§ 148 — Contents of advertisements as to financial condition

(1) No company authorized to do business in this State shall cause to be inserted in any newspaper, periodical, magazine or other publication, any advertisement purporting to set forth in figures its financial standing unless the figures exhibited in such advertisement correspond to the figures contained in the next preceding verified statement made to the Director and unless there is set forth either (a) the total amount of the capital actually paid in, the total value of the admitted assets owned, the total amount of the liabilities, including therein the reserves required by law and the amount of the net surplus of assets over liabilities actually available for the payment of losses and claims and held for the protection of policyholders; or (b) the capital paid in or the surplus, separately or combined. (2) No alien company authorized to do business in this State shall cause to be inserted in any newspaper, periodical or magazine any advertisement purporting to set forth in figures its financial standing, unless the figures exhibited in such advertisement correspond to the figures contained in the next preceding verified statement made to the Director by the United States Branch of such company and unless there is set forth the total amount of the capital and assets held by its United States Branch, the total amount of its liabilities, including therein the reserves required by law and the total amount of the net surplus of assets over all liabilities actually available for the payment of losses and claims and held for the protection of its policyholders in the United States; provided that any life company organized under the laws of the Dominion of Canada or any province thereof may use in its advertising a statement of its total business and condition in all countries if such statement is accompanied by a statement showing the amount of its total assets and total liabilities in the United States, corresponding to the figures contained in the next preceding statement of such company filed with the Director. (3) Any company violating any provision of this section, and any officer or director thereof knowingly participating in or abetting such violation, shall be guilty of a business offense and shall be required to pay a penalty of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, to be recovered in the name of the People of the State of Illinois by the State's Attorney of the county in which the violation occurs and the penalty so recovered shall be paid into the county treasury.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 77-2699.)