Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Campu By MARK DILLARD Gamecock Staff Writer A new regulation concerning life insurance sales on South Carolina college campuses has been drawn up as a result of complaints by USC students. The South Carolina Insurance Commission regulation is designed to stop agents from using deception and high-pressure techniques on students, according to Calvin Stewart, director of the Com mission's Analysis and Examination Section of the Market Conduct Division. "If this hadn't come to light in The Gamecock we wouldn't have this regultion today," Stewart said. He said as a result of an April 10 Gamecock story the Commission received enough complaints to establish the method of operation of the agents. The story concerned students who had signed a form believing it was only to allow an insurance company to check their eligibility for a policy. Instead they had signed a promissory note and had actually contracted for a policy. The notes allow payment of a policy's first-year premium to be deferred. "A deferred premium is still legal," Stewart said and the where students aiw, discount and until 0 a 20% discount with 737 Salud; In five points. "Located in Aik S insur'a people in the department and all insurance people see nothing wrong with deferred premiums." THIE PROBLEM Stewart said, was when agents used deferred premiums to deceive students into thinking they were getting a year's insurance for the $10 paid on the promissory note. In the case of the students in The Gamecock story, apparently the agent or company paid the payment on the note so the students would not know what they were getting into. Stewart said only agents and not the companies they worked for were practicing deception. The agent's purpose, he said, was to get a commission through any means. "It's really a problem of local sales rather than the insurance com panies." The regulation that goes into effect in October, requires ap proval by the Chief Insurance Commi.sioner or the wording of promissory notes, and all sales material that must be "complete fair, unambiguous, and free from any tendency to mislead, deceive, or confuse the student to whom it is addressed." The regulation prohibits selling students life insurance with deferrfd premiums unless he personally pays $20 or 10 per cent FToliage tys receive a 10% etober 1st are offered Sa copy of this ad, i Avenue .799-2486 en's Antiues" [nce sali of the deferred first years premium, which ever is less. USC Professor S. T. Pritchett, who teaches insurance courses, said of part of the regulation; "This law makes the use of notes a little more difficult by requiring a larger down payment." THE REGULATION requires the agent to register with an of ficial of the university or college where he is selling. It also says that nothing in the regulation prohibits the schools from placing further restrictions on life in surance sales. Dean for Residence Life and University Housing Richard D. Wertz said there were no USC rules covering life insurance sales, specifically but that all solicitations within dorms was forbidden. He said the rule was to protect students from persons selling insurance, books, and magazine subscriptions and from representatives of varous religions. moody b from IT'S,: the Levi's" Plai All the blues worth puttinc worth putting into Levi's J your jeans moods cause I Place. Everything that is L and Gals. Pre-washed der styles like the famous trac straight legs. All the fabric 100% cotton denim, cordtL denim, polyesters, and ga big bells and Levi's PanatE Jackets and shirts in the L stitched together and tail< famous Levi's fit. The qua bargain too. IT'S has more than clothe and Levi's jeans & stuff ar straight from the blues. IT'S Columbia: Broad River Road two bl< Dutch Square. 10-9 Mon thru Fri. 10-7 Sat. BankAmericard and Mast es regul Wertz said that the rule is not well-known, and efforts are being made to publicize it this semester. Pritchett assessed the overall effect on the Insurance Com mission's regulation. "It's a clear indication that the insurance commission is interested in the sales methods used and it puts agents on notice that their ac tivities are being watched. "In my opinion, this regulation is the strongest one in the United States. It is much stronger than the recommendation of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.(NAIC)." NAIC.is composed of insurance commissioners from each state. South Carolina's Chief Insurance Commissioner at the time, Howard B. Clark, wrote the Campus Life Insurance regulation, R3-75. 'Stewart said one problem with the misrepresentation of deferred premium policies is that students don't realize that the first-year premium is due immediately upon ilues :.e into jeans are eans. IT'S fits rs is the Levi's .evi's for Guys im in a bunch of litional Levi's :s you like too, roy, brushed rbardine in bells, ,la Slacks" styles. .evi's mood all )red with that lity makes IT'S a s, IT'S is Levi's e a mood >cks from er Charge Welcome ated cancellation of the policy. "Students are often involved with unethical agents," Stewart said, "because they are sought out . by other students who receive a $25 or $50 finder's fee from the agent. "The practice is illegal, but there is nothing that can be done to students involved but the agent can . lose his license for paying a fin der's fee." Stewart said that many students buy life insurance unnecessarily, especially cash value life in surance which has much higher premiums than term life insurance but is used as an inv3stment. "It gets down to the basic pur pose of insurance," Stewart said. "You should have a need for in surance. It's not the best way to save money." Pritchett said, "In my opinioji, most students while still in college have very minimal needs for life insurance. Certainly most are not in the position to afford to be saving money or in that position soon after getting out of college."