Free Connecticut Property & Casualty practice questions

Answer: D. Issuing a new certificate that accurately reflects the provisions of the referenced policy

Connecticut prohibits any person from issuing a certificate of insurance containing false or misleading information about the coverage in the referenced policy, so showing a limit the policy does not carry is barred. A new or amended certificate may be issued only if it accurately reflects the policy's provisions, which is why an accurate new certificate is permitted. The statute also forbids representing that a certificate confers rights beyond those in the policy, or that amending a certificate will alter or extend the policy's coverage.

Answer: B. As defined in the commissioner's regulations adopted under Sec. 38a-393(b)

The employee-notice statute provides that professional liability insurance is to be construed as defined in regulations the Insurance Commissioner adopted under subsection (b) of Sec. 38a-393. It points to that source alone, so the parties to the policy do not supply their own definition for this purpose, and neither the commercial risk definition in Sec. 38a-663 nor a professional licensing board's definition controls.

Answer: C. Suspending the license and levying a civil penalty in the same action

For any listed cause, including intentionally misrepresenting the terms of an actual or proposed insurance contract, the commissioner may place a producer's license on probation, suspend it, revoke it, refuse to issue or renew it, or levy a civil penalty, and may use any combination of those actions. Suspension together with a civil penalty in one action is therefore permitted. The statute does not bar pairing revocation with a penalty, does not require probation to be tried first, and does not make probation depend on the producer's consent.

Answer: A. The driver is refunded whatever portion of the down payment is still unearned

The plan generally treats the minimum down payment as the minimum earned premium. Connecticut overrides that in listed situations: when, before the down-payment period ends, the insured asks to cancel because the car was sold or repossessed, was stolen or destroyed, the insured joined the armed forces, replaced the coverage in the voluntary market, never took title or possession, or moved out of state and registered the car there, the unearned portion of the down payment must be refunded. A sale is on that list, so the insurer may not keep the whole down payment, and the provision attaches no replacement-vehicle condition. The refund reaches the unearned portion only, not premium already earned.

Answer: B. It is prohibited, because it misstates policy provisions on coverages at issue

The statute lists misrepresenting pertinent facts or insurance policy provisions relating to coverages at issue as an unfair claim settlement practice when committed with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice. Telling claimants that a covered procedure is excluded misstates the policy's provisions on the very coverage at issue, and the stem establishes the frequency. Each listed practice stands on its own, so no second failing, such as missing investigation standards, is needed. The statute is not confined to payment timing, and nothing in this provision waits on a proof of loss.

Answer: C. Dana is an insurance producer, but she becomes an agent of an insurer only once that insurer appoints her

Connecticut defines an agent as an insurance producer whom an insurer has appointed to act on that insurer's behalf, with the appointment made under Sec. 38a-702m. Dana holds a producer license but has no appointment, so she is not yet any insurer's agent. Her property and casualty authority does not make her an agent of the insurers she quotes, because the definition turns on appointment, not on lines of authority. Submitting an application does not by itself make her an agent, since the definition requires that the insurer appoint her. The commissioner is not an appointing insurer, so the commissioner's issuing her license does not make her the commissioner's agent.

Answer: B. Saturday at 10 a.m., 24 hours after the last downgrade

Connecticut lets the hurricane deductible period begin no earlier than the National Hurricane Center's issuance of a hurricane warning for any part of the state. The period ends at whichever of two moments comes first: 24 hours after the Center terminates its last hurricane warning, or 24 hours after its last downgrade of the storm from hurricane status. Here the downgrade at 10 a.m. Friday came first, so the period ends 24 hours later, at 10 a.m. Saturday. Saturday at 6 p.m. uses the later endpoint, but the statute picks the earlier one. Both Friday answers leave out the 24 hours the statute adds after each event.

Answer: A. A salaried claims examiner employed by the insurer who investigates and settles auto claims and is paid no commission

Connecticut excuses an officer, director or employee of an insurer or producer from producer licensing only when two conditions are both met: the person receives no commission on policies covering Connecticut risks, and the person's work fits a listed category. The categories include claim processing, adjusting, investigating and settling; underwriting, loss control and inspection; executive, administrative, managerial or clerical work only indirectly related to sales; and acting as a special agent or agency supervisor who gives licensed producers technical help without selling. The claims examiner meets both conditions. Underwriting is a listed function, but the underwriter's commission on Connecticut policies removes the exemption. The clerical employee also loses it by taking commissions. An agency supervisor qualifies only when the role excludes selling, and this supervisor sells policies directly.

Answer: D. The Insurance Commissioner, in accordance with chapter 54

Connecticut authorizes the Insurance Commissioner to adopt regulations, following chapter 54, to implement the hurricane deductible provision and the Insurance Department's current guidelines and bulletins on hurricane deductibles. The National Hurricane Center's warnings and downgrades mark when the deductible period opens and closes, but the statute gives it no rulemaking power. An insurer may choose to impose a hurricane deductible in its policy, yet the regulatory authority belongs to the commissioner. The statute gives no rulemaking power to the State Fire Marshal.

Answer: A. The dollar amount the injured person intends to demand in settlement

Under Sec. 38a-335a(b), a request for policy-limit disclosure must come with an attorney's letter, or the injured person's affidavit, covering four things: the type of claim alleged, the date and approximate time of the incident, a description of the injuries with copies of the medical bills and records, and the accident report if one is available. An attorney's letter must also include the attorney's juris number. The list does not call for a settlement demand figure.