Free Kansas Life & Health practice questions

Answer: C. The proceeds go to the sister alone and are free from the claims of Omar's creditors.

K.S.A. 40-414(a) provides that when a life policy is payable to a person with an insurable interest in the insured's life, the policy and its reserves go to the sole and separate use of the named beneficiaries and are free from the claims of the insured or of the insured's creditors. The section sets no dollar cap, does not confine the protection to a spouse or child, and gives the insured's creditors no first claim on the proceeds.

Answer: A. Yes, because the definition reaches the licensed physician responsible for the newborn's care

The statute defines the attending physician as the licensed practitioner of medicine and surgery responsible for caring for the mother or the newborn. A licensed pediatrician responsible for the newborn's care meets that definition for the newborn. The definition is not limited to the delivering physician, it does not let the health plan pick the attending physician, and it does not require the pediatrician to take over the mother's care.

Answer: B. The person proposed to become a certificateholder under the policy

The act defines the applicant differently for individual and group policies. For an individual long-term care policy, the applicant is the person seeking to contract for the benefits; for a group long-term care policy, the applicant is the proposed certificateholder. The group policyholder, the soliciting agent and the insurer's underwriting staff do not fit that definition.

Answer: B. Have its board of directors adopt a resolution establishing the account

Kansas lets a domestic life insurer create one or more separate accounts once its board of directors has adopted a resolution, and then allocate to them amounts to be applied under life or annuity contracts that pay fixed or variable benefits. The statute places that decision with the company's board. It does not make the account depend on a vote of policyholders, on a license from the securities commissioner, or on forming a subsidiary; the company itself establishes the account.

Answer: D. He must have been issued a Kansas insurance agent license, because soliciting without one is unlawful

Subject to the exemptions in K.S.A. 40-4904, Kansas makes it unlawful for any person to sell, solicit or negotiate insurance in the state unless the person has been issued an insurance agent license under the licensing act. Urging residents to apply for a particular insurer's policies is soliciting, and Omar has no exemption, so he needs the license first. The statute names soliciting alongside selling, so an insurer's consent does not substitute for a license. Nothing in the section lets education credits, or written notice to the Commissioner, take the place of the license.

Answer: D. Failing to settle promptly under one part of the coverage, where liability is apparent, to influence settlement under another part

The unfair claims settlement practices list includes holding up a prompt settlement under one portion of the coverage, once liability is apparent, in order to influence settlement under other portions. Here the property damage portion is clear and is being used as leverage on the injury portion. Requiring a preliminary report followed by a formal proof of loss carrying substantially the same information is a different listed practice, and nothing here involves duplicate paperwork. Lowball offers that force insureds to litigate and advertising a habit of appealing arbitration awards are also separate listed practices, and neither is present.

Answer: B. Commissioner of insurance

Kan. Stat. Ann. Sec. 40-105 adopts the unrepealed laws relating to the powers, duties, authority and jurisdiction of the office and declares the then superintendent of insurance to be the commissioner of insurance. The Kansas regulator therefore carries the title Commissioner of Insurance. The section does not create a director of insurance, a chief deputy superintendent or an insurance administrator.

Answer: A. It is an unfair or deceptive practice, since omitting a material fact misrepresented the policy terms

Kansas defines as an unfair or deceptive practice a sales presentation, statement or similar communication that, through an incorrect statement or the omission of a material fact, misrepresents a policy's terms, benefits, advantages or conditions. Leaving out the water damage limitation gave the buyer a false picture of the policy's terms, so accurate individual statements do not save the presentation. This part of the section does not depend on any aim of inducing the buyer to lapse or surrender another policy, which is a separate category. The section judges the presentation itself and contains no exception for a buyer who could have read the policy.

Answer: D. It may act at its discretion, subject to conditions the commissioner approves

For an impaired member insurer, the law says the association may, in its discretion, guarantee, assume, reissue or reinsure the insurer's policies, or provide funds and other means to assure payment of its contractual obligations. Any conditions the association imposes must be approved by the commissioner and must not impair the insurer's contractual obligations. Because the authority is permissive, there is no duty to assume every policy at once; the authority exists without any liquidation order; and policy owner consent is not a stated condition.

Answer: B. At least five and no more than nine

K.S.A. 40-3007(a) sets the board at no fewer than five and no more than nine member insurers, serving terms set in the plan of operation, and provides that board members are selected by the member insurers subject to the Commissioner's approval. Ranges of three to seven or seven to eleven do not match the statute, and the section gives the Governor no role in choosing directors.