of this amount shall be stayed pending continued compliance. Administrative penalties shall be made payable to the Maryland Insurance -2-.

13 Administration and shall identify the case by name. Unpaid penalties will be referred to the Central Collection Unit for collections. D. The executed Order and payment of the administrative penalty shall be sent to the attention of: Associate Commissioner, Compliance and Enforcement, 200 St. Paul Place, Suite 2700, Baltimore, MD E. Respondent agrees that no amounts paid pursuant to Paragraph C of this Administration or any other regulatory authority. F. For the purposes of the Administration and for any subsequent administrative or civil proceedings concerning Respondent, whether related or unrelated to the foregoing paragraphs, and with regard to requests for information about the Respondent made under the Maryland Public Information Act, or properly made by governmental agencies, this Order will be kept and maintained in the regular course of business by the Administration. For the purposes of the business of the Administration, the records and publications of the Administration will reflect this Order. G. The parties agree that this Order resolves all matters relating to the Report only, and the factual assertions and agreements contained herein are to be used solely for the purposes of this proceeding brought by or on behalf of the Administration. Nothing herein shall be deemed a waiver, of the Commissioner s right to proceed in an administrative action or civil action for violations not specifically identified in this Order, including, but not limited to, specific consumer complaints received by the Administration, nor shall anything herein be deemed a waiver of the right of the Respondent to contest other proceedings by the Administration. Additionally, Respondent understands and -3-

14 agrees that this Order addresses and resolves only the administrative actions by the Compliance and Enforcement Section of the Administration relating to the Report. This Order shall not be construed to resolve or preclude any potential or pending civil, administrative, or criminal action or prosecution by any other person, entity or governmental authority, including but not limited to the Insurance Fraud Division of the Administration, regarding any conduct by the Respondent including the conduct that is the s.ubje.ctof_tbis_order.. H. Respondent has had the opportunity to have this Order reviewed by legal counsel of its choosing, and is aware of the benefits gained and obligations incurred by the execution of the Order. Respondent waives any and all rights to any hearing or judicial review of this Order to which it would otherwise be entitled under the Insurance Article with respect to any of the determinations made or actions ordered by this Order. I. This Order contains the entire agreement between the parties relating to the administrative actions addressed herein. This Order supersedes any and all earlier agreements or negotiations, whether oral or written. All time frames set forth in this Order may be amended or modified only b~subsequent written agreement of the parties. J. On behalf of Respondent, the undersigned representative of Respondent affirms that he or she has taken all necessary steps to obtain the authority to bind Respondent to the obligations stated herein and does in fact have the authority to bind Respondent to the obligations stated herein. K. This Order shall be effective upon signing by the Commissioner or her designee, and is a Final Order of the Commissioner under of the Insurance Article. -4-

15 L. Failure to comply with the terms of this Order may subject Respondent to further legal and/or administrative action. It is so ORDERED, this day of,, ELIZABETH SAMMIS ACTING INSURANCE COMMISSIONER Signature on file with original By: Nancy Grodin, Associate Commissioner Compliance & Enforcement RESPONDENT S CONSENT RESPONDENT hereby CONSENTS to the representations made in, and to the terms of, the above Consent Order. The undersigned hereby represents that he or she has the authority to bind Senior Life Insurance Company to the terms of this Consent Order resolving Report number MCLH E. Name:. ~tc~pli~, Wti~w? Signature: Signature on file with original Title: ~ ~ki:ep0e~c~ Date: ~22.lIo