Sec.38a-480-10. Policy form approval

(a) Within fifteen (15) days of receipt of a form filed with the Commissioner for approval pursuant to Section 38a-480 (a) (2) of the General Statutes, the Insurance Department shall determine a filing to be complete or deficient for purposes of submission for review and shall issue written notice to the insurer regarding the status of the form.

(1) The written notice for a complete filing shall state that the form filing is complete and accepted for filing for review as of the date of its receipt. For purposes of this section, a form filing is complete upon agency determination that it is in compliance with Section 38a-480-9.

(2) The written notice for a deficient filing shall state that the form filing is deficient and not accepted for filing and shall set out the specific items that must be corrected to make the form complete. In addition to this notice, the Insurance Department may notify the insurer, in any manner, of problems with the form.

(b) Unless otherwise provided by law, the Insurance Department shall review all forms filed with the Insurance Commissioner for approval pursuant to Section 38a-480 (a) (2) of the General Statutes in the order in which they are received by the Department; provided, however, that in appropriate circumstances the Commissioner may waive this requirement and direct the immediate review of a form filing. The Department shall employ a chronological logging system to facilitate the chronological review of such forms.

(c) Within seventy-five (75) days after a form is accepted for review, the Insurance Department shall review the form and either approve it or disapprove it. If, upon such review of the form, the Insurance Department determines that additional information from the insurer is necessary in order to ascertain whether the form is contrary to law or is unfair, deceptive or may encourage misrepresentation of the policy, the Department shall make such request to the insurer. The insurer will then have thirty (30) days from the date of the request to provide the Department with the additional information; provided that during such time, the insurer may request in writing that the period for responding to the request for information be extended for an additional period of time, not to exceed sixty (60) days. The request for extension shall be considered granted upon its receipt by the Insurance Department. During the pendency of the Insurance Department's request for information, the seventy-five (75) day period for Department action shall be tolled. If the insurer fails to comply with such request within the allotted time, the insurer shall be deemed to have voluntarily withdrawn its filing and the Department shall close its file without further action.

(d) The Commissioner shall issue an order disapproving the use of any such form if it does not comply with the requirements of law, or if it contains a provision or provisions which are unfair or deceptive or which encourage misrepresentation of the policy. Any such order shall specify the reason for disapproval of the form.

(e) Forms that are approved by the Commissioner shall have the form and the extra copy of the filing transmittal letter stamped “Approved,” together with the name and signature of the staff member who acted upon the filing and the date of the approval.

(Effective September 25, 1992)