Which misrepresentation persuades an insured to cancel, lapse, or switch policies to their detriment?

• A. Twisting
• B. Churning
• C. Defamation
• D. Misrepresentation

Answer: (A)

Twisting is when an agent misrepresents or withholds important facts about a policy in order to persuade an insured to cancel, lapse, or switch to another policy. The goal is often to benefit the producer (for commissions or easier sales) rather than the insured, and the result is that the insured ends up with a policy that’s not as favorable or appropriate for their needs—often at higher cost, with fewer guarantees, or with penalties from the old policy. This practice is illegal and unethical because it places the producer’s interests above the consumer’s.

Defamation isn’t about policy choices or replacing coverage, misrepresentation is too broad and doesn’t specifically capture the deceptive urge to switch policies, and churning involves pressuring the insured to replace policies mainly to generate commissions, which is related but Twisting specifically targets the detrimental replacement through misleading comparisons or omissions.