Readability Workshop

A Compliance Analyst’s Perspective History of Simplified Language How it’s Done State Requirements

A State’s Perspective How to achieve the required score. How to handle nationwide forms

The IIPRC’s Perspective IIPRC requirements

A COMPLIANCE ANALYST’S PERSPECTIVE

Rudolph Flesch Born in Vienna, Austria, studied law Fled to US during WWII, earned PhD in English 1955 authored Why Johnny Can’t Read: And What You Can

Do About It. Supporter of the Plain English Movement. 1979 authored How to Write in Plain English: A Book for

Lawyers and Consumers while working as a communication and writing consultant to the FTC.

Developed a formula for scoring the readability of written text in 1948.

J. Peter Kincaid Born 1942, is a scientist and educator Founding director of the Modeling and Simulation PhD

program at the University of Central Florida Both an educator and a scientist for the U.S. military. Developed the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test for the US

Navy.

Readability first used with the military to assess the difficulty of technical manuals.

Currently used on school text and by many US Government Agencies

PA became the first state to require simplified language. 31 s 64.12 , adopted in 1975, requires a Flesch reading score of 40 on automobile policies.

NAIC adopted the Life and Health Insurance Policy Language Simplification Act Model 575 in 1977.

About 40 states have some type of regulatory requirements for readability.

90‐100 Very Easy80‐89 Easy70‐79 Fairly Easy60‐69 Standard50‐59 Fairly Difficult30‐49 Difficult0‐29 Very Confusing

[8]

Scores can be interpreted as shown in the table below.

FLESCH READING EASE FORMULA

Step 1. Count the words. Count as single words--contractions, hyphenated words,

abbreviations, figures, symbols and their combinations, e.g., wouldn't, full-length, TV, 17, &, $15, 7%.

Step 2. Count the syllables. Count the syllables in words as they are pronounced. Count abbreviations, figures, symbols and their combinations

as one-syllable words. If a word has two accepted pronunciations, use the one with

fewer syllables. If in doubt, check a dictionary.

Step 3. Count the sentences. Count as a sentence each full unit of speech marked off by a

period, colon, semicolon, dash, question mark or exclamation point. Disregard paragraph breaks, colons, semicolons, dashes or initial capitals within a sentence. For instance, count the following as a single sentence: You qualify if- (1) You are at least 58 years old; and (2) Your total household income is under $5,000.

Step 4. Figure the average number of syllables per word. Divide the number of syllables by the number of words.

Step 5. Figure the average number of words per sentence. Divide the number of words by the number of sentences.

Step 6. Find your readability score. Input the average number of syllables and the average number

of words per sentence into the formula; or Find the average sentence length and word length of your

piece of writing on the chart. Take a straightedge and connect the two figures. The intersection of the straightedge with the center column shows your readability score.

Some interesting scores

Comics 92 Consumer Ads in magazines 82 Reader’s Digest magazine65 Time magazine 52 Wall Street Journal 43 Harvard Law Review 32 Standard Auto Policy

(prior to regulatory req.) 10 Internal Revenue Code -6 (yes, minus 6)

Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level Translates the 0–100 score to a US grade level.

The lowest grade level score in theory is 3.40, However, Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss scores a grade level

of 1.3. (Most of the 50 used words are monosyllabic; "anywhere", which occurs 8

times, is the only exception.)

About 40 states have readability requirements. Many follow the NAIC model. Most require a score of at least 40 Some require a higher score for certain products like Medicare

Supplement

NAIC Model 575—Life and Health Insurance Policy Language Simplification Act Adopted in 1977 Does not apply to:

Any policy which is a security subject to federal jurisdiction. Any group policy covering a group of 1,000 or more lives at issue,

other than group credit life or group credit health. However, certificates must comply.

Any group annuity used as a funding vehicle for pension, profit sharing or deferred comp plans.

NAIC Model 575 Requires a minimum Flesch score of 40. Other comparable

tests can be used Forms must be printed in at least 10 point type Style, arrangement and overall appearance give no undue

prominence to any portion of the text Policy contains a table of contents if the policy has more the

3,000 words printed on 3 pages, or printed on more than 3 pages regardless of number of words

NAIC Model 575 Policy forms with 10,000 words or less, the entire form must

be analyzed. Policy form with more than 10,000 words, can choose two 200

word samples to analyze. Riders, endorsements, applications and other forms made a

part of the policy may be scored as separate forms or as part of the policy.

NAIC Model 575 Text that can be excluded

Name and address of the insurer Name, number or title of the policy Table of contents or index Captions and sub-captions Specification pages, schedules or tables Language drafted to conform to the requirements of any federal law,

regulation or agency interpretation Language required by any collectively bargained agreement Medical terminology Words which are defined in the policy Language required by law or regulation

NAIC Model 575 The commissioner, at his/her sole discretion, may authorize a

lower score if he/she finds a lower score: Will provide a more accurate reflection of the readability of a policy

form Is warranted by the nature of a particular policy form or type or

class of forms; or Is caused by certain policy language which is drafted to conform to

the requirements of any state law, regulation or agency interpretation.

A STATE’S PERSPECTIVE

Use monosyllabic words wherever possible. Keep sentences short. Punctuate bulleted lists with periods, not semicolons. Use numerals rather than spelling out numbers. Where possible, score more challenging documents

(such as applications or short endorsements) in conjunction with longer documents (the base coverage).

Use the statute or regulation to your advantage.

Every policy should be understandable to consumers. When crafting a form, keep the “benchmark” limits in

mind (currently, the highest score required is 50 on the Flesch scale). If the upper limit is met on the initial filing, no further action

is required. There are some state requirements that may be

contradictory, making it impossible to meet those requirements on a national level. This is not one of those situations.

While most states have a minimum score requirement, none have a maximum.

If a readability objection is received from a state, please proceed appropriately. Look carefully at the objection for mitigating options. Before committing to rewriting a form, see if the form can

be rescored in context. If a form does need to be rewritten, make sure that those

who participate in the process understand the readability requirements that need to be achieved.

Once you have received a few objections regarding readability, make sure future filings meet the readability requirements.

Do not do anything that might make a regulator decide that double checking the stated score is a good idea. Simply changing the score without editing the form or

explaining any change in context would raise red flags. So would “odd” math - if a form that scored in the 20s is

scored with a form that scored 50.0 and they both now show a score of 63.5, the regulator might try to get to the bottom of that mystery.

THE IIPRC PERSPECTIVE

Adopted by the IIPRCAppendix AFlesch MethodologyThe following measuring method shall be used in determining the Flesch score:

(1) For forms containing 10,000 words or less of text, the entire form shall be analyzed. For forms containing more than 10,000 words, the readability of two, 200-word samples per page may be analyzed instead of the entire form. The sample shall be separated by at least 20 printed lines.

(2) The number of words and sentences in the text shall be counted and the total number of words divided by the total number of sentences. The figure obtained shall be multiplied by a factor of 1.015.

(3) The total number of syllables shall be counted and divided by the total number of words. The figure obtained shall be multiplied by a factor of 84.6.

(4) The sum of the figures computed under (2) and (3) subtracted from 206.835 equals the Flesch reading ease score for the policy form.

(5) For purposes of (2), (3), and (4), the following procedures shall be used:

(a) A contraction, hyphenated word, or numbers and letters, when separated by spaces, shall be counted as one word;

(b) A unit of words ending with a period, semicolon, or colon, but excluding headings and captions, shall be counted as a sentence; and

(c) A syllable means a unit of spoken language consisting of one or more letters of a word as divided by an accepted dictionary. Where the dictionary shows two or more equally acceptable pronunciations of a word, the pronunciation containing fewer syllables may be used.

(6) The term “text” as used in this section shall include all printed matter except the following:

(a) The name and address of the insurance company; the name, number or title of the policy or certificate; the table of contents or index; captions and sub-captions; specifications pages, schedules or tables; and;

(b) Any language which is drafted to conform to the requirements of any federal law or regulation; any language required by any collectively bargained agreement; any medical terminology; any words which are defined; and any language required by law or regulation; provided, however, the insurance company identifies the language or terminology excepted by this paragraph and certifies, in writing, that the language or terminology is entitled to be excepted by this paragraph.

(7) At the option of the insurance company, riders, endorsements, amendments, applications and other forms made a part of the policy or certificate may be scored as separate forms or as part of the policy or certificate with which they may be used.

QUESTIONS?