Virginia regulates the advertising of accident and sickness insurance through administrative rules. What is the fundamental standard that every health insurance advertisement an insurer or producer publishes must meet?
Select an option to reveal the answer and the full 3-part explanation — free, no signup.
Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why B is correct
Virginia's marketing and advertising rules for accident and sickness insurance (14 VAC 5-90) make truthfulness the baseline: an advertisement may not misrepresent the benefits, terms, or conditions of the policy, and it must not create a false impression of what the coverage pays. The Virginia Bureau of Insurance enforces this standard because advertising is often the consumer's first and only contact with the product before purchase. An ad that overstates benefits or hides limitations exposes the insurer and producer to regulatory action under Virginia's unfair trade practices framework.
Why the other options are wrong
- A) A 30-day advance filing-and-approval requirement is not the basic advertising standard; the governing rule is that advertisements be truthful and not misleading.
- C) Guaranteed-acceptance claims are a classic misleading statement when the actual coverage is underwritten; truthfulness, not such a promise, is the requirement.
- D) Referencing guaranty association protection in sales material is itself prohibited in Virginia under Va. Code § 38.2-1715.
Memory hook
Health ads must tell the truth, the whole benefit, and nothing but the benefit.