Code of Ethics

Trinidad and Tobago Association of
Insurance and Financial Advisers

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1. A life underwriter shall place the interests of policyowners and prospective purchasers before his own and advise them to the best of his ability without bias and without regard for his own personal advantage.

2. Confidential Information

A life underwriter shall respect the confidence of policyowners and prospective purchasers and carefully safeguard any information which becomes known to him regarding their personal and business affairs.

3. Misrepresentation

A life underwriter shall not make any false or misleading statement or representation in the course of selling or servicing life insurance. This requirement places the responsibility on the life underwriter to make full and adequate disclosure of all facts necessary to enable a policyowner or prospective purchaser to make decisions which are his own best interest.

4. Defamation

A life underwriter shall uphold the institution of life insurance and refrain from making statements of a misleading or defamatory nature which might cause members of the public to lose confidence in any life insurance company, its policies or its agents.

5. Rebating

A life underwriter shall not, directly or indirectly, rebate or attempt to rebate all or any part of a premium for life insurance. Rebating shall include any agreement as to the premium to be paid for a policy other than as set forth in the policy any payment, allowance, or gift as an inducement to insure; any paid employment, contract for services, or inducement of any kind intended to be in the nature of a rebate of premium for life insurance, in respect of which a reduced special premium has been established on the understanding that the life underwriter will forego all or part ofthe regular commission normally payable.

6. When a Sale is to be Considered Complete

(a) A life underwriter shall regard a sale of life insurance as being completed not only when the life insurance is in force and a policy has been issued but also from the moment that the sale is considered completed in accordance with following conditions:

l) When an application for life insurance is signed and settlement in whole or part of first premium as specified in the application is made by applicant.

i. payment of cash or cheque * in full,
ii. part cash or cheque and not for balance,
iii. partial settlement in cash or by cheque,
iv. a signed authorization for a salary savings case or under a banker's order plan, or
v. a signed authorization to transfer fund from one policy to another within the same company:

2) When, in case of a single premium annuity contract, the application is signed and full settlement of the premium is made;

3) When, in the case of life .insurance issued with an interim term period not exceeding one year, the application has been signed and the interim term premium is paid;

4) When, in the case of funds to be transferred to a Registered Pension Plan, or a Registered
Retirement Savings Plan.

5) When, in the case of funds to be transferred from whatever source the life underwriter has received an authorization and direction to transfer the funds, duly signed and completed by the applicant.

*whenever the word "cheque" appears above, it shall mean a cheque which is not post-dated.

b) A sale of life insurance may be reopened:

I) When partial settlement is made but no further arrangements are made wi thin the next 60 days to pay the balance of the premium;

2) When full settlement of the premium is made but, where a medical examination has not been completed within 60 days, or

3) When the life insurance is issued on terms which differ from those applied for and the new terms have not been accepted by the applicant.

Replacement

(a) A life underwriter shall not, where it could be detrimental to the interest of the policyowner, directly or indirectly induce or attempt to induce a policyowner to:

1. rescind,

2. lapse,

3. forfeit, or surrender for cash, or for paid up or extended insurance, or other valuable consideration, or

4. Subject to substantial borrowing whether in, a single loan or over a period of time, any existing contract of life insurance in order to replace it with another contract for life insurance.

(b) Where it appears that a replacement, as described in paragraph (a) above, could be detrimental to the interests of a policyowner, a life underwriter shall make every reasonable effort to maintain the existing life insurance in force.

(c) Where it appears that, due to a change in circumstances, existing life insurance should be amended or changed to another plan of life insurance, a life underwriter shall endeavour to have the life insurance amended or changed by the insurer which issued the existing life insurance in order that any values, credits or privileges in the existing life insurance can be transferred to the amended or changed contract of life insurance unless it becomes apparent that such amendment or change by the existing insurer would be detrimental to the interest of the policyowner.

Where a policyowner decides to proceed with a replacement, whether or not such replacement could be detrimental to the interests of the policyowner, the life underwriter shall:

1. obtain with or as part of each application a list of all life insurance in force,

2. list in a "Replacement of Life Insurance Form" (as prescribed by the Board of Directors) the policy number and the name of the insurer that issued each contract of life insurance intended to be replaced,

3. compile and present to the applicant and leave with the applicant, not later than at the time of taking the application, a fully completed "Replacement of Life Insurance Form" signed by the agent,

4. forward a completed copy of the "Replacement of Life Insurance Form" to every insurer whose life insurance is intended to be replaced,

5. where a substantial borrowing (in excess of 50 per cent of the tabular cash value of one or more policies) on existing life insurance is involved in the transaction, caution the applicant that it is not usually advisable to borrow against loan values beyond the expected ability of the applicant to repay.

6. forward a true copy of the "Replacement of Life Insurance Form" as presented to the applicant, to the company requested to issue any new life insurance, and

7. deliver the new policy or policies, unless contrary written directions have been received from the applicant, as soon as practical after the date the "Replacement of Life Insurance Form" was delivered to the applicant.

8. Rated Policies

A life underwriter shall make every reasonable make every effort to have an insurer reduce or eliminate the extra premium for a medical or occupational rating under existing life insurance when it appears that another insurer would now issue new life insurance on the same plan without any extra premium or with a substantially reduced extra premium. If the insurer which issued the existing life insurance will not reduce or eliminate the extra premium, the life underwriter shall proceed in accordance with Code 7 (d) except that where the completed application must be submitted to the new insurer in order to ascertain the precise terms of the proposed new life insurance Form” as required in Code 7 (d) may be deferred until the terms of the proposed new life insurance are available.

9. Transfer of Group Insurance

A life, underwriter shall, when obtaining a proposal or proposals for group insurance, endeavour to the best of his ability to protect the interest of the purchaser with respect to any existing group insurance contract or contracts. The life underwriter shall therefore satisfy himself that any existing insurer has a reasonable opportunity to conserve its business or make any desirable changes because the transfer of group business to a new insurer will normally result in new acquisition costs and may also result in loss of accumulated contingency and other reserves. Where possible, the life underwriter shall endeavour to ensure that the insurer or insurers making a new proposal are provided with the pertinent facts relating to past claims experience and the actual rates charges.

10. Transfer of Pension Business

A life underwriter shall, when obtaining a proposal or proposals for any employees' pension plan, endeavour to the best of his ability to protect the interests of the purchaser with respect to any existing contracts either group pension contracts or individual pension trust contracts. The life underwriter should therefore satisfy himself that any existing insurer . has a reasonable opportunity to conserve its business and to may any desirable changes in the plan in order to provide maximum credit for all existing pension values. It should be borne in mind that most pension contracts are of a long-term nature and it is unlikely to be in the best interest of the purchaser to carriers for merely temporary advantage. In the case of any transfer of pension business between carriers, the life underwriter shall endeavour to the best of his ability to see that the rights of existing participants in the pension plan are not prejudiced in any way.

11. Holding Out To The Public

(a) A life underwriter shall hold himself out publicly, and carry on business in goof faith, as a life agent in conformity with provisions of law of Trinidad and Tobago under which he is licensed. It therefore follows that a life underwriter licensed as life agent shall not hold himself out as being unconnected with any life insurer.

(b) A life underwriter shall not hold himself out as offering counsel in the fields of law, accounting, taxation or investment. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a life underwriter who is duly qualified as a lawyer, accountant or investment counsellor, may identify his qualification.

insurance agent, indicate his capacity to provide advice or services other

than in connection with employee benefits, group insurance, pension

plans, business life insurance, life insurance annuities, health insurance,

income replacement, and estate planning.

(d) A life underwriter shall not carry on his business as a life agent under a business name or description which includes the words "and associates" unless the life underwriter has at least one associate who is a licensed agent directly associated with him.

12. Improper Advertising

A life underwriter shall not solicit publicity or pay for advertising which indicates a volume of personal production or membership in a club or other organization in which the production of a stipulated volume of business is a necessary qualification for membership. This prohibition does not apply to publicity in insurance company publications or in insurance trade journals.

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