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§ 19-1004. Guidelines for persons offering and selling travel insurance

West's Annotated Code of MarylandInsuranceEffective: October 1, 2018

West's Annotated Code of Maryland
Insurance (Refs & Annos)
Title 19. Property and Casualty Insurance
Subtitle 10. Travel Insurance (Refs & Annos)
Effective: October 1, 2018
MD Code, Insurance, § 19-1004
§ 19-1004. Guidelines for persons offering and selling travel insurance
Currentness
Applicability of Title 27 of this article
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person offering travel insurance to residents of the State is subject to Title 27 of this article.
Unfair trade practice
(b) It is an unfair trade practice under Title 27 of this article for a person to offer or sell a travel insurance policy that could never result in payment of any claim for any insured under the policy.
Document requirements
(c)(1) Documents provided to a consumer before the purchase of travel insurance, including sales materials, advertising materials, and marketing materials, shall be consistent with the travel insurance policy itself, including forms, endorsements, policies, rate filings, and certificates of insurance.
(2) If a travel insurance policy or certificate contains a preexisting condition exclusion, information and an opportunity to learn more about the preexisting condition exclusion shall be provided any time before the time of purchase and in the travel protection plan's fulfillment material.
(3)(i) An insurer shall provide a policyholder or certificate holder at least 10 days after the later of the date of purchase of a travel protection plan or the policyholder's or certificate holder's receipt, either by physical or electronic means, of the travel protection plan's fulfillment material to review and, if desired, cancel the policy or certificate.
(ii) If the policyholder or certificate holder cancels the policy or certificate within the time period under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the insurer shall provide the policyholder or certificate holder a full refund of the travel protection plan price unless the insured has started the covered trip or filed a claim under the travel insurance coverage.
(4)(i) The fulfillment material shall disclose whether the travel insurance is primary or secondary to other applicable coverage.
(ii) Travel insurance is not subject to coordination of benefits for health insurance coverage.
(5) Subject to § 10-122 of this article, an action may not be deemed an unfair trade practice in violation of Title 27 of this article or other violation of law if:
(i) travel insurance is marketed directly to a consumer through an insurer's website or by another person through an aggregator site;
(ii) the insurer's website or aggregator site provides an accurate summary or short description of travel insurance coverage; and
(iii) the consumer has access to the full provisions of the travel insurance policy through electronic means.
Negative option, opt out provision, affirmative action to refuse coverage; prohibited
(d) A person offering or selling travel insurance or a travel protection plan may not offer or sell the travel insurance or travel protection plan on an individual or group basis by using a negative option or an opt out provision that requires a consumer to take an affirmative action to refuse coverage, including unchecking a box on an electronic form, when the consumer purchases a trip.
Blanket travel insurance offered with purchase of a trip
(e) It is not an unfair trade practice under Title 27 of this article for a person to include blanket travel insurance with the purchase of a trip if the blanket travel insurance is not marketed as free of charge.

Credits

Added by Acts 2018, c. 197, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2018; Acts 2018, c. 198, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2018.
MD Code, Insurance, § 19-1004, MD INSURANCE § 19-1004
Current through legislation effective through April 9, 2023, from the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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