this section, see 84 Del. Laws, c. 209, § 3]. The following are defined as unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the business of insurance: (1) Misrepresentations and false advertising of insurance policies. — No person shall make, issue, circulate or cause to be made, issued or circulated any estimate, circular, statement, sales presentation, omission or comparison which: a. Misrepresents the benefits, advantages, conditions or terms of any insurance policy; b. Misrepresents the dividends or share of the surplus to be received on any insurance policy; c. Makes any false or misleading statements as to the dividends or share of surplus previously paid on any insurance policy; d. Is misleading or is a misrepresentation as to the financial condition of any person, or as to the legal reserve system upon which any life insurer operates; e. Uses any name or title of any insurance policy or class of insurance policies misrepresenting the true nature thereof; f. Is a misrepresentation for the purpose of inducing or tending to induce to the lapse, forfeiture, exchange, conversion or surrender of any insurance policy; g. Is a misrepresentation for the purpose of effecting a pledge or assignment of or effecting a loan against any insurance policy; or h. Misrepresents any insurance policy as being shares of stock. (2) False information and advertising generally. — No person shall make, publish, disseminate, circulate or place before the public, or cause, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated or placed before the public, in a newspaper, magazine or other publication, or in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter or poster, or over any radio or television station, or in any other way, an advertisement, announcement or statement containing any assertion, representation or statement with respect to the business of insurance or with respect to any person in the conduct of the insurance business, which is untrue, deceptive or misleading. (3) Defamation. — No person shall make, publish, disseminate or circulate, directly or indirectly, or aid, abet or encourage the making, publishing, disseminating or circulating of any oral or written statement or any pamphlet, circular, article or literature which is false, or maliciously critical of or derogatory to the financial condition of an insurer, or of an organization proposing to become an insurer, and which is circulated to injure any person engaged or proposing to engage in the business of insurance. (4) Boycott, coercion and intimidation. — No person shall enter into any agreement to commit, or by any concerted action commit, any act of boycott, coercion or intimidation resulting in or tending to result in unreasonable restraint of or any monopoly in any business of insurance. (5) Interlocking ownership, management. — a. Any insurer may retain, invest in or acquire the whole or any part of the capital stock of any other insurer or insurers, or have a common management with any other insurer or insurers, unless such retention, investment, acquisition or common management is inconsistent with any other provision of this title, or unless by reason thereof the business of such insurers with the public is conducted in a manner which substantially lessens competition generally in the insurance business or tends to create any monopoly therein. b. Any person otherwise qualified may be a director of 2 or more insurers which are competitors, unless the effect thereof is to lessen substantially competition between insurers generally or tends materially to create any monopoly. (6) Prohibited political contributions; penalty. — a. No insurer or bank acting as an insurer pursuant to § 761(a)(14) of Title 5 shall directly or indirectly pay or use, or offer, consent or agree to pay or use, any money or property for or in aid of any candidate for the office of Insurance Commissioner of the State, or for nomination for such office, or for the reimbursement or indemnification of any person for money or property so used. b. Any officer, director, stockholder or agent of any insurer which violates any of the provisions of this section, who participates in, aids, abets or advises or consents to any such violation, or any person who solicits or knowingly receives any money or property in violation of this section, shall, in addition to any other penalties imposed by law, be punished by imprisonment for not more than 1 year and a fine of not more than $1,000; and any officer or director abetting in any contribution made in violation of this section shall be liable to the insurer for the amount so contributed. (7) Illegal dealing in premiums; excess charges for insurance. — a. No person shall wilfully collect any sum as premium or charge for insurance, which insurance is not then provided or is not in due course to be provided (subject to acceptance of the risk by the insurer) by an insurance policy issued by an insurer as authorized by this title. b. No person shall wilfully collect as premium or charge for insurance any sum in excess of the premium or charge applicable to such insurance, and as specified in the policy, in accordance with the applicable classifications and rates as filed with and approved by the Commissioner; or, in cases where classifications, premiums or rates are not required to be so filed and approved, such premiums and charges shall not be in excess of those specified in the policy and as fixed by the insurer. This provision shall not be deemed to prohibit the charging and collection by surplus lines brokers licensed under Chapter 19 of this title of the amount of applicable state and federal taxes and nominal service charge to cover communication expenses, in addition to the premium required by the insurer, nor shall it be deemed to prohibit the charging and collection by a life insurer of amounts actually to be expended for medical examination of an applicant for life insurance or for reinstatement of a life insurance policy. (8) Insurance as inducement to purchase. — No person shall directly or indirectly participate in any plan to offer or effect any kind or kinds of life or health insurance or annuities as an inducement to or in connection with the purchase by the public of any goods, securities, commodities, services or subscriptions to periodicals. This section shall not apply as to insurance written in connection with an indebtedness if the purpose of such insurance is to pay the indebtedness in case of death or disability of the insured. (9) Insurer name; deceptive use prohibited. — No person who is not an insurer shall assume or use any name which deceptively implies or suggests that it is an insurer. This section shall not preclude a corporation heretofore or hereafter formed under the laws of this State from using such a name between the date it is incorporated and the date it begins to engage in any business, if during such period the corporate activities are limited to its organization or reorganization or to those activities it would be permitted to engage in, if it were an insurer, under § 4904(2) of this title. (10) Service and processing charges by mortgagee prohibited. — No mortgagee or agent of any mortgagee shall accept or receive any monetary charge or fee from a mortgagor for handling, servicing or processing insurance policies or endorsements or for the issuances or cancellation of such policies, or property located within this State; provided that this provision shall not apply to charges or fees of an insurance department or division of a corporation established under Chapter 7 or regulated under Chapter 9 of Title 5. (11) False statements and entries. — a. No person shall knowingly file with any supervisory or other public official, or knowingly make, publish, disseminate, circulate or deliver to any person, or place before the public, or knowingly cause directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, delivered to any person, or placed before the public, any false, material statement of fact as to the financial condition of an insurer. b. No person shall knowingly make any false entry of a material fact in any book, report or statement of any insurer with intent to deceive any agent or examiner lawfully appointed to examine into its condition or into any of the affairs, or any public official to whom such insurer is required by law to report, or who has authority by law to examine into its condition or into any of its affairs, or, with like intent, knowingly omit to make a true entry of any material fact pertaining to the business of such insurer in any book, report or statement of such insurer. c. No person shall advertise the capital or assets of any insurer without in the same advertisement setting forth the amount of the insurer's liabilities. (12) Stock operations and advisory board contracts. — a. No person shall offer, issue or deliver or permit its agents, officers or employees to offer, issue or deliver agency company stock or other capital stock, or benefit certificates or shares in any common- law corporation, or securities or any special or advisory board contracts of any kind promising returns and profits as an inducement to insurance. b. No insurer authorized or proposing to be authorized to transact insurance in this State shall offer, issue or deliver, or permit its agents, officers or employees to offer, issue or deliver in any other state any such agency company stock, certificates, shares or contracts as inducement to insurance. (13) Unfair discrimination; life insurance, annuities, and health insurance. — a. No person shall make or permit any unfair discrimination between individuals of the same class and equal expectation of life in the rates charged for any contract of life insurance or of life annuity or in the dividends or other benefits payable thereon, or in any other of the terms and conditions of such contract. b. No person shall make or permit any unfair discrimination between individuals of the same class and of essentially the same hazard in the amount of premium, policy fees or rates charged for any policy or contract of accident or health insurance or in the benefits payable thereunder, or in any of the terms or conditions of such contract, or in any other manner whatever. (14) Rebates; life, health and annuity contracts. — Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, no person shall knowingly permit or offer to make or make any contract of life insurance, life annuity or accident and health insurance, or agreement as to such contract other than as plainly expressed in the insurance contract issued thereon, or pay or allow, or give or offer to pay, allow or give directly or indirectly, or knowingly accept, as inducement to such insurance or annuity, any rebate of premiums payable on the contract, or any special favor or advantage in the dividends or other benefits thereon, or any paid employment or contract for services of any kind, or any valuable consideration or inducement whatever not specified in the contract, or directly or indirectly give, or sell, or purchase or offer or agree to give, sell or purchase, or allow as an inducement to such insurance contract or annuity or, in connection therewith and whether or not specified in the policy or contract, any agreement of any form or nature promising returns and profits, or any stocks, bonds or other securities, or interest present or contingent therein or as measured thereby, or any insurer or any insurance company or other corporation, association or partnership, or any dividends or profits accrued thereon, or to accrue thereon, or anything of value whatsoever not specified in the contract. (15) Unfair discrimination, rebates prohibited; property, casualty, surety insurance. — a. No property, casualty or surety insurer or any employee or representative thereof, and no broker, agent or solicitor shall pay, allow or give, or offer to pay, allow or give, directly or indirectly, as an inducement to insurance, or after insurance has been effected, any rebate, discount, abatement, credit or reduction of the premium named in a policy of insurance, or any special favor or advantage in the dividends or other benefits to accrue thereon, or any valuable consideration or inducement whatever, not specified or provided for in the policy, except to the extent provided for in an applicable filing with the Commissioner as provided by law. b. No insured named in a policy, nor any employee of such insured, shall knowingly receive or accept directly or indirectly any such rebate, discount, abatement, credit or reduction of premium, or any such special favor or advantage or valuable consideration or inducement. c. No such insurer shall make or permit any unfair discrimination between insureds or property having life insuring or risk characteristics, in the premium or rates charged for insurance, or in the dividends or other benefits payable thereon, or in any other of the terms and conditions of the insurance. d. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the payment of commissions or other compensation to licensed agents, brokers or solicitors, or as prohibiting any insurer from allowing or returning to its participating policyholders, members or subscribers dividends, savings or unabsorbed premium deposits. In this section "insurance" includes suretyship, and "policy" includes bond. This section does not apply to wet marine and transportation insurance. e. Nothing in paragraph (13) or paragraph (14) of this section shall be construed as including within the definition of discrimination or rebates any of the following practices: 1. In the case of any contract of life insurance or life annuity, paying bonuses to policyholders or otherwise abating their premiums in whole or in part out of surplus accumulated from nonparticipating insurance, provided that any such bonuses or abatement or premiums shall be fair and equitable to policyholders and for the best interests of the company and its policyholders; 2. In the case of life insurance policies issued on the industrial debit plan, making allowance to policyholders who have continuously for a specified period made premium payments directly to an office of the insurer in an amount which fairly represents the saving in collection expenses; 3. Readjustment of the rate of premium for a group insurance policy based on the loss or expense experience thereunder, at the end of the first or any subsequent policy year of insurance thereunder, which may be made retroactive only for such policy year; 4. Reduction of premium rates for policies of large amounts, but not exceeding savings in issuance and administration expenses reasonably attributable to such policies as compared with policies of similar plans issued in smaller amounts; 5. Reduction in premium rates for life or health insurance policies on annuity contracts on salary savings, payroll deductions, preauthorized checks, bank drafts or similar plans in amounts reasonably commensurate with the savings made by the use of such plans. f. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as including within the definition of securities as inducement to purchase insurance, the selling or offering for sale, contemporaneously with life insurance or mutual fund shares or face amount certificates of regulated investment companies under offerings registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission where such shares or such face amount certificates or such insurance may be purchased independently of and not contingent upon purchase of the other, at the same price and upon similar terms and conditions as where purchased independently. (16) Unfair claim settlement practices. — No person shall commit or perform with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice any of the following: a. Misrepresenting pertinent facts or insurance policy provisions relating to coverages at issue; b. Failing to acknowledge and act reasonably promptly upon communication with respect to claims arising under insurance policies; c. Failing to adopt and implement reasonable standards for the prompt investigation of claims arising under insurance policies; d. Refusing to pay claims without conducting a reasonable investigation based upon all available information; e. Failing to affirm or deny coverage of claims within a reasonable time after proof of loss statements have been completed; f. Not attempting in good faith to effectuate prompt, fair and equitable settlements of claims in which liability has become reasonably clear; g. Compelling insureds to institute litigation to recover amounts due under an insurance policy by offering substantially less than the amounts ultimately recovered in actions brought by such insureds; h. Attempting to settle a claim for less than the amount to which a reasonable person would have believed that person's own self was entitled by reference to written or printed advertising material accompanying or made part of an application; i. Attempting to settle claims on the basis of an application which was altered without notice to or knowledge or consent of the insured; j. Making claims payments to insureds or beneficiaries not accompanied by a statement setting forth the coverage under which the payments are being made; k. Making known to insureds or claimants a policy of appealing from arbitration awards in favor of insureds or claimants for the purpose of compelling them to accept settlements or compromises less than the amount awarded in arbitration; l. Delaying the investigation or payment of claims by requiring an insured, claimant or the physician of either to submit a preliminary claim report and then requiring the subsequent submission of formal proof of loss forms, both of which submissions contain substantially the same information; m. Failing to promptly settle claims, where liability has become reasonably clear under one portion of the insurance policy coverage in order to influence settlements under other portions of the insurance policy coverage; n. Failing to promptly provide a reasonable explanation of the basis in the insurance policy in relation to the facts or applicable law for denial of a claim or for the offer of a compromise settlement. (17) Failure to maintain complaint handling procedures. — Failure of any person to maintain a complete record of all the complaints which it has received since the date of its last examination as otherwise required in this title. This record shall indicate the total number of complaints, their classification by line of insurance, the nature of each complaint, the disposition of these complaints and the time it took to process each complaint. For purposes of this subsection, "complaint" shall mean any written communication primarily expressing a grievance. (18) Misrepresentation in insurance applications. — a. Making false or fraudulent statements or representations on or relative to an application for an insurance policy for the purpose of obtaining a fee, commission, money or other benefit from any insurers, agent, broker or individual. b. No agent, broker, solicitor, examining physician, applicant or other person shall knowingly or wilfully make any false or fraudulent statement or representation in or with reference to any application for insurance or, for the purpose of obtaining any money or benefit, knowingly or wilfully present or cause to be presented a false or fraudulent claim or any proof in support of such a claim for the payment of the loss upon a contract of insurance or prepare, make or subscribe a false or fraudulent account, certificate, affidavit or proof of loss or other document or writing with intent that the same may be presented or used in support of such a claim. (19) Fictitious groups. — a. No insurer, whether an authorized insurer or an unauthorized insurer, shall make available through any rating plan or form property, casualty or surety insurance to any firm, corporation or association of individuals or make any preferred rate or premium based upon any fictitious grouping of such firm, corporation or association. b. No form or plan of insurance covering any group or combination of persons or risks shall be written or delivered within or outside this State to cover persons or risks in this State at any preferred rate or on any form other than as offered to persons not in such group or combination and to the public generally, unless such form, plan of insurance and the rates or premium to be charged therefor have been submitted to and approved by the Commissioner as being not unfairly discriminatory and as not otherwise being in conflict with subdivision a. above or with any provision of Chapter 25 of this title (Rates and Rating Organizations) to the extent that such Chapter 25 is, by its terms, applicable thereto. c. This section does not apply to life insurance, health insurance, annuity contracts or wet marine and transportation insurance. (20) "Twisting" prohibited. — No person shall make or issue or cause to be made or issued any written or oral statement misrepresenting or making incomplete comparisons as to the terms, conditions or benefits contained in any policy for the purpose of inducing or attempting or tending to induce the policyholder to lapse, forfeit, surrender, retain, exchange or convert any insurance policy. (21) Insurance on public construction contracts. — a. No officer or employee of this State or of any public agency, public authority or public corporation (except a public corporation or public authority created pursuant to agreement or compact with another state) and no person acting or purporting to act on behalf of such officer or employee or public agency or public authority or public corporation shall, with respect to any public building or construction contract which is about to be or which has been competitively bid, require the bidder to make application to (or furnish financial data to) or to obtain or procure any of the surety bonds or contracts of insurance specified in connection with such contract or specified by any law, general, special or local from a particular insurer or agent or broker. b. No such officer or employee or any person acting or purporting to act on behalf of such officer or employee shall negotiate, make application for, obtain or procure any of such surety bonds or contracts of insurance (except contracts of insurance for builder's risk or owner's protective liability) which can be obtained or procured by the bidder, contractor or subcontractor. c. This section shall not, however, prevent the exercise by such officer or employee on behalf of the State or such public agency, public authority or public corporation of its right to approve the form, sufficiency or manner of execution of the surety bonds or contracts of insurance furnished by the insurer selected by the bidder to underwrite such bonds or contracts of insurance. d. Any provisions in any invitation for bids or in any of the contract documents in conflict with this section are declared to be contrary to the public policy of this State. e. A violation of this section shall be subject to the penalties provided by § 2308(a) of this title. (22) Unfair discrimination in the value of insurance policies and premiums based on race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, or national origin; penalty. — a. It is an unlawful practice for any insurance company licensed to do business in this State to discriminate in any way because of the insured's race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, or national origin, or to make, publish, disseminate, circulate, or place before the public, or cause, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, or placed before the public, in a newspaper, magazine, or other publication, or in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter, or poster, or over any radio or television station, or in any other way, to include the writing of any policy or the application therefor, an advertisement, announcement, or statement containing any assertion, representation, or statement with respect to the business of insurance or with respect to any person in the conduct of the insurance business, which discriminates in any way because of the insured's race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, or national origin or to classify or refer to any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, or national origin. b. For purposes of this paragraph (22): 1. "Gender identity" means a gender-related identity, appearance, expression or behavior of a person, regardless of the person's assigned sex at birth. 2. "Military status" means status as any of the following: A. A member of the uniformed forces, as defined in 10 U.S.C. § 101, or a reserve component thereof listed under 10 U.S.C.
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