62S.30 SUITABILITY.
    Subdivision 1. Standards. Every insurer or other entity marketing long-term care insurance
shall:
(1) develop and use suitability standards to determine whether the purchase or replacement
of long-term care insurance is appropriate for the needs of the applicant;
(2) train its agents in the use of its suitability standards; and
(3) maintain a copy of its suitability standards and make them available for inspection
upon request by the commissioner.
    Subd. 2. Procedures. (a) To determine whether the applicant meets the standards developed
by the insurer or other entity marketing long-term care insurance, the agent and insurer or other
entity marketing long-term care insurance shall develop procedures that take the following into
consideration:
(1) the ability to pay for the proposed coverage and other pertinent financial information
related to the purchase of the coverage;
(2) the applicant's goals or needs with respect to long-term care and the advantages and
disadvantages of insurance to meet those goals or needs; and
(3) the values, benefits, and costs of the applicant's existing insurance, if any, when compared
to the values, benefits, and costs of the recommended purchase or replacement.
(b) The insurer or other entity marketing long-term care insurance, and the agent, where an
agent is involved, shall make reasonable efforts to obtain the information set forth in paragraph
(a). The efforts shall include presentation to the applicant, at or prior to application, of the
"Long-Term Care Insurance Personal Worksheet." The personal worksheet used by the insurer or
other entity marketing long-term care insurance shall contain, at a minimum, the information in
the format contained in Appendix B of the Long-Term Care Model Regulation adopted by the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners, in not less than 12-point type. The insurer or
other entity marketing long-term care insurance may request the applicant to provide additional
information to comply with its suitability standards. The insurer or other entity marketing
long-term care insurance shall file a copy of its personal worksheet with the commissioner.
(c) A completed personal worksheet shall be returned to the insurer or other entity marketing
long-term care insurance prior to consideration of the applicant for coverage, except the personal
worksheet need not be returned for sales of employer group long-term care insurance to employees
and their spouses. The sale or dissemination by the insurer or other entity marketing long-term
care insurance, or the agent, of information obtained through the personal worksheet, is prohibited.
(d) The insurer or other entity marketing long-term care insurance shall use the suitability
standards it has developed under this section in determining whether issuing long-term care
insurance coverage to an applicant is appropriate. Agents shall use the suitability standards
developed by the insurer or other entity marketing long-term care insurance in marketing
long-term care insurance.
(e) At the same time as the personal worksheet is provided to the applicant, the disclosure
form entitled "Things You Should Know Before You Buy Long-Term Care Insurance" shall be
provided. The form shall be in the format contained in Appendix C of the Long-Term Care
Insurance Model Regulation adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in
not less than 12-point type.
(f) If the insurer or other entity marketing long-term care insurance determines that the
applicant does not meet its financial suitability standards, or if the applicant has declined to
provide the information, the insurer or other entity marketing long-term care insurance may reject
the application. In the alternative, the insurer or other entity marketing long-term care insurance
shall send the applicant a letter similar to Appendix D of the Long-Term Care Insurance Model
Regulation adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. However, if the
applicant has declined to provide financial information, the insurer or other entity marketing
long-term care insurance may use some other method to verify the applicant's intent. The
applicant's returned letter or a record of the alternative method of verification shall be made
part of the applicant's file.
    Subd. 3. Reports. The insurer or other entity marketing long-term care insurance shall report
annually to the commissioner the total number of applications received from residents of this
state, the number of those who declined to provide information on the personal worksheet, the
number of applicants who did not meet the suitability standards, and the number of those who
chose to confirm after receiving a suitability letter.
    Subd. 4. Application. This section shall not apply to life insurance policies that accelerate
benefits for long-term care.
History: 1997 c 71 art 1 s 30; 2001 c 117 art 2 s 12; 2006 c 255 s 55; 2006 c 282 art 17 s 21