News

This week, the Insurance Compact Office wanted to provide a reminder on the key foundations of Mix and Match.

1. Mix and match was created in Section 111 of the Operating Procedures for the Filing and Approval of Product Filings (Product Filing Rule) to encourage companies to utilize the Insurance Compact before a full suite of Uniform Standards were available for filing.  Mix and match can also be used when a filer is not ready to refile its whole product portfolio but rather refresh a component, such as a policy or an application, or file a new product feature by way of a rider. As the Insurance Compact has implemented full suites of Uniform Standards across the individual product lines, the need for filers to utilize mix and match has decreased significantly.
2. To assist the Member States with their understanding of what is being sold in their states, company filers are required to submit specific information as to what state-approved forms are to be used with the Insurance Compact forms upon approval.  This information is entered into the product filing submission through the Statement of Intent (SOI) schedule and must be kept updated by the filer.  This SOI requires companies to enter identifying details regarding state forms being used with the Compact forms being filed, to include the State Tracking Number, the SERFF Tracking Number, and the date of approval. 
3. When the Statement of Intent (SOI) is completed, a Company Officer must certify that the combination of components does not contain inconsistent, ambiguous, unfair, inequitable, or misleading clauses, or exceptions or conditions that unreasonably affect the risk purported to be assumed must be included in the filing.   
4. A company may not submit an endorsement or amendment to the Compact for review and approval that changes state-approved language. The use of mix and match cannot alter, change or affect values or nonforfeiture requirements in state-approved forms.  Mix and match cannot be used to fully comply with the Uniform Standard (e.g. Insurance Compact form standing alone has to comply fully with the applicable Uniform Standard), nor can it be used to bypass provisions within a Uniform Standard (e.g. filing a form with a Compacting State(s) for use only with a Compact-approved form even though the Compact has Uniform Standards applicable to the state-filed form). In other words, each component being mixed and matched should be able to stand alone for Compact or state review and approval. 
5. Application parts cannot be mixed and matched. If filing an application with the Compact, the Application Uniform Standards require that a filing include all sections and questions required to be completed by an applicant, including additional drop downs, scripts, questions, questionnaires or supplements.

More information regarding mix and match and the submission of product filings that contain mix and match can be found on the Insurance Compact website, specifically the Insurer Resources page, Weekly Tip Archive, and FIN 2009-4.

If you have any questions about the Weekly Tip or filing with the Insurance Compact, please contact the Insurance Compact Office.