Terms Used In Maryland Code, INSURANCE 10-201

  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Person: includes an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary, representative of any kind, corporation, partnership, business trust, statutory trust, limited liability company, firm, association, or other nongovernmental entity. See
(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b) “Adviser” means a person that, for compensation:

(1) examines or offers to examine a policy, annuity contract, or pure endowment contract for the purpose of giving, or gives or offers to give, advice or information about:

(i) the terms, conditions, benefits, coverage, or premium of a policy, annuity contract, or pure endowment contract; or

(ii) the advisability of changing, exchanging, converting, replacing, surrendering, continuing, or rejecting a policy, annuity contract, or pure endowment contract or of accepting or procuring a policy, annuity contract, or pure endowment contract from an insurer; or

(2) represents to the public that the person gives or is engaged in the business of giving advice or information to holders of policies or annuity contracts by use of the title “insurance adviser”, “insurance specialist”, “insurance counselor”, “insurance analyst”, “policyholders’ adviser”, “policyholders’ counselor”, “refund company”, or other similar title:

(i) in or on advertisements, cards, signs, circulars, letterheads, or elsewhere; or

(ii) in any other manner in which public announcements are made.

(c) “License” means a license issued by the Commissioner to act as an adviser.