Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumUnfair Trade Practices

An insurance company offers identical life insurance policies to two individuals who are in the exact same health risk class and have the same life expectancy. However, the insurer charges one of the individuals a 20% higher premium solely because the individual is legally blind. Under state regulations, this practice is strictly prohibited and is classified as which of the following?

  1. Unfair discriminationAnswer
  2. B
    Rebating
  3. C
    Twisting
  4. D
    Defamation

Answer

Unfair discrimination
State insurance regulations prohibit unfair discrimination, which is defined as permitting individuals of the same class and equal expectation of life to be charged different premium rates for the same coverage. Specifically, insurers are forbidden from refusing to insure or charging higher premiums solely based on physical impairments, such as blindness, unless the rate differential is based on sound actuarial principles or actual and reasonably anticipated experience.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the action taken by the insurer in the scenario.
The insurer charged a higher premium based solely on the applicant being legally blind, despite the applicant being in the same health risk class as someone paying a lower premium.
Identifying the core behavior is necessary to match it against prohibited regulatory practices.
2
Evaluate the definitions of statutory unfair trade practices.
Rebating involves unauthorized inducements; twisting involves misleading replacements; defamation involves malicious financial statements; unfair discrimination involves disparate treatment of equal risks.
Comparing the scenario to legal definitions isolates the exact violation.
3
Match the scenario to the correct regulatory violation.
The scenario perfectly aligns with the definition of unfair discrimination.
Charging different rates to individuals of the same class without actuarial justification constitutes a discriminatory practice.

Key Concept

Unfair Discrimination in Insurance Pricing
Rate this question

Topics

Unfair Trade Practices

More questions from this topic