Md. Code, Insurance § 18-101

This is the official text of Md. Code, Insurance § 18-101, part of Maryland’s Code, Insurance — regulates insurance companies and the policies they sell.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

§18–101.

Official statutory text

(a) In this title the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b) “Alzheimer’s disease” means a progressive brain disease diagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease by the licensed attending physician of the insured or certificate holder and confirmed by a second opinion of a licensed physician.

(c) “Applicant” means:

(1) for an individual policy or contract of long-term care insurance, the individual who seeks to contract for benefits; or

(2) for a group policy of long-term care insurance, the proposed certificate holder.

(d) “Carrier” means an insurer, nonprofit health service plan, health maintenance organization, or preferred provider organization.

(e) “Certificate” means a certificate that is issued under a group policy of long-term care insurance if the certificate is delivered or issued for delivery in the State and covers individuals who reside in the State.

(f) (1) “Long–term care insurance” means an individual or group policy, contract, certificate, or rider that:

(i) is issued, delivered, or offered by a carrier;

(ii) is advertised, marketed, offered, or designed to provide coverage for at least 24 consecutive months for each covered individual on an expense–incurred, indemnity, prepaid, or insured basis; and

(iii) provides one or more necessary or appropriate diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitative, maintenance, or personal care services in a setting other than an acute care unit of a hospital.

(2) “Long–term care insurance” includes any product that is advertised, marketed, or offered as long–term care insurance.

(3) “Long–term care insurance” does not include:

(i) a policy, contract, certificate, or rider that is offered primarily to provide:

1. basic Medicare supplement coverage;

2. hospital confinement indemnity coverage;

3. basic hospital expense or medical surgical expense coverage;

4. disability income protection coverage;

5. accident–only coverage;

6. specified disease or specified accident coverage; or

7. skilled nursing care;

(ii) a life insurance policy that:

1. accelerates the death benefit specifically for:

A. one or more of the qualifying events of terminal illness;

B. a medical condition that requires extraordinary medical intervention; or

C. permanent institutional confinement;

2. provides the option of lump–sum payments for the benefits listed in item 1 of this item; or

3. does not make benefits or eligibility for benefits conditional on receipt of long–term care; or

(iii) a certificate that is issued under an out–of–state employer group contract.

(g) “Loss ratio” means the ratio of losses incurred to premiums earned on policies that are issued, delivered, or renewed in the State.

(h) “Out-of-state employer group contract” means a group contract that:

(1) is entered into with an employer in a state other than this State; and

(2) is issued directly to an employer under the laws of that employer’s state.

(i) “Preexisting condition” means a condition for which medical advice or treatment was recommended by or received from a provider of health care services within 6 months before the effective date of coverage of the insured or certificate holder.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

Need a lawyer in Maryland?

Find a Maryland lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.