It shall be unlawful for an insurer to use a policy form in affecting insurance except health insurance as approved pursuant to § 18308.1 without first obtaining the Commissioner’s approval thereof as provided herein:

(a) The Commissioner shall study each form for the purpose of guarding against any fraud, misrepresentations or other forms of unfairness to the writings of the insured; if he shall approve a form, he shall endorse his approval on the face of both duplicates and transmit one to the insured and keep one in his permanent files; if he shall disapprove a
form, he shall issue an order of disapproval stating therein his reasons and transmit a copy of the same to the insurer.

(b) All policies and provisions therein shall be printed in a type of which the face is not smaller than ten-point.

(c) Every policy form filed with the Commissioner for approval shall be accompanied by a filing fee of Twenty Dollars ($20.00).

SOURCE: GC § 43357. Subsection (c) added by P.L. 29-002:V:I:97 (May 18, 2007). Amended by P.L. 29-121:4 (Dec. 2, 2008).

NOTE: GC § 43357 contained subsections (b) and (c) without a subsection (a). GC § 43357 (b) and (c) changed to (a) and (b) respectively to reflect correct citation.

§ 18308.1 Form Approval: Health Insurance.

(a) No health insurance policy or endorsement shall be delivered or issued for delivery in Guam unless the policy or endorsement form is filed for approval with the Commissioner at least forty-five (45) days prior to its effective date.

(b) The Commissioner shall review each health insurance policy or endorsement filed for the purpose of determining the following about the policy or endorsement:

(1) Whether it is in violation of this Chapter;

(2) Whether it contains any title, heading, or provision that is misleading;

(3) Whether it contains provisions that are so unclear or deceptively worded that they encourage misrepresentation; or

(4) Whether it provides coverage of such a limited nature that it is contrary to the public interest of Guam.

(c) Within forty-five (45) days after the filing of any health insurance policy form or endorsement requiring approval pursuant to this Section, the Commissioner will indicate approval by signing or giving explanation for disapproval in writing. The Commissioner, for good cause, may extend, for up to an additional forty-five (45) days, the period within which he shall approve or disapprove the policy form or endorsement.Good cause may include written notification to the insurer within the first forty-five (45) days that its submission is incomplete, and the items necessary to complete the submission. Any policy form or endorsement received but neither approved nor disapproved by the Commissioner shall be deemed approved at the end of the forty-five (45) days if the period is not extended, or at the end of the extended period, if any; however, no policy form or endorsement shall be deemed approved under the provisions of this Section unless written notice of the intent to use the policy form or endorsement has been filed with the Commissioner.

(d) If the Commissioner proposes to withdraw approval previously given or deemed given to the policy form or endorsement to which this Section applies, he shall notify the insurer in writing at least ninety (90) days prior to the proposed effective date of withdrawal giving his reasons for withdrawal.

(e) The policy and endorsement forms approved under this Section shall be open to public inspection. Copies may be obtained by any person on request and upon payment of a reasonable charge for the copies.

(f) Every health insurance policy form filed with the Commissioner for approval shall be accompanied by a filing fee of Twenty Dollars ($20.00). An application for insurance and other collateral documents which are not incorporated by reference into a policy of insurance are not insurance policy forms for the purpose of determining the filing fee.

SOURCE: Added by P.L. 29-121:5 (Dec. 2, 2008)