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House File 2540 - EnrolledAn Actrelating to the sale of travel insurance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
Section 1. NEW SECTION. 515K.1 Short title.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Travel
Insurance Model Act”.
Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 515K.2 Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
requires:
1. “Aggregator site” means an internet site that provides
access to information regarding insurance products, including
product and insurer information, that is obtained from more
than one insurer for use by consumers in comparison shopping.
2. “Blanket travel insurance” means a policy of travel
insurance issued to any eligible group that provides coverage
for specific classes of persons as defined in the policy, with
coverage provided to all members of the eligible group without
a separate charge to individual members of the eligible group.
3. “Cancellation fee waiver” means a contractual agreement
between a supplier of travel services and the supplier’s
customers to waive some or all of the nonrefundable
cancellation fee provisions of the supplier’s underlying travel
contract with or without regard to the reason for cancellation
or to the form of reimbursement. A cancellation fee waiver
shall not be considered insurance.
4. “Commissioner” means the commissioner of insurance.
5. “Designated responsible producer” means an employee of
a limited lines travel insurance producer who is a licensed
individual insurance producer and who is designated by the
limited lines travel insurance producer as the individual
responsible for compliance with the travel insurance laws and
regulations applicable to the limited lines travel insurance
producer and the limited lines travel insurance producer’s
registrants.
6. “Eligible group” means two or more persons who
are engaged in a common enterprise, or have an economic,
educational, or social affinity or relationship, including but
not limited to any of the following:
-1- a. An entity engaged in the business of providing travel
or travel services, including but not limited to a tour
operator, a lodging provider, a vacation property owner, a
hotel, a resort, a travel club, a travel agency, a property
manager, a cultural exchange program, and a common carrier or
the operator, owner, or lessor of a means of transportation
of passengers including but not limited to an airline, a
cruise line, a railroad, a steamship company, and a public bus
carrier, where with regard to any particular travel or type of
travel or travelers, all members or customers have a common
exposure to risk attendant to such travel.
b. A college, school, or other institution of learning,
covering students, teachers, employees, and volunteers of the
college, school, or other institution of learning.
c. An employer, covering any group of employees, volunteers,
contractors, and members of the employer’s board of directors;
and all dependents and guests of an employee, a volunteer, a
contractor, or a member of the employer’s board of directors.
d. A sports team, sports camp, or a sponsor of a sports
team or sports camp, covering participants, members, campers,
employees, officials, supervisors, or volunteers of the sports
team, sports camp, or the sponsor of a sports team or sports
camp.
e. A religious, charitable, recreational, educational,
or civic organization, covering any group of members,
participants, or volunteers of the religious, charitable,
recreational, educational, or civic organization or a branch
thereof.
f. A financial institution, a financial institution vendor,
or a parent holding company, trustee, agent of, or agent
designated by, one or more financial institutions or financial
institution vendors, including account holders, credit card
holders, debtors, guarantors, or purchasers.
g. An incorporated or unincorporated association, including
a labor union, that has a common interest, a constitution, and
-2-bylaws; and that is organized and maintained in good faith for
a purpose other than obtaining insurance for the members or
participants of the association.
h. A trust or a trustee of a fund established, created, or
maintained for the benefit of and covering members, employees,
or customers, and that is subject to the commissioner
permitting the use of a trust and the premium tax provisions
under section 515K.8, of one or more associations meeting the
requirements under paragraph “g”.
i. An entertainment production company covering any group
of participants, volunteers, audience members, contestants, or
workers.
j. A volunteer fire department, ambulance or rescue
organization, first aid organization, civil defense
organization, and similar volunteer organizations.
k. A preschool, or a day care facility for children or
adults.
l. An organization for senior citizens.
m. An automobile or truck rental or leasing company that
covers a group of individuals who may become renters, lessees,
or passengers as defined by an individual’s travel status on
the rented or leased automobile or truck. The common carrier,
the operator, owner, or lessor of a means of transportation,
or the automobile or truck rental or leasing company is the
policyholder under a policy to which this chapter applies.
n. Any other group, as determined by the commissioner by
rule, that the members are engaged in a common enterprise,
or have an economic, educational, or social affinity or
relationship, and for which issuance of a travel insurance
policy is not contrary to the public interest.
7. “Fulfillment materials” means documentation sent to
the purchaser of a travel protection plan that confirms the
purchase and that provides details of the travel protection
plan coverage and the travel assistance services.
8. “Group travel insurance” means travel insurance that is
-3-issued to an eligible group.
9. “Limited lines travel insurance producer” means any of the
following:
a. A licensed managing general agent or a licensed
third-party administrator.
b. A licensed insurance producer, including a licensed
limited lines producer.
c. A travel administrator.
10. “Offer and disseminate” means to provide general
information regarding travel insurance or a travel protection
plan, including a description of the coverage and price, and
to process an application and collect premiums for travel
insurance or a travel protection plan.
11. “Primary certificate holder” means an individual who has
elected and purchased travel insurance under a group policy.
12. “Primary policyholder” means an individual who has
elected and purchased individual travel insurance.
13. “Travel administrator” means a person who directly
or indirectly underwrites, collects charges, collateral, or
premiums from, or adjusts or settles claims on, residents
of this state in connection with travel insurance. “Travel
administrator” shall not include a person whose only actions
that would otherwise cause the person to be considered a travel
administrator are any of the following:
a. A person that works for a travel administrator to
the extent that the person’s activities are subject to the
supervision and control of the travel administrator.
b. A person that is an insurance producer and who sells
insurance or is engaged in administrative and claims-related
activities within the scope of the person’s producers license.
c. A person that is a travel retailer that offers and
disseminates travel insurance and that is registered under the
license of a limited lines travel insurance producer.
d. An individual who adjusts or settles claims in the
normal course of the individual’s practice or employment as
-4-an attorney and who does not collect charges or premiums in
connection with insurance coverage.
e. A business entity that is affiliated with a licensed
insurer while acting as a travel administrator for the direct
and assumed insurance business of an affiliated insurer.
14. “Travel assistance services” means a non-insurance,
non-insurance-related service for which a consumer is not
indemnified based on a fortuitous event and for which provision
of the service does not result in the transfer or shifting of
risk that constitutes the business of insurance, including but
not limited to any of the following services:
a. Security advisories.
b. Destination information.
c. Vaccination and immunization information services.
d. Travel reservation services.
e. Entertainment planning.
f. Activity and event planning.
g. Translation assistance.
h. Emergency messaging.
i. International legal and medical referrals.
j. Medical case monitoring.
k. Coordination of transportation arrangements.
l. Emergency cash transfer assistance.
m. Medical prescription replacement assistance.
n. Passport and travel document replacement assistance.
o. Lost luggage assistance.
p. Concierge services.
q. Any other service furnished in connection with planned
travel.
15. a. “Travel insurance” means insurance coverage for
personal risks incident to planned travel including all of the
following:
(1) Interruption or cancellation of a trip or event.
(2) Loss of baggage or personal effects.
(3) Damage to an accommodation or to a rental vehicle.
-5- (4) Sickness, accident, disability, or death occurring
during travel.
(5) Emergency evacuation.
(6) Repatriation of remains.
(7) Any other contractual obligation to indemnify or pay a
specified amount to a traveler upon a determinable contingency
related to travel as approved by the commissioner.
b. “Travel insurance” shall not include a major medical plan
that provides comprehensive medical protection for a traveler
for a trip that lasts longer than six months, including a
traveler who works or resides overseas as an expatriate, or
any other product that requires a specific insurance producer
license.
16. “Travel protection plan” means a product that provides
one or more of any of the following:
a. Travel insurance.
b. Travel assistance services.
c. Cancellation fee waivers.
17. “Travel retailer” means a business entity that makes,
arranges, or offers planned travel and that may offer and
disseminate travel insurance as a service to the business’s
customers on behalf of and under the direction of a limited
lines travel insurance producer.
Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 515K.3 Licensing and registration —
limited lines travel insurance producers and travel retailers.
1. a. The commissioner may issue a limited lines travel
insurance producer license to a person that has filed an
application for a limited lines travel insurance producer
license in the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner.
b. A limited lines travel insurance producer must be
licensed to sell, solicit, or negotiate travel insurance
through a licensed insurer. A person shall not act as a
limited lines travel insurance producer, or as a travel
retailer, unless the person is licensed as a limited lines
travel insurance producer or is registered as a travel
-6-retailer.
2. A travel retailer may offer and disseminate travel
insurance under a limited lines travel insurance producer’s
license only if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
a. The travel retailer or the limited lines travel insurance
producer provides all of the following to a purchaser of travel
insurance:
(1) A description of the material terms, or the actual
material terms, of the travel insurance coverage.
(2) A description of the claim filing process.
(3) A description of the review and cancellation process.
(4) The identity of, and the contact information for, the
insurer and the limited lines travel insurance producer.
b. (1) Beginning on the date of licensure, a limited
lines travel insurance producer shall establish and maintain
a register, in the form and manner prescribed by the
commissioner, of each travel retailer that offers travel
insurance on behalf of the limited lines travel insurance
producer. The register shall include all of the following
information:
(a) The name, address, and contact information of each
travel retailer.
(b) The name, address, and contact information of an
officer or other individual who directs or controls each travel
retailer’s operations.
(c) Each travel retailer’s federal tax identification
number.
(2) A limited lines travel insurance producer shall submit
the register under subparagraph (1) to the commissioner upon
the commissioner’s reasonable request, and shall certify that
the register complies with 18 U.S.C. §1033.
(3) Provisions under Title XIII, subtitle 1, that are
applicable to the suspension or revocation of a resident
insurance producer’s license, or to the imposition of penalties
on a resident insurance producer, shall be applicable to
-7-limited lines travel insurance producers and travel retailers.
c. The limited lines travel insurance producer has a
designated responsible producer.
d. The designated responsible producer, president,
secretary, treasurer, and any other officer or individual
who directs or controls the limited lines travel insurance
producer’s insurance operations has complied with all
fingerprinting requirements applicable to insurance producers
in this state.
e. The limited lines travel insurance producer has paid all
licensing fees required by state law.
f. The limited lines travel insurance producer requires
each employee and each authorized representative of the travel
retailer who offers and disseminates travel insurance to
successfully complete a training program that, at a minimum,
educates each employee and each authorized representative on
the details of each type of insurance offered by the travel
retailer, ethical sales practices, and all disclosures that are
required to be made to prospective purchasers.
3. A travel retailer that offers and disseminates travel
insurance shall make brochures or other written materials
that have been approved by the travel insurer available
to prospective purchasers. The brochures or other written
materials shall, at a minimum, do all of the following:
a. Provide the name, address, and telephone number of the
insurer and the limited lines travel insurance producer.
b. Explain that the purchase of travel insurance by the
prospective purchaser is not required in order to purchase any
other product or service from the travel retailer.
c. Explain that a travel retailer that is not licensed as
an insurance producer is only permitted to provide general
information about travel insurance offered by the travel
retailer, including a description of the coverage and price;
however, the travel retailer is not qualified or authorized
to answer technical questions about the terms and conditions
-8-of the travel insurance, or to evaluate the adequacy of the
prospective purchaser’s existing insurance coverage.
4. A travel retailer’s employee or authorized
representative who is not licensed as an insurance producer
shall not do any of the following:
a. Evaluate or interpret the technical terms, benefits,
or conditions of travel insurance offered to a prospective
purchaser.
b. Evaluate or provide advice on a prospective purchaser’s
existing insurance coverage.
c. Represent themselves as a licensed insurer, a licensed
insurance producer, or as an insurance expert.
5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, a travel retailer whose insurance-related activities
and the insurance-related activities of the travel retailer’s
employees and authorized representatives are limited to
offering and disseminating travel insurance on behalf of
and under the direction of a limited lines travel insurance
producer in compliance with this chapter, shall be authorized
to receive related compensation if the travel retailer is
included in the register maintained by the limited lines travel
insurance producer under subsection 2, paragraph “b”.
6. As an insurer’s designee, a limited lines travel
insurance producer shall be responsible for the acts of each
travel retailer that offers and disseminates travel insurance
under the limited lines travel insurance producer’s license and
shall use reasonable means to ensure that each travel retailer
complies with this chapter.
7. A person that is licensed as an insurance producer in a
major line of authority shall be authorized to sell, solicit,
and negotiate travel insurance. A property and casualty
insurance producer shall not be required to become appointed
by an insurer in order to sell, solicit, or negotiate travel
insurance.
Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 515K.4 Travel protection plans.
-9- A travel protection plan may be offered in this state at one
price for all features included in the travel protection plan
if all of the following are true:
1. The travel protection plan clearly discloses to the
purchaser, at or prior to the time of purchase, that the travel
protection plan includes, as applicable, travel insurance,
travel assistance services, and cancellation fee waivers.
2. A purchaser is provided with an opportunity at or prior
to the time of purchase to obtain additional details regarding
each feature and the cost of each feature.
3. The fulfillment materials provided to the purchaser do
all of the following:
a. Describe and delineate the travel insurance, travel
assistance services, and cancellation fee waivers included in
the travel protection plan.
b. Include, as applicable, travel insurance disclosures
and the contact information for all persons providing travel
assistance services and cancellation fee waivers.
Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 515K.5 Sales and marketing practices.
1. All persons offering travel insurance to residents of
this state shall be subject to sections 507B.3 and 507B.4,
except as otherwise provided in this section. In the event of
a conflict between this chapter and another provision under
Title XIII, subtitle 1, regarding the sale and marketing of
travel insurance and travel protection plans, this chapter
shall control.
2. a. Any document provided to a prospective purchaser
prior to the prospective purchaser’s purchase of travel
insurance, including but not limited to sales, advertising,
and marketing materials, shall be consistent with the
travel insurance policy, including but not limited to forms,
endorsements, policies, rate filings, and certificates of
insurance.
b. If a travel insurance policy or a travel insurance
certificate contains any preexisting condition exclusion, a
-10-prospective purchaser shall, any time prior to the time of
purchase, be provided an opportunity to learn more about the
preexisting condition exclusion. Any preexisting condition
exclusion information shall also be included in the travel
insurance policy or travel insurance certificate fulfillment
materials.
c. The fulfillment materials and the information described
in section 515K.3, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, subparagraphs
(1) through (4) shall be provided to a primary policyholder
or to a primary certificate holder as soon as practicable
following the policyholder’s or the certificate holder’s
purchase of a travel protection plan. Unless an insured has
either started a covered trip or filed a claim under the travel
insurance coverage, a policyholder or certificate holder may
cancel a policy or certificate for a full refund of the travel
protection plan price from the date of purchase of a travel
protection plan until at least fifteen days following the
date of delivery of the travel protection plan’s fulfillment
materials by postal mail, or ten days following the date
of delivery of the travel protection plan’s fulfillment
materials by means other than postal mail. For purposes
of this paragraph, “delivery” means handing fulfillment
materials to the policyholder or certificate holder or sending
fulfillment materials by postal mail or electronic means to the
policyholder or certificate holder.
d. An insurer shall disclose in the policy documentation
and fulfillment materials provided to the purchaser of travel
insurance whether the travel insurance is primary or secondary
to any other applicable insurance coverage.
e. If travel insurance is marketed directly to consumers
through an insurer’s internet site, or by another person via
an aggregator site, it shall not be an unfair trade practice
or other violation of law for the insurer or the other person
to provide an accurate summary or short description of the
available insurance coverage, if all provisions of each
-11-available travel insurance policy are accessible to consumers
via electronic means.
3. No person shall offer, solicit, or negotiate travel
insurance or a travel protection plan on an individual or group
basis through use of a negative option or an opt out that
requires a consumer to take an affirmative action to deselect
coverage, such as unchecking a box on an electronic form when
the consumer purchases a trip.
4. It shall be an unfair trade practice pursuant to section
507B.3 and section 507B.4 to do any of the following:
a. Offer or sell a travel insurance policy that, due to an
exclusion or other provisions in the policy, cannot result in
payment of any claim made by any insured under the policy.
b. Market blanket travel insurance coverage as no cost
coverage.
5. If a consumer’s travel destination is located in a
jurisdiction that mandates specific insurance coverage, it
shall not be an unfair trade practice to require that the
consumer, as a condition of purchasing a travel package, select
one of the following options:
a. Purchase of the coverage required by the destination
jurisdiction through either the travel retailer or the limited
lines travel insurance producer that provides the travel
package.
b. Agree to obtain and provide proof of coverage that
meets the destination jurisdiction’s requirements prior to the
consumer’s departure.
Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 515K.6 Travel administrators.
1. Notwithstanding any provision of Title XIII, subtitle
1, to the contrary, a person shall not act as, or represent
itself as, a travel administrator for travel insurance in this
state unless the person meets at least one of the following
requirements:
a. The person is a licensed property and casualty insurance
producer in this state.
-12- b. The person is in compliance with all laws and regulations
that are applicable to managing general agents in this state.
c. The person is in compliance with all laws and regulations
that are applicable to third-party administrators in this
state.
2. An insurer shall be responsible for the acts of a travel
administrator administering travel insurance underwritten by
the insurer, and for ensuring that the travel administrator
maintains all records related to the insurer and makes the
records available to the commissioner upon request of the
commissioner.
Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 515K.7 Rates, forms, eligibility, and
underwriting.
1. Notwithstanding any provision of Title XIII, subtitle 1,
to the contrary, travel insurance shall be classified and filed
for purposes of rates and forms under an inland marine line of
insurance provided that travel insurance that provides coverage
for sickness, accident, disability or death occurring during
travel, either exclusively, or in conjunction with related
coverages of emergency evacuation or repatriation of remains,
or incidental limited property and casualty benefits such as
baggage or trip cancellation, may be filed under either an
accident and health line of insurance or an inland marine line
of insurance.
2. Travel insurance may be issued in the form of an
individual insurance policy, a group travel insurance policy,
or a blanket travel insurance policy.
3. Eligibility and underwriting standards for travel
insurance may be developed and provided based on travel
protection plans designed for individual or identified
marketing or distribution channels, provided that the standards
also meet the state’s underwriting standards for the line of
insurance.
Sec. 8. NEW SECTION. 515K.8 Tax on gross premiums.
1. An insurer that offers travel insurance shall pay tax
-13-on gross premiums, as provided in section 432.1, on travel
insurance premiums paid by any of the following:
a. A primary policyholder who is a resident of this state.
b. A primary certificate holder who is a resident of this
state.
c. A blanket travel insurance policyholder that is a
resident of this state, or that has the policyholder’s
principal place of business or the principal place of business
of an affiliate or subsidiary that has purchased blanket
travel insurance in this state for eligible blanket group
members, subject to any apportionment rules that apply to the
insurer across multiple taxing jurisdictions, or that permit
the insurer to allocate premiums on an apportioned basis in a
reasonable and equitable manner in those taxing jurisdictions.
2. An insurer that offers travel insurance shall do all of
the following:
a. Document the state of residence or the state of the
principal place of business of the primary policyholder or
primary certificate holder.
b. Report as premiums only the amount allocable to travel
insurance, and not report any amounts received from travel
assistance services or cancellation fee waivers.
Sec. 9. NEW SECTION. 515K.9 Applicability.
1. This chapter shall apply to travel insurance that covers
any resident of this state, and travel insurance that is sold,
solicited, negotiated, or offered in this state, and to any
travel insurance policy or certificate that is delivered or
issued for delivery in this state. This chapter shall not
apply to cancellation fee waivers or to travel assistance
services except as expressly provided in this chapter.
2. All applicable provisions of Title XIII, subtitle 1,
shall apply to travel insurance except that specific provisions
of this chapter shall supersede any general provisions of Title
XIII, subtitle 1, that are otherwise applicable to travel
insurance.
-14- Sec. 10. NEW SECTION. 515K.10 Rules.
The commissioner may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A as
necessary to implement and administer this chapter.
______________________________
PAT GRASSLEYSpeaker of the House______________________________
JAKE CHAPMANPresident of the Senate I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and is known as House File 2540, Eighty-ninth General Assembly.______________________________
MEGHAN NELSONChief Clerk of the HouseApproved _______________, 2022______________________________
KIM REYNOLDSGovernorko/rn/md
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
Section 1. NEW SECTION. 515K.1 Short title.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Travel
Insurance Model Act”.
Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 515K.2 Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
requires:
1. “Aggregator site” means an internet site that provides
access to information regarding insurance products, including
product and insurer information, that is obtained from more
than one insurer for use by consumers in comparison shopping.
2. “Blanket travel insurance” means a policy of travel
insurance issued to any eligible group that provides coverage
for specific classes of persons as defined in the policy, with
coverage provided to all members of the eligible group without
a separate charge to individual members of the eligible group.
3. “Cancellation fee waiver” means a contractual agreement
between a supplier of travel services and the supplier’s
customers to waive some or all of the nonrefundable
cancellation fee provisions of the supplier’s underlying travel
contract with or without regard to the reason for cancellation
or to the form of reimbursement. A cancellation fee waiver
shall not be considered insurance.
4. “Commissioner” means the commissioner of insurance.
5. “Designated responsible producer” means an employee of
a limited lines travel insurance producer who is a licensed
individual insurance producer and who is designated by the
limited lines travel insurance producer as the individual
responsible for compliance with the travel insurance laws and
regulations applicable to the limited lines travel insurance
producer and the limited lines travel insurance producer’s
registrants.
6. “Eligible group” means two or more persons who
are engaged in a common enterprise, or have an economic,
educational, or social affinity or relationship, including but
not limited to any of the following:
-1- a. An entity engaged in the business of providing travel
or travel services, including but not limited to a tour
operator, a lodging provider, a vacation property owner, a
hotel, a resort, a travel club, a travel agency, a property
manager, a cultural exchange program, and a common carrier or
the operator, owner, or lessor of a means of transportation
of passengers including but not limited to an airline, a
cruise line, a railroad, a steamship company, and a public bus
carrier, where with regard to any particular travel or type of
travel or travelers, all members or customers have a common
exposure to risk attendant to such travel.
b. A college, school, or other institution of learning,
covering students, teachers, employees, and volunteers of the
college, school, or other institution of learning.
c. An employer, covering any group of employees, volunteers,
contractors, and members of the employer’s board of directors;
and all dependents and guests of an employee, a volunteer, a
contractor, or a member of the employer’s board of directors.
d. A sports team, sports camp, or a sponsor of a sports
team or sports camp, covering participants, members, campers,
employees, officials, supervisors, or volunteers of the sports
team, sports camp, or the sponsor of a sports team or sports
camp.
e. A religious, charitable, recreational, educational,
or civic organization, covering any group of members,
participants, or volunteers of the religious, charitable,
recreational, educational, or civic organization or a branch
thereof.
f. A financial institution, a financial institution vendor,
or a parent holding company, trustee, agent of, or agent
designated by, one or more financial institutions or financial
institution vendors, including account holders, credit card
holders, debtors, guarantors, or purchasers.
g. An incorporated or unincorporated association, including
a labor union, that has a common interest, a constitution, and
-2-bylaws; and that is organized and maintained in good faith for
a purpose other than obtaining insurance for the members or
participants of the association.
h. A trust or a trustee of a fund established, created, or
maintained for the benefit of and covering members, employees,
or customers, and that is subject to the commissioner
permitting the use of a trust and the premium tax provisions
under section 515K.8, of one or more associations meeting the
requirements under paragraph “g”.
i. An entertainment production company covering any group
of participants, volunteers, audience members, contestants, or
workers.
j. A volunteer fire department, ambulance or rescue
organization, first aid organization, civil defense
organization, and similar volunteer organizations.
k. A preschool, or a day care facility for children or
adults.
l. An organization for senior citizens.
m. An automobile or truck rental or leasing company that
covers a group of individuals who may become renters, lessees,
or passengers as defined by an individual’s travel status on
the rented or leased automobile or truck. The common carrier,
the operator, owner, or lessor of a means of transportation,
or the automobile or truck rental or leasing company is the
policyholder under a policy to which this chapter applies.
n. Any other group, as determined by the commissioner by
rule, that the members are engaged in a common enterprise,
or have an economic, educational, or social affinity or
relationship, and for which issuance of a travel insurance
policy is not contrary to the public interest.
7. “Fulfillment materials” means documentation sent to
the purchaser of a travel protection plan that confirms the
purchase and that provides details of the travel protection
plan coverage and the travel assistance services.
8. “Group travel insurance” means travel insurance that is
-3-issued to an eligible group.
9. “Limited lines travel insurance producer” means any of the
following:
a. A licensed managing general agent or a licensed
third-party administrator.
b. A licensed insurance producer, including a licensed
limited lines producer.
c. A travel administrator.
10. “Offer and disseminate” means to provide general
information regarding travel insurance or a travel protection
plan, including a description of the coverage and price, and
to process an application and collect premiums for travel
insurance or a travel protection plan.
11. “Primary certificate holder” means an individual who has
elected and purchased travel insurance under a group policy.
12. “Primary policyholder” means an individual who has
elected and purchased individual travel insurance.
13. “Travel administrator” means a person who directly
or indirectly underwrites, collects charges, collateral, or
premiums from, or adjusts or settles claims on, residents
of this state in connection with travel insurance. “Travel
administrator” shall not include a person whose only actions
that would otherwise cause the person to be considered a travel
administrator are any of the following:
a. A person that works for a travel administrator to
the extent that the person’s activities are subject to the
supervision and control of the travel administrator.
b. A person that is an insurance producer and who sells
insurance or is engaged in administrative and claims-related
activities within the scope of the person’s producers license.
c. A person that is a travel retailer that offers and
disseminates travel insurance and that is registered under the
license of a limited lines travel insurance producer.
d. An individual who adjusts or settles claims in the
normal course of the individual’s practice or employment as
-4-an attorney and who does not collect charges or premiums in
connection with insurance coverage.
e. A business entity that is affiliated with a licensed
insurer while acting as a travel administrator for the direct
and assumed insurance business of an affiliated insurer.
14. “Travel assistance services” means a non-insurance,
non-insurance-related service for which a consumer is not
indemnified based on a fortuitous event and for which provision
of the service does not result in the transfer or shifting of
risk that constitutes the business of insurance, including but
not limited to any of the following services:
a. Security advisories.
b. Destination information.
c. Vaccination and immunization information services.
d. Travel reservation services.
e. Entertainment planning.
f. Activity and event planning.
g. Translation assistance.
h. Emergency messaging.
i. International legal and medical referrals.
j. Medical case monitoring.
k. Coordination of transportation arrangements.
l. Emergency cash transfer assistance.
m. Medical prescription replacement assistance.
n. Passport and travel document replacement assistance.
o. Lost luggage assistance.
p. Concierge services.
q. Any other service furnished in connection with planned
travel.
15. a. “Travel insurance” means insurance coverage for
personal risks incident to planned travel including all of the
following:
(1) Interruption or cancellation of a trip or event.
(2) Loss of baggage or personal effects.
(3) Damage to an accommodation or to a rental vehicle.
-5- (4) Sickness, accident, disability, or death occurring
during travel.
(5) Emergency evacuation.
(6) Repatriation of remains.
(7) Any other contractual obligation to indemnify or pay a
specified amount to a traveler upon a determinable contingency
related to travel as approved by the commissioner.
b. “Travel insurance” shall not include a major medical plan
that provides comprehensive medical protection for a traveler
for a trip that lasts longer than six months, including a
traveler who works or resides overseas as an expatriate, or
any other product that requires a specific insurance producer
license.
16. “Travel protection plan” means a product that provides
one or more of any of the following:
a. Travel insurance.
b. Travel assistance services.
c. Cancellation fee waivers.
17. “Travel retailer” means a business entity that makes,
arranges, or offers planned travel and that may offer and
disseminate travel insurance as a service to the business’s
customers on behalf of and under the direction of a limited
lines travel insurance producer.
Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 515K.3 Licensing and registration —
limited lines travel insurance producers and travel retailers.
1. a. The commissioner may issue a limited lines travel
insurance producer license to a person that has filed an
application for a limited lines travel insurance producer
license in the form and manner prescribed by the commissioner.
b. A limited lines travel insurance producer must be
licensed to sell, solicit, or negotiate travel insurance
through a licensed insurer. A person shall not act as a
limited lines travel insurance producer, or as a travel
retailer, unless the person is licensed as a limited lines
travel insurance producer or is registered as a travel
-6-retailer.
2. A travel retailer may offer and disseminate travel
insurance under a limited lines travel insurance producer’s
license only if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
a. The travel retailer or the limited lines travel insurance
producer provides all of the following to a purchaser of travel
insurance:
(1) A description of the material terms, or the actual
material terms, of the travel insurance coverage.
(2) A description of the claim filing process.
(3) A description of the review and cancellation process.
(4) The identity of, and the contact information for, the
insurer and the limited lines travel insurance producer.
b. (1) Beginning on the date of licensure, a limited
lines travel insurance producer shall establish and maintain
a register, in the form and manner prescribed by the
commissioner, of each travel retailer that offers travel
insurance on behalf of the limited lines travel insurance
producer. The register shall include all of the following
information:
(a) The name, address, and contact information of each
travel retailer.
(b) The name, address, and contact information of an
officer or other individual who directs or controls each travel
retailer’s operations.
(c) Each travel retailer’s federal tax identification
number.
(2) A limited lines travel insurance producer shall submit
the register under subparagraph (1) to the commissioner upon
the commissioner’s reasonable request, and shall certify that
the register complies with 18 U.S.C. §1033.
(3) Provisions under Title XIII, subtitle 1, that are
applicable to the suspension or revocation of a resident
insurance producer’s license, or to the imposition of penalties
on a resident insurance producer, shall be applicable to
-7-limited lines travel insurance producers and travel retailers.
c. The limited lines travel insurance producer has a
designated responsible producer.
d. The designated responsible producer, president,
secretary, treasurer, and any other officer or individual
who directs or controls the limited lines travel insurance
producer’s insurance operations has complied with all
fingerprinting requirements applicable to insurance producers
in this state.
e. The limited lines travel insurance producer has paid all
licensing fees required by state law.
f. The limited lines travel insurance producer requires
each employee and each authorized representative of the travel
retailer who offers and disseminates travel insurance to
successfully complete a training program that, at a minimum,
educates each employee and each authorized representative on
the details of each type of insurance offered by the travel
retailer, ethical sales practices, and all disclosures that are
required to be made to prospective purchasers.
3. A travel retailer that offers and disseminates travel
insurance shall make brochures or other written materials
that have been approved by the travel insurer available
to prospective purchasers. The brochures or other written
materials shall, at a minimum, do all of the following:
a. Provide the name, address, and telephone number of the
insurer and the limited lines travel insurance producer.
b. Explain that the purchase of travel insurance by the
prospective purchaser is not required in order to purchase any
other product or service from the travel retailer.
c. Explain that a travel retailer that is not licensed as
an insurance producer is only permitted to provide general
information about travel insurance offered by the travel
retailer, including a description of the coverage and price;
however, the travel retailer is not qualified or authorized
to answer technical questions about the terms and conditions
-8-of the travel insurance, or to evaluate the adequacy of the
prospective purchaser’s existing insurance coverage.
4. A travel retailer’s employee or authorized
representative who is not licensed as an insurance producer
shall not do any of the following:
a. Evaluate or interpret the technical terms, benefits,
or conditions of travel insurance offered to a prospective
purchaser.
b. Evaluate or provide advice on a prospective purchaser’s
existing insurance coverage.
c. Represent themselves as a licensed insurer, a licensed
insurance producer, or as an insurance expert.
5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, a travel retailer whose insurance-related activities
and the insurance-related activities of the travel retailer’s
employees and authorized representatives are limited to
offering and disseminating travel insurance on behalf of
and under the direction of a limited lines travel insurance
producer in compliance with this chapter, shall be authorized
to receive related compensation if the travel retailer is
included in the register maintained by the limited lines travel
insurance producer under subsection 2, paragraph “b”.
6. As an insurer’s designee, a limited lines travel
insurance producer shall be responsible for the acts of each
travel retailer that offers and disseminates travel insurance
under the limited lines travel insurance producer’s license and
shall use reasonable means to ensure that each travel retailer
complies with this chapter.
7. A person that is licensed as an insurance producer in a
major line of authority shall be authorized to sell, solicit,
and negotiate travel insurance. A property and casualty
insurance producer shall not be required to become appointed
by an insurer in order to sell, solicit, or negotiate travel
insurance.
Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 515K.4 Travel protection plans.
-9- A travel protection plan may be offered in this state at one
price for all features included in the travel protection plan
if all of the following are true:
1. The travel protection plan clearly discloses to the
purchaser, at or prior to the time of purchase, that the travel
protection plan includes, as applicable, travel insurance,
travel assistance services, and cancellation fee waivers.
2. A purchaser is provided with an opportunity at or prior
to the time of purchase to obtain additional details regarding
each feature and the cost of each feature.
3. The fulfillment materials provided to the purchaser do
all of the following:
a. Describe and delineate the travel insurance, travel
assistance services, and cancellation fee waivers included in
the travel protection plan.
b. Include, as applicable, travel insurance disclosures
and the contact information for all persons providing travel
assistance services and cancellation fee waivers.
Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 515K.5 Sales and marketing practices.
1. All persons offering travel insurance to residents of
this state shall be subject to sections 507B.3 and 507B.4,
except as otherwise provided in this section. In the event of
a conflict between this chapter and another provision under
Title XIII, subtitle 1, regarding the sale and marketing of
travel insurance and travel protection plans, this chapter
shall control.
2. a. Any document provided to a prospective purchaser
prior to the prospective purchaser’s purchase of travel
insurance, including but not limited to sales, advertising,
and marketing materials, shall be consistent with the
travel insurance policy, including but not limited to forms,
endorsements, policies, rate filings, and certificates of
insurance.
b. If a travel insurance policy or a travel insurance
certificate contains any preexisting condition exclusion, a
-10-prospective purchaser shall, any time prior to the time of
purchase, be provided an opportunity to learn more about the
preexisting condition exclusion. Any preexisting condition
exclusion information shall also be included in the travel
insurance policy or travel insurance certificate fulfillment
materials.
c. The fulfillment materials and the information described
in section 515K.3, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, subparagraphs
(1) through (4) shall be provided to a primary policyholder
or to a primary certificate holder as soon as practicable
following the policyholder’s or the certificate holder’s
purchase of a travel protection plan. Unless an insured has
either started a covered trip or filed a claim under the travel
insurance coverage, a policyholder or certificate holder may
cancel a policy or certificate for a full refund of the travel
protection plan price from the date of purchase of a travel
protection plan until at least fifteen days following the
date of delivery of the travel protection plan’s fulfillment
materials by postal mail, or ten days following the date
of delivery of the travel protection plan’s fulfillment
materials by means other than postal mail. For purposes
of this paragraph, “delivery” means handing fulfillment
materials to the policyholder or certificate holder or sending
fulfillment materials by postal mail or electronic means to the
policyholder or certificate holder.
d. An insurer shall disclose in the policy documentation
and fulfillment materials provided to the purchaser of travel
insurance whether the travel insurance is primary or secondary
to any other applicable insurance coverage.
e. If travel insurance is marketed directly to consumers
through an insurer’s internet site, or by another person via
an aggregator site, it shall not be an unfair trade practice
or other violation of law for the insurer or the other person
to provide an accurate summary or short description of the
available insurance coverage, if all provisions of each
-11-available travel insurance policy are accessible to consumers
via electronic means.
3. No person shall offer, solicit, or negotiate travel
insurance or a travel protection plan on an individual or group
basis through use of a negative option or an opt out that
requires a consumer to take an affirmative action to deselect
coverage, such as unchecking a box on an electronic form when
the consumer purchases a trip.
4. It shall be an unfair trade practice pursuant to section
507B.3 and section 507B.4 to do any of the following:
a. Offer or sell a travel insurance policy that, due to an
exclusion or other provisions in the policy, cannot result in
payment of any claim made by any insured under the policy.
b. Market blanket travel insurance coverage as no cost
coverage.
5. If a consumer’s travel destination is located in a
jurisdiction that mandates specific insurance coverage, it
shall not be an unfair trade practice to require that the
consumer, as a condition of purchasing a travel package, select
one of the following options:
a. Purchase of the coverage required by the destination
jurisdiction through either the travel retailer or the limited
lines travel insurance producer that provides the travel
package.
b. Agree to obtain and provide proof of coverage that
meets the destination jurisdiction’s requirements prior to the
consumer’s departure.
Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 515K.6 Travel administrators.
1. Notwithstanding any provision of Title XIII, subtitle
1, to the contrary, a person shall not act as, or represent
itself as, a travel administrator for travel insurance in this
state unless the person meets at least one of the following
requirements:
a. The person is a licensed property and casualty insurance
producer in this state.
-12- b. The person is in compliance with all laws and regulations
that are applicable to managing general agents in this state.
c. The person is in compliance with all laws and regulations
that are applicable to third-party administrators in this
state.
2. An insurer shall be responsible for the acts of a travel
administrator administering travel insurance underwritten by
the insurer, and for ensuring that the travel administrator
maintains all records related to the insurer and makes the
records available to the commissioner upon request of the
commissioner.
Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 515K.7 Rates, forms, eligibility, and
underwriting.
1. Notwithstanding any provision of Title XIII, subtitle 1,
to the contrary, travel insurance shall be classified and filed
for purposes of rates and forms under an inland marine line of
insurance provided that travel insurance that provides coverage
for sickness, accident, disability or death occurring during
travel, either exclusively, or in conjunction with related
coverages of emergency evacuation or repatriation of remains,
or incidental limited property and casualty benefits such as
baggage or trip cancellation, may be filed under either an
accident and health line of insurance or an inland marine line
of insurance.
2. Travel insurance may be issued in the form of an
individual insurance policy, a group travel insurance policy,
or a blanket travel insurance policy.
3. Eligibility and underwriting standards for travel
insurance may be developed and provided based on travel
protection plans designed for individual or identified
marketing or distribution channels, provided that the standards
also meet the state’s underwriting standards for the line of
insurance.
Sec. 8. NEW SECTION. 515K.8 Tax on gross premiums.
1. An insurer that offers travel insurance shall pay tax
-13-on gross premiums, as provided in section 432.1, on travel
insurance premiums paid by any of the following:
a. A primary policyholder who is a resident of this state.
b. A primary certificate holder who is a resident of this
state.
c. A blanket travel insurance policyholder that is a
resident of this state, or that has the policyholder’s
principal place of business or the principal place of business
of an affiliate or subsidiary that has purchased blanket
travel insurance in this state for eligible blanket group
members, subject to any apportionment rules that apply to the
insurer across multiple taxing jurisdictions, or that permit
the insurer to allocate premiums on an apportioned basis in a
reasonable and equitable manner in those taxing jurisdictions.
2. An insurer that offers travel insurance shall do all of
the following:
a. Document the state of residence or the state of the
principal place of business of the primary policyholder or
primary certificate holder.
b. Report as premiums only the amount allocable to travel
insurance, and not report any amounts received from travel
assistance services or cancellation fee waivers.
Sec. 9. NEW SECTION. 515K.9 Applicability.
1. This chapter shall apply to travel insurance that covers
any resident of this state, and travel insurance that is sold,
solicited, negotiated, or offered in this state, and to any
travel insurance policy or certificate that is delivered or
issued for delivery in this state. This chapter shall not
apply to cancellation fee waivers or to travel assistance
services except as expressly provided in this chapter.
2. All applicable provisions of Title XIII, subtitle 1,
shall apply to travel insurance except that specific provisions
of this chapter shall supersede any general provisions of Title
XIII, subtitle 1, that are otherwise applicable to travel
insurance.
-14- Sec. 10. NEW SECTION. 515K.10 Rules.
The commissioner may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A as
necessary to implement and administer this chapter.
______________________________
PAT GRASSLEYSpeaker of the House______________________________
JAKE CHAPMANPresident of the Senate I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and is known as House File 2540, Eighty-ninth General Assembly.______________________________
MEGHAN NELSONChief Clerk of the HouseApproved _______________, 2022______________________________
KIM REYNOLDSGovernorko/rn/md