(a)Filing and Approval. No policy of life insurance shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state, nor shall any endorsement, rider, or application that becomes a part of the policy be used in connection with the policy until a copy of the form has been filed with the commissioner; nor shall any policy, endorsement, rider, or application be so used until the expiration of thirty (30) days after the form has been filed, unless the commissioner sooner gives written approval. The commissioner shall notify, in writing, the insurer that has filed the form if it does not comply with this chapter, specifying the reasons for the opinion. It shall thereafter be unlawful for the insurer to issue the form in this state. In the notice, the commissioner shall state that a hearing will be granted within twenty (20) days upon written request of the insurer.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 56-7-2311

  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of commerce and insurance. See Tennessee Code 56-1-102
  • Person: means any association, aggregate of individuals, business, company, corporation, individual, joint-stock company, Lloyds-type organization, organization, partnership, receiver, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, trustee or society. See Tennessee Code 56-16-102
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b)Withdrawal of Approval – Notice of Hearings. The commissioner may, at any time after a hearing, of which not less than twenty (20) days’ written notice has been given to the insurer, withdraw approval of the form if the form contains a provision for benefits that is misleading or deceptive or that would encourage misrepresentation of the policy. It is unlawful for the insurer to issue the form or use it in connection with any policy after the effective date of the withdrawal of approval. A notice of any hearing called under this section shall specify the matters to be considered at the hearing, and any decision affirming disapproval or directing withdrawal of approval under this section shall be in writing and shall specify the reasons for the decision.
(c)Disapproval – Substantial Compliance. The commissioner shall not disapprove or withdraw approval of any policy on the ground that its provisions do not comply with this chapter, if it is shown that the rights of the insured or the beneficiary under the policy as a whole are not less favorable than the rights provided by this chapter.
(d)Review – Certiorari. Any order or decision of the commissioner under this section shall be subject to review in the manner provided by title 27, chapter 9, pertaining to the statutory writ of certiorari.
(e)Policy Deliverable in Another State. If any policy is issued by an insurer domiciled in this state for delivery to a person residing in another state, and if the official having responsibility for the administration of the insurance laws of the other state has advised the commissioner that the policy is not subject to approval or disapproval by the official, the commissioner may by ruling require that the policy meet the standards set forth in this chapter.
(f)Application to Annuity Contracts and Life Policies. This section applies to individual annuity contracts, but not to group annuity contracts, to individual and group life insurance policies and to industrial life insurance policies.
(g)Filing Procedure. The commissioner may make reasonable rules and regulations concerning the procedure for the filing or submission of policies subject to this section as are necessary, proper or advisable to the administration of this section.