An insurer's claims manager warns a policyholder that continuing to complain to the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance will make things very difficult for the policyholder's pending claims. The insurer acts alone; no other insurer is involved. Which practice has occurred?

Why A is correct

T.C.A. § 56-8-104(4) lists boycott, coercion, and intimidation together, but only the boycott half depends on two or more insurers acting in concert. Coercion and intimidation are unilateral pressure tactics, so threats aimed at discouraging a policyholder from exercising her right to contact the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance fall squarely within the prohibition even when one insurer acts alone. Complaining to the regulator is a protected activity, and retaliation through threats compounds the violation.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) A boycott requires concerted refusal to deal by multiple parties; a lone insurer's threats are intimidation or coercion, not a boycott.
• C) The insurer manages claims within the law, and Tennessee unfair-trade-practice law expressly forbids intimidation, so this conduct is not unregulated discretion.
• D) The issue is the threat used against the complainant, not a rate or coverage distinction among individuals of the same class.

Memory hook

Boycott needs company; coercion and intimidation work solo.