A Georgia producer circulates a flyer that makes false, malicious statements about a competing insurer's financial condition, intending to injure the competitor's business. What unfair trade practice has occurred?

Why D is correct

Under O.C.G.A. § 33-6-4(b)(3), defamation consists of making or circulating false or malicious statements about a competitor or any person engaged in the insurance business that are calculated to injure the person or the business. The flyer's false, malicious attacks on the competitor's financial condition fit this definition squarely, and both the producer and any insurer that sanctions the conduct face unfair trade practice liability.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) A boycott is an agreement among parties to refuse to deal with someone, not the circulation of false statements.
• B) Misrepresentation concerns false statements about the terms, benefits, or dividends of a policy to buyers, not attacks on a competitor.
• C) Twisting is inducing a policyholder to lapse or surrender a policy through misrepresentation, which is unrelated to disparaging a competitor.

Memory hook

Lies about a rival = defamation.