The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has adopted new guidelines to protect insurance consumers from discriminatory underwriting practices in the sale of life insurance. “Americans should not be denied life insurance simply because of where they might travel,” said NAIC President and Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger. “These new guidelines ensure that insurance consumers are treated in a fair and non-discriminatory manner.”

The changes to the NAIC Unfair Trade Practices Model Act limit an insurer’s ability to refuse life insurance because of lawful past travel or, under specific circumstances, lawful future travel. Specifically, future travel cannot be the basis for a coverage decision unless travel to a specific destination at a specific time is found, based on sound actuarial principals and actual or anticipated experience, to create a risk of loss greater than that for individuals who do now travel to that place at that time.

Travel to a destination where the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an alert or warning or where there is an ongoing armed conflict involving a foreign army is deemed a valid basis for refusing to offer or limiting coverage. NAIC; San Francisco, CA; June 2, 2008