Under California Insurance Code Section 10382, which statement correctly describes the rule on altering a written application for a disability policy?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
Section 10382 flatly prohibits any alteration of a disability insurance application by anyone other than the applicant without the applicant's written consent. The only exception is that the insurer may make insertions for administrative purposes only, in a manner that clearly shows the insertions are not to be ascribed to the applicant. A producer has no authority to 'correct' the application or record information the applicant did not actually provide — doing so without consent is a misdemeanor.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Section 10382 grants no clerical-correction or 'intended facts' exception; the producer is not the applicant and may not alter the application without written consent.
- C) Unauthorized alteration is a misdemeanor, not merely civil liability, and the statute does not say the policy is automatically voided by it.
- D) The producer is treated as acting for the insurer in soliciting the application (see CIC Section 33), and in any event Section 10382 requires the applicant's written consent — the producer is never 'the applicant's agent' for this purpose.
Memory hook
Section 10382: nobody touches the application without the applicant's written say-so — the only exception is insurer admin insertions, clearly labeled not-the-applicant's.