For purposes of the Service Warranty Act, the following methods, acts, or practices are defined as unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices:

1. MISREPRESENTATION AND FALSE ADVERTISING OF SERVICE WARRANTIES - Knowingly making, issuing, circulating, or causing to be made, issued, or circulated, any estimate, illustration, circular, statement, sales presentation, omission, or comparison which:

a.misrepresents the benefits, advantages, conditions, or terms of any service warranty contract,

b.is misleading or is a misrepresentation as to the financial condition of any person,

c.uses any name or title of any contract misrepresenting the true nature thereof,

d.is a misrepresentation for the purpose of inducing, or tending to induce, the lapse, forfeiture, exchange, conversion, or surrender of any service warranty contract, or

e.is false, deceptive or misleading with respect to:

(1)the service warranty association's affiliation with a motor vehicle manufacturer,

(2)the service warranty association's possession of information regarding a motor vehicle owner's current motor vehicle manufacturer's original equipment warranty,

(3)the expiration of a motor vehicle owner's current motor vehicle manufacturer's original equipment warranty, or

(4)a requirement that a motor vehicle owner register for a new service warranty with such provider in order to maintain coverage under the motor vehicle owner's current service warranty or manufacturer's original equipment warranty;

2. FALSE INFORMATION AND ADVERTISING GENERALLY - Knowingly making, publishing, disseminating, circulating, or placing before the public, or causing, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, or placed before the public:

a.in a newspaper, magazine, or other publication,

b.in the form of a notice, circular, pamphlet, letter, or poster,

c.over any radio or television station, or

d.in any other way,

an advertisement, announcement, or statement containing any assertion, representation, or statement with respect to the business of service warranty, which assertion, representation, or statement is untrue, deceptive, or misleading;

3. DEFAMATION - Knowingly making, publishing, disseminating, or circulating, directly or indirectly, or aiding, abetting, or encouraging 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, any person and which is calculated to injure such person;

4. FALSE STATEMENTS AND ENTRIES - Knowingly:

a.filing with any supervisory or other public official,

b.making, publishing, disseminating, or circulating,

c.delivering to any person,

d.placing before the public, or

e.causing, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, delivered to any person, or placed before the public, any false statement, or

making any false entry of a material fact in any book, report, or statement of any person;

5. UNFAIR CLAIM SETTLEMENT PRACTICES -

a.attempting to settle claims on the basis of an application or any other material document which was altered without notice to, or knowledge or consent of, the warranty holder,

b.making a material misrepresentation to the warranty holder for the purpose and with the intent of effecting settlement of such claims, loss, or damage under such contract on less favorable terms than those provided in, and contemplated by, such contract, or

c.committing or performing with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice any of the following practices:

(1)failure properly to investigate claims,

(2)misrepresentation of pertinent facts or contract provisions relating to coverages at issue,

(3)failure to acknowledge and act promptly upon communications with respect to claims,

(4)denial of claims without conducting reasonable investigations based upon available information,

(5)failure to affirm or deny coverage of claims upon written request of the warranty holder within a reasonable time after proof-of-loss statements have been completed, or

(6)failure to promptly provide a reasonable explanation to the warranty holder of the basis in the contract in relation to the facts or applicable law for denial of a claim or for the offer of a compromise settlement;

6. FAILURE TO MAINTAIN PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING COMPLAINTS - Failing to maintain a record of each complaint received for a three-year period after the date of the receipt of the written complaint;

7. DISCRIMINATORY REFUSAL TO ISSUE A CONTRACT - Refusing to issue a contract solely because of an individual's race, color, creed, marital status, sex, or national origin; and

8. FAILURE TO PROVIDE TERMS AND CONDITIONS PRIOR TO SALE - Failing to provide a consumer with a complete sample copy of the terms and conditions of the service warranty prior to the time of sale upon a request for the same by the consumer. A service warranty association may comply with the provisions of this paragraph by providing the consumer with a sample copy of the terms and conditions of the warranty contract or by directing the consumer to a website that displays a complete sample of the terms and conditions of the contract.

Added by Laws 2012, c. 150, § 26, eff. Nov. 1, 2012. Amended by Laws 2016, c. 64, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2016; Laws 2017, c. 10, § 8, eff. Nov. 1, 2017; Laws 2018, c. 304, § 4, emerg. eff. May 10, 2018.

NOTE: Laws 2017, c. 42, § 5 purported to repeal Laws 2016, c. 64, § 2, but without reference to Laws 2017, c. 10, § 8, which amended it. Laws 2017, c. 253, § 1 repealed by Laws 2018, c. 304, § 5, emerg. eff. May 10, 2018.