(a) Every contract entered into by a vision service plan corporation with a subscriber shall be in writing, and a certificate stating the terms and conditions of the contract shall be furnished to the subscriber. No subscription certificate shall be issued unless it contains the following provisions, and any other applicable provisions that may be required by this chapter or other applicable laws of this state:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 56-31-126

  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of commerce and insurance. See Tennessee Code 56-31-102
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. Source: Federal Reserve
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Subscriber: means a person to whom a subscription certificate is issued by a vision care service plan corporation, which sets forth the beneficiaries and the kind and extent of vision service for which the corporation is liable to make payment. See Tennessee Code 56-31-102
  • Subscription: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Vision service: means the usual and general professional services rendered by persons duly licensed under the laws of this state to practice optometry. See Tennessee Code 56-31-102
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) A statement of the amounts payable to the corporation by the subscribers and the times at which the amounts shall be paid;
(2) A statement of the nature of the vision services to be paid for and the period during which the certificate is effective; and if there are any types of vision services to be excepted, with the approval of the commissioner, a detailed statement of the exceptions printed as specified in § 56-31-127;
(3) A statement of the terms or conditions, if any, upon which the certificate may be cancelled or otherwise terminated at the option of either party;
(4) A statement that the subscription and certificate constitute the contract between the corporation and the subscriber, and include the endorsements and attached papers, if any, and contain the entire contract;
(5) A statement that no statement by the subscriber in an application for a certificate shall void the contract or be used in any legal proceedings under the contract, unless the application or an exact copy of the application is included in or attached to the certificate, and that no agent or representative of the corporation, other than an officer or officers designated in the certificate, is authorized to change the contract or waive any of its provisions;
(6) A statement that if the subscriber defaults in making any payment under the certificate, the subsequent acceptance of a payment by the corporation or by its duly authorized agent shall reinstate the certificate, but the reinstatement shall not cover the costs of vision services incurred during the period of ten (10) days after date of the acceptance;
(7) A statement of the period of grace that will be allowed a subscriber for making any payment due under the contract. The grace period shall not be less than ten (10) days during the first contract year, and thereafter shall not be less than thirty (30) days;
(8) A statement authorizing vision service other than by participating optometrists in cases of emergency or when consented to by the vision service plan corporation, or when the subscriber requires vision services outside the county or counties or area served by the vision service plan corporation, in which case money benefits shall be provided as optional and as specified in the subscriber’s contract and approved by the commissioner. The money benefits shall be so payable whether the vision service is performed by nonparticipating optometrists or by physicians. Otherwise, a statement that indemnity in the form of cash will not be paid to any subscriber except in reimbursements paid by the subscriber to an optometrist for which the corporation was liable at the time of the payment; and
(9) Other statements that may be required by published regulations of the commissioner.
(b) In lieu of the certificate referred to in subsection (a), the vision service plan corporation may furnish the subscriber with a descriptive brochure containing the provisions mentioned in subsection (a).
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