1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to insurance; requiring insurers to offer 
  1.3             alternative methods for the payment of group life 
  1.4             policy proceeds; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
  1.5             section 61A.09, subdivision 1. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 61A.09, 
  1.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  No group life insurance policy or group 
  1.10  annuity shall be issued for delivery in this state until the 
  1.11  form thereof and the form of any certificates issued thereunder 
  1.12  have been filed in accordance with and subject to the provisions 
  1.13  of section 61A.02.  Each person insured under such a group life 
  1.14  insurance policy (excepting policies which insure the lives of 
  1.15  debtors of a creditor or vendor to secure payment of 
  1.16  indebtedness) shall be furnished a certificate of insurance 
  1.17  issued by the insurer and containing the following: 
  1.18     (a) Name and location of the insurance company; 
  1.19     (b) A statement as to the insurance protection to which the 
  1.20  certificate holder is entitled, including any changes in such 
  1.21  protection depending on the age of the person whose life is 
  1.22  insured; 
  1.23     (c) Any and all provisions regarding the termination or 
  1.24  reduction of the certificate holder's insurance protection; 
  1.25     (d) A statement that the master group policy may be 
  2.1   examined at a reasonably accessible place; 
  2.2      (e) The maximum rate of contribution to be paid by the 
  2.3   certificate holder; 
  2.4      (f) Beneficiary and method required to change such 
  2.5   beneficiary; 
  2.6      (g) A statement that alternative methods for the payment of 
  2.7   group life policy proceeds must be offered to beneficiaries in 
  2.8   lieu of a lump sum distribution, at their request.  Alternative 
  2.9   payment methods which must be offered at the request of the 
  2.10  beneficiaries must include, but are not limited to, a life 
  2.11  income option, an income option for fixed amounts or fixed time 
  2.12  periods, and the option to select an interest-bearing account 
  2.13  with the company with the right to select another option at a 
  2.14  later date; 
  2.15     (h) In the case of a group term insurance policy if the 
  2.16  policy provides that insurance of the certificate holder will 
  2.17  terminate, in case of a policy issued to an employer, by reason 
  2.18  of termination of the certificate holder's employment, or in 
  2.19  case of a policy issued to an organization of which the 
  2.20  certificate holder is a member, by reason of termination of 
  2.21  membership, a provision to the effect that in case of 
  2.22  termination of employment or membership, or in case of 
  2.23  termination of the group policy, the certificate holder shall be 
  2.24  entitled to have issued by the insurer, without evidence of 
  2.25  insurability, upon application made to the insurer within 31 
  2.26  days after the termination, and upon payment of the premium 
  2.27  applicable to the class of risk to which that person belongs and 
  2.28  to the form and amount of the policy at that person's then 
  2.29  attained age, a policy of life insurance only, in any one of the 
  2.30  forms customarily issued by the insurer except term insurance, 
  2.31  in an amount equal to the amount of the life insurance 
  2.32  protection under such group insurance policy at the time of such 
  2.33  termination; and shall contain a further provision to the effect 
  2.34  that upon the death of the certificate holder during such 31-day 
  2.35  period and before any such individual policy has become 
  2.36  effective, the amount of insurance for which the certificate 
  3.1   holder was entitled to make application shall be payable as a 
  3.2   death benefit by the insurer.  
  3.3      This section applies to a policy, certificate of insurance, 
  3.4   or similar evidence of coverage issued to a Minnesota resident 
  3.5   or issued to provide coverage to a Minnesota resident.  This 
  3.6   section does not apply to a certificate of insurance or similar 
  3.7   evidence of coverage that meets the conditions of section 
  3.8   61A.093, subdivision 2. 
  3.9      Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.10     Section 1 is effective January 1, 1996, and applies to 
  3.11  policies issued or renewed to provide coverage for Minnesota 
  3.12  residents on or after that date.