2006 Minnesota Statutes

CHAPTER 61A. LIFE INSURANCE

GENERAL PROVISIONS

61A.01 LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY DEFINED.
Every corporation or association, domestic or foreign, operating upon any plan involving
payment of money or other thing of value to policy or certificate holders, or members, or families,
or representatives of either, conditioned upon the continuance or cessation of human life, or for
the payment of endowments or annuities (except benevolent, fraternal, cooperative or secret
societies of orders for the sole purpose of mutual welfare, protection and relief of their members
and the payment of stipulated amounts, or the proceeds of assessments, to the families of deceased
members), shall be deemed a life insurance company, and wherever used in this chapter, the
terms "company," "life company," "corporation" or "association" shall be construed to mean life
insurance company unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 1

61A.011 INTEREST ON UNPAID BENEFITS.
    Subdivision 1. General requirement. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when any
insurer, including a fraternal benefit society, admitted to transact life insurance in this state pays
the proceeds of or payments under any policy of life insurance, individual or group, such insurer
shall pay interest at a rate not less than the then current rate of interest on death proceeds left on
deposit with the insurer, computed from the insured's death until the date of payment, on any such
proceeds or payments payable to a beneficiary residing in this state, or to a beneficiary under a
policy issued in this state, or to a beneficiary under a policy insuring a person resident in this state
at the time of death. If the insurer has no established current rate of interest for death proceeds left
on deposit with the insurer, then the rate of interest to be paid under this subdivision shall be the
rate of interest charged by the insurer to policy holders for loans under the insurer's policies.
    Subd. 2. Requirement for certain insurers. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision
1, if an insurer admitted to transact life insurance in this state does not pay within 60 days after
receipt of due proof of death of the insured, the proceeds or payments under any policy of life
insurance, individual or group, such insurer shall pay interest at an annual rate that is two percent
more than the rate of interest provided for in subdivision 1. Such interest shall be computed from
the date of the insured's death until the date of payment, on any such proceeds or payments payable
to a beneficiary residing in this state, or to a beneficiary under a policy issued in this state or to a
beneficiary under a policy insuring a person resident in this state at the time of death. Interest
payments under this subdivision shall be in lieu of interest payments required under subdivision 1.
    Subd. 3. Notice. In any case in which interest on the proceeds of, or payments under, any
policy of life insurance becomes payable pursuant to this section, the insurer shall enclose
with the payment a notice stating that interest is being paid and specifying the rate of interest
and the amount paid.
    Subd. 4. Payment not required. This section shall not require the payment of interest in
any case in which: (a) the beneficiary or policy owner elects in writing delivered to the insurer
to receive the proceeds of, or payments under, the policy by any means other than a lump sum
payment thereof, provided that the effective date of the policy settlement option shall not be later
than 60 days after the date of the insured's death; (b) the terms of the policy insure an indebtedness
owed by the insured and the proceeds include postdeath interest on the indebtedness; or (c)
the beneficiary resides in a jurisdiction which has a law requiring the payment of interest to
beneficiaries residing in that jurisdiction.
Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to preclude the payment of interest required
under subdivisions 1 or 2 on any proceeds remaining after extinguishment of the insured's
indebtedness.
    Subd. 5. Application. This section shall apply only to deaths of insureds which occur on or
after August 1, 1977.
    Subd. 6. Definition. For the purposes of this section "to pay" means to issue a check for
payment and "date of payment" means the date on which the insurer issues a check to transfer the
amount in question to the beneficiaries or to deposit that amount:
(a) with the district court of this state in accordance with rule 67, Minnesota Rules of Civil
Procedure for the district courts;
(b) with the courts of any foreign jurisdiction as authorized by the laws of that jurisdiction; or
(c) in a trust account in any bank or trust company operating under the laws of this state
or in any foreign bank, provided that the insurer keeps records of the account and makes these
records open to inspection by the commissioner of commerce.
    Subd. 7. Accidental death benefits. Payments of accidental death benefits under an
individual or group policy, whether payable in connection with a separate policy issued solely
to provide that type of coverage or otherwise, are subject to this section. If the applicable rate
of interest cannot be determined as provided in this section, the rate of interest for purposes of
subdivision 1 is the rate provided in section 549.09, subdivision 1, paragraph (c).
    Subd. 8.[Repealed, 1993 c 13 art 1 s 17]
History: 1977 c 353 s 1; 1983 c 289 s 114 subd 1; 1984 c 655 art 1 s 92; 1989 c 330 s 4;
1992 c 520 s 1; 1992 c 564 art 1 s 29

CONTRACTS

61A.02 FORMS OF POLICY.
    Subdivision 1. Prohibited. So-called coupon policies shall not be issued or delivered by
any company to any residents of this state.
    Subd. 2. Approval required. Except as otherwise authorized pursuant to subdivision 2a,
no policy or certificate of life insurance or annuity contract, issued to an individual, group, or
multiple employer trust, nor any rider of any kind or description which is made a part thereof
shall be issued or delivered in this state, or be issued by a life insurance company organized under
the laws of this state, until the form of the same has been approved by the commissioner. In
making a determination under this section, the commissioner may require the insurer to provide
rates and advertising materials related to policies or contracts, certificates, or similar evidence
of coverage issued or delivered in this state.
Subdivisions 1 to 5 apply to a policy, certificate of insurance, or similar evidence of coverage
issued to a Minnesota resident or issued to provide coverage to a Minnesota resident. Subdivisions
1 to 5 do not apply to a certificate of insurance or similar evidence of coverage that meets the
conditions of section 61A.093, subdivision 2.
    Subd. 2a. Expedited procedure for life or annuity contracts; form and rate filing
reviews. (a) An insurer may file a life or annuity contract, rates, or forms and all related riders of
any kind or description with the commissioner for a review under this subdivision. Any review
must be completed within 60 days of receipt of a completed filing. The cost of any actuarial
review must be paid by the insurer submitting the filing under this subdivision.
(b) If a filing has been disapproved and is resubmitted, the cover letter must note the
disapproval and any changes made since the earlier filing, with an explanation of why the new
filing should be approved. Resubmission of disapproved forms should, where possible, be made
within 90 days of disapproval.
(c) The filer may request a hearing within ten days of receiving a final disapproval. Within 20
days of the receipt of the request, the commissioner shall schedule a date for the hearing, which
must occur within 30 days of the scheduling. At least ten days' written notice of the hearing must
be given to all interested parties. All hearings must be conducted in accordance with chapter 14.
(d) The hearing officer may order a prehearing conference for the resolution or simplification
of issues, to be held no less than three days before the scheduled date of a hearing.
(e) All actuaries used by the commissioner to review filings submitted by insurers pursuant
to this subdivision, whether employed by the department or secured by contract, must be members
of the American Academy of Actuaries. The commissioner may contract with actuaries to review
filings submitted by insurers under this subdivision, and shall assess the applicant for the costs of
this review. Payments received by the commissioner under this subdivision shall be deposited in
the revolving fund established under section 60A.03.
(f) Except for the change in timing for the review of completed filings found in paragraph (a)
and the expedited hearing procedures found in paragraph (c), nothing in this subdivision shall be
construed as changing the statutory and regulatory standards for approval or disapproval of filings.
    Subd. 3. Disapproval. (a) The commissioner shall, within 60 days after the filing of any
form, disapprove the form:
(1) if the benefits provided are unreasonable in relation to the premium charged;
(2) if the safety and soundness of the company would be threatened by the offering of an
excess rate of interest on the policy or contract;
(3) if it contains a provision or provisions which are unlawful, unfair, inequitable, misleading,
or encourages misrepresentation of the policy; or
(4) if the form, or its provisions, is otherwise not in the public interest. It shall be unlawful
for the company to issue any policy in the form so disapproved. If the commissioner does
not within 60 days after the filing of any form, disapprove or otherwise object, the form shall
be deemed approved.
(b) When an insurer or the Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association fails to respond to
an objection or inquiry within 60 days, the filing is automatically disapproved. A resubmission is
required if action by the Department of Commerce is subsequently requested. An additional filing
fee is required for the resubmission.
(c) For purposes of paragraph (a), clause (2), an excess rate of interest is a rate of interest
exceeding the rate of interest determined by subtracting three percentage points from Moody's
corporate bond yield average as most recently available.
    Subd. 4. Withdrawal of approval. The commissioner may at any time withdraw approval
of any policy or form upon the grounds stated in subdivision 3. It is unlawful for the insurer to
issue the form or use it in connection with any policy after the effective date of the withdrawal of
approval.
    Subd. 5. Hearing. Notification of disapproval or withdrawal of approval must be made to
the insurer in writing, specifying the grounds for the disapproval. Upon written request made by
the insurer, the commissioner shall grant a hearing within 30 days after receipt of the request.
All hearings must be conducted in accordance with chapter 14. Following the hearing, the
commissioner may affirm, reverse, or modify the previous determination made with respect to
the subject policy or form.
    Subd. 6. Filing by domestic insurers for purposes of complying with another state's
filing requirements. A domestic insurer may file with the commissioner for informational
purposes only a policy, certificate of insurance, or annuity contract that is not intended to be
offered or sold within this state. This subdivision only applies to the filing in Minnesota of a
policy, certificate of insurance, or annuity contract issued to an insured, certificate holder, or
annuitant located outside of this state when the filing is for the express purpose of complying with
the law of the state in which the insured, certificate holder, or annuitant resides. In no event may a
policy, certificate of insurance, or annuity contract filed under this subdivision for out-of-state
use be issued or delivered in Minnesota unless and until the policy, certificate of insurance, or
annuity contract is approved under subdivision 2.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 2; 1984 c 592 s 44; 1993 c 319 s 1,2; 1994 c 485 s 16; 1996 c
446 art 1 s 9,10; 2005 c 74 s 9,10; 2006 c 255 s 5

61A.021 SALE OF LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITY AS SINGLE POLICY
PROHIBITED.
    Subdivision 1. Sale as single policy prohibited. The sale of a life insurance product and an
annuity as a single policy, whether in the form of a life insurance policy with an annuity rider or
otherwise, is prohibited in this state. This subdivision does not prohibit the simultaneous sale of
these products, but the sale must involve two separate and distinct policies.
    Subd. 2. Tying prohibited. The tying of the sale of a life insurance product and an annuity
is expressly prohibited. The sale of one policy cannot be conditioned upon the sale of a second
policy. A violation of subdivision 1 is an unfair and deceptive trade practice under chapter 72A.
    Subd. 3. Exemption. The commissioner may exempt by order such a product from this
section if it is in the public interest.
    Subd. 4. Implementation. This section applies to all sales where applications are completed
on or after July 1, 1985.
History: 1Sp1985 c 10 s 56

61A.03 REQUIRED PROVISIONS; LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES.
    Subdivision 1. Generally. No policy of life insurance may be issued in this state or by a
life insurance company organized under the laws of this state unless it contains the following
provisions:
(a) Premium. A provision that all premiums are payable in advance either at the home office
of the company, or to an agent of the company, upon delivery of a receipt signed by one or more
officers named in the policy and countersigned by the agent, but a policy may contain a provision
that the policy itself is a receipt for the first premium;
(b) Grace period. A provision for a one month grace period for the payment of every
premium after the first, during which the insurance will continue in force. The provision may
subject the late payment to a finance charge and contain a stipulation that if the insured dies
during the grace period, the overdue premium will be deducted in any settlement under the policy;
(c) Entire contract. A provision that the policy constitutes the entire contract between
the parties and is incontestable after it has been in force during the lifetime of the insured for
two years from its date, except for nonpayment of premiums and except for violations of the
conditions of the policy relating to naval and military services in time of war; that at the option
of the company, provisions relative to benefits in the event of total and permanent disability
and provisions which grant additional insurance specifically against death by accident, may be
excepted; and that a special form of policy may be issued on the life of a person employed in an
occupation classified by the company as extra hazardous or as leading to hazardous employment,
which provides that service in certain designated occupations may reduce the company's liability
under the policy to a certain designated amount not less than the full policy reserve;
(d) Representations and warranties. A provision that, in the absence of fraud, all
statements made by the insured are representations and not warranties, and that no statement voids
the policy unless it is contained in a written application and a copy of the application is endorsed
upon or attached to the policy when issued;
(e) Misstatement of age. A provision that if the age of the insured is understated the amount
payable under the policy will be the amount the premium would have purchased at the correct age;
(f) Dividends on participating policies. A provision that the policy will participate in the
surplus of the company and that, beginning not later than the end of the third policy year, the
company will annually determine and account for the portion of the divisible surplus accruing
on the policy, and that the owner of the policy has the right, each year after the fifth, to have the
current dividend arising from the participation paid in cash. If the policy provides other dividend
options, it must specify which option is effective if the owner of the policy does not elect an
option. The provision may condition any dividends payable during the first five years of the
policy upon the payment of the next ensuing annual premium. This provision is not required in
nonparticipating policies, in policies issued on under-average lives, or in insurance in exchange
for lapsed or surrendered policies;
(g) Policy loans. A provision (1) that after three full years' premiums have been paid, the
company at any time while the policy is in force, will advance, on proper assignment of the policy,
and on the sole security thereof, at a specified rate of interest, not to exceed eight percent per
annum, or at an adjustable rate of interest as otherwise provided for in this section, a sum equal to,
or, at the option of the owner of the policy, less than the loan value thereof; (2) that the loan value
is the cash surrender value thereof at the end of the current policy year; (3) that the loan, unless
made to pay premiums, may be deferred for not more than six months after the application for it
is made; (4) that the company will deduct from the loan value any existing indebtedness on the
policy and any unpaid balance of the premium for current policy year, and may collect interest in
advance on the loan to the end of the current policy year; (5) that the failure to repay an advance
or to pay interest does not void the policy unless the total indebtedness thereon to the company
equals or exceeds the loan value at the time of the failure, nor until one month after notice has been
mailed by the company to the last known address of the insured and of the assignee of record at
the home office of the company; and (6) that no condition other than those provided in this section
will be exacted as a prerequisite to an advance. This provision is not required in term insurance;
(h) Reinstatement. A provision that if, in event of default in premium payments, the
nonforfeiture value of the policy is applied to the purchase of other insurance, and if that insurance
is in force and the original policy has not been surrendered to the company and canceled,
the policy may be reinstated within three years after the default upon evidence of insurability
satisfactory to the company and payment of arrears of premiums with interest;
(i) Payment of claims. A provision that, when a policy becomes a claim by the death of the
insured, settlement will be made within two months after receipt of due proof of death;
(j) Settlement option. A table showing the amount of installments in which the policy may
provide its proceeds may be payable;
(k) Description of policy. A title on the face and on the back of the policy briefly and
correctly describing the policy in bold letters stating its general character, dividend periods, and
other particulars, so that the holder will not be able to mistake the nature and scope of the contract;
(l) Form number. A form number in the lower left-hand corner of the first page of each
form, including riders and endorsements.
Any of the foregoing provisions or portions thereof relating to premiums not applicable to
single premium policies must not be incorporated therein.
    Subd. 2. Interest rates on policy loans. (a) A life insurance policy which provides for policy
loans must contain a provision concerning maximum policy loan interest rates as follows:
(1) a provision permitting a maximum interest rate of not more than eight percent per
annum; or
(2) a provision permitting an adjustable maximum interest rate established from time to time
by the life insurer as permitted by this subdivision.
(b) No life insurer may issue policies with a policy loan provision providing for an adjustable
maximum interest rate under paragraph (a), clause (2), unless the insurer also makes available
policies with a policy loan provision providing for a fixed rate of interest under paragraph (a),
clause (1).
(c) The rate of interest charged on a policy loan made under paragraph (a), clause (2), may
not exceed the higher of the following:
(1) the rate used to compute the cash surrender values under the policy during the applicable
period plus one percent per annum; or
(2) the monthly average of the composite yield on seasoned corporate bonds as published by
Moody's Investors Service, Incorporated, or any successor thereto, for the calendar month ending
two months before the date on which the rate is determined. If the monthly average is no longer
published, the commissioner shall substitute a substantially similar average by rule.
(d) If the maximum rate of interest is determined pursuant to paragraph (a), clause (2), the
policy must contain a provision setting forth the frequency at which the rate is to be determined
for that policy.
(e) The maximum rate referred to in paragraph (d) must be determined at regular intervals
at least once every 12 months, but not more frequently than once in any three-month period. At
the intervals specified in the policy:
(1) The rate being charged may be increased whenever the increase as determined under
paragraph (c) would increase that rate by one-half percent or more per annum; and
(2) The rate being charged must be reduced whenever the reduction as determined under
paragraph (c) would decrease that rate by one-half percent or more per annum.
(f) The life insurer shall:
(1) notify the policyholder at the time a policy loan, other than a premium loan, is made, of
the initial rate of interest on the loan, that the interest rate on the loan is adjustable and that the
policyholder will be notified of any increase in the interest rate;
(2) notify the policyholder with respect to premium loans of the initial rate of interest on the
loan as soon as it is reasonably practical to do so after making the initial loan. Notice need not be
given to the policyholder when a further premium loan is added, except as provided in clause (3);
(3) send reasonable advance notice of any increase in the rate to the policyholder with
loans; and
(4) include in the notices required by this paragraph the substance of the pertinent provisions
of paragraphs (a) and (d), a summary of the plan required by paragraph (h), and the effect of the
policy loan on the policyholder's net cost of insurance per $1,000 of coverage based on that plan.
(g) The loan value of the policy must be determined in a manner consistent with section
61A.24 or 61A.245, but no policy may terminate as the sole result of a change in the interest
rate during that policy year, and the life insurer shall maintain coverage during that policy year
until the time at which it would otherwise have terminated if there had been no change during
that policy year.
(h) Prior to offering insurance policies with an adjustable policy loan interest rate or offering
to add a provision for an adjustable policy loan interest rate to existing policyholders, the insurer
shall file a written plan setting forth the manner in which policyholders will receive a reasonable
benefit in the form of price reductions, increased amounts of insurance, or increased dividends
from the increased earnings of the insurer resulting from the use of the adjustable rate and, if
applicable, the effect of a policy loan on dividends and dividend rates. A summary of this plan
must be made available upon request to each policyholder and must be provided to each applicant
for a policy before the initial premium is received.
(i) The pertinent provisions of paragraphs (a) and (e) must be set forth in substance in the
policies to which they apply.
(j) For the purposes of this subdivision:
(1) The rate of interest on policy loans permitted under this subdivision includes the interest
rate charged on reinstatement of policy loans for the period during and after any lapse of a policy.
(2) The term "policy loan" includes any premium loan made under a policy to pay one or
more premiums that were not paid to the life insurer as they fell due.
(3) The term "policyholder" includes the owner of the policy or the person designated to pay
premiums as shown on the records of the life insurer.
(4) The term "policy" includes certificates issued by a fraternal benefit society and annuity
contracts which provide for policy loans.
    Subd. 2a. Satisfaction of filing requirement. No life insurer subject to this section is
required to file more than one policy with a policy loan provision providing for a fixed rate
of interest.
    Subd. 3. Applicability to policies. The provisions of subdivision 2 do not apply to any
insurance policy issued before January 1, 1984, unless the insurer provides the policyholder with
a summary of the plan required by subdivision 2, paragraph (h), and thereafter the policyholder
agrees in writing to the applicability of those provisions. Upon election of policies providing
adjustable policy loan interest rates, the cash surrender values of any policies subject to the
provisions of this section shall be determined in accordance with section 61A.24 or 61A.245 at
the time of the election. The provisions of subdivision 2 shall not apply to any insurance policy
that the commissioner determines provides insufficient benefits to the policyholder to justify loan
interest rates in excess of those provided in subdivision 1.
    Subd. 4. Nonapplication of usury. Neither section 334.01 nor any other law of this state
which regulates rates of interest applies to policy loans governed by this section.
    Subd. 5. Rules. The commissioner may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 14 to further
implement and administer the provisions of this section.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 3; 1983 c 292 s 1; 1984 c 592 s 45; 1995 c 258 s 15

61A.031 SUICIDE PROVISIONS.
The sanity or insanity of a person shall not be a factor in determining whether a person
committed suicide within the terms of an individual or group life insurance policy regulating the
payment of benefits in the event of the insured's suicide. This section shall not be construed to
alter present law but is intended to clarify present law.
History: 1981 c 286 s 1

61A.04 SPENDTHRIFT PROVISIONS.
In addition to the provisions now required by law to be in the standard form of life insurance
policies issued or delivered in this state, there shall be, when such policy provides for the payment
to the beneficiary the proceeds thereof, in either monthly, quarterly, semiannual or annual
installments, to continue during the lifetime of the beneficiary, or for a stipulated number of years,
whenever requested by the insured under the policy, the following provisions:
All rights of the beneficiary to commute, change time of payment or amount of installments,
surrender for cash, borrow against or assign for any purpose, are hereby withdrawn and those
parts of this policy giving the beneficiary such rights are hereby declared inoperative and void; it
being the intent hereof that the beneficiary shall have no right under this contract except to receive
the installments at such times and in such amounts as stated in this policy, and all the provisions
of this policy in conflict herewith are hereby declared to be inoperative.
This provision may be attached to any policy in the form of a rider thereon, and, when so
attached, shall become a part of and form a part of the contract of insurance, evidenced by the
policy to all intents and purposes as if set forth at length therein.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 4

61A.05 LIFE POLICIES TO CONTAIN ENTIRE CONTRACT.
Every policy of insurance issued or delivered within this state on or after the first day of
January, 1908, by any life insurance corporation doing business within the state, shall contain the
entire contract between the parties.
Every policy which contains a reference to the application, either as a part of the policy or
as having any bearing thereon, shall have a copy of such application attached thereto or set
out therein.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 5

61A.06 AVIATION AND WAR RISK EXCLUSION PERMITTED.
Policies of life insurance may be delivered or issued for delivery in this state which limit
the amount to be paid in the event of death occurring as a result of travel or flight in, or descent
from or with, any kind of aircraft if the insured (1) is a pilot, officer or member of the crew of
such aircraft, or is participating in aeronautic or aviation training during such flight, or (2) is in
the military, naval or air forces of any country and is being transported in a military, naval or air
force aircraft. Such amount shall not be less than the reserve on the policy plus any dividends
standing to the credit of the policy and the reserve for any paid-up additions, less any indebtedness
to the company on the policy. Such limitation may be made by a provision in the policy or by a
rider made a part thereof provided, that no such limitation shall be effective unless and until the
insured or applicant shall agree in writing thereto; and provided, further, that except in case of
policies issued on the lives of persons who have received aeronautic or aviation training or whose
occupation entails duty aboard aircraft in flight, such limitation shall apply only in event death
occurs within five years after date of issue of the policy. This section shall not affect the validity
of provisions which limit the amount to be paid in the event of death of the insured while in the
military, naval or air forces of any country at war, or of provisions relative to benefits in the event
of total and permanent disability, or of provisions which grant additional insurance specifically
against death by accident. Policies issued by life insurance companies organized under the laws of
this state for delivery in any other state, territory, district, or country may contain any provisions
limiting the amount to be paid in the event of death which are permitted by the laws of such other
state, territory, district, or country.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 6

61A.07 PROHIBITED PROVISIONS.
No policy of life insurance shall be issued or delivered in this state, or be issued by a life
insurance company organized under the laws of this state, if it contains a provision:
(1) for forfeiture of the policy for failure to repay any loan on the policy or to pay interest
on such loan while the total indebtedness on the policy is less than the loan value thereof; or for
forfeiture for failure to repay any such loan or to pay interest thereon, unless such provision
contain a stipulation that no such forfeiture shall occur until at least one month after notice shall
have been mailed by the company to the last known address of the insured and of the assignee, if
any, notice of whose address and contract of the assignment has been filed with the company,
at its home office; or
(2) in a life policy or annuity contract, limiting the time within which any action at law or in
equity may be commenced to less than five years after the cause of action shall accrue; or
(3) by which the policy shall purport to be issued or to take effect more than six months
before the original application for the insurance was made; or
(4) for any mode of settlement at maturity of less value than the amount insured on the face
of the policy plus any dividend additions, less any indebtedness to the company on the policy, and
less any premium that may be deducted by the terms of the policy.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 7; 1994 c 485 s 17

61A.071 APPLICATIONS.
No individual life insurance policy shall be issued or delivered in this state to a person age
65 or older unless a signed and completed copy of the application for insurance is left with the
applicant at the time application is made. This requirement will not apply to life insurers who
mail a copy of the signed, completed application to the applicant within 24 hours of receiving the
application. However, where an individual life policy is marketed on a direct response basis, a
copy of any application signed by the applicant shall be delivered to the insured along with, or
as part of, the policy.
History: 1983 c 263 s 7; 1994 c 485 s 18; 1995 c 258 s 16

61A.072 POLICIES WITH ACCELERATED BENEFITS.
    Subdivision 1. Disclosure. A life insurance contract or supplemental contract that contains
a provision to permit the accelerated payment of benefits as authorized under section 60A.06,
subdivision 1 , clause (4), must contain the following disclosure: "This is a life insurance policy
which pays accelerated death benefits at your option under conditions specified in the policy. This
policy is not a long-term care policy meeting the requirements of sections 62A.46 to 62A.56
or chapter 62S."
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 2005 c 132 s 38]
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1995 c 258 s 67]
    Subd. 4. Long-term care expenses. If the right to receive accelerated benefits is contingent
upon the insured receiving long-term care services, the contract or supplemental contract shall
include the following provisions:
(1) the minimum accelerated benefit shall be $1,200 per month if the insured is receiving
nursing facility services and $750 per month if the insured is receiving home services with a
minimum lifetime benefit limit of $50,000;
(2) coverage is effective immediately and benefits shall commence with the receipt of
services as defined in section 62A.46, subdivision 3, 4, or 5, or 62S.01, subdivision 25, but may
include a waiting period of not more than 90 days, provided that no more than one waiting period
may be required per benefit period as defined in section 62A.46, subdivision 11;
(3) premium shall be waived during any period in which benefits are being paid to the
insured during confinement to a nursing home facility;
(4) coverage may not be canceled or renewal refused except on the grounds of nonpayment
of premium;
(5) coverage must include preexisting conditions during the first six months of coverage
if the insured was not diagnosed or treated for the particular condition during the 90 days
immediately preceding the effective date of coverage;
(6) coverage must include mental or nervous disorders which have a demonstrable organic
cause such as Alzheimer's and related dementias;
(7) no prior hospitalization requirement shall be allowed unless a similar requirement is
allowed by section 62A.48, subdivision 1, or 62S.06; and
(8) the contract shall include a cancellation provision that meets the requirements of section
62A.50, subdivision 2, or 62S.07.
    Subd. 5. Exclusion. Subdivision 4 does not apply to contracts or supplemental contracts
granting the right to receive accelerated benefits if (1) one of the options for payment provides
for lump-sum payment; (2) no conditions or restrictions are imposed on the use of the funds by
the insured; and (3) the offeree or insured is given written notice at the time the contract or
supplemental contract is offered or sold that (i) Minnesota law sets minimum requirements for life
insurance contracts where the right to receive accelerated benefits is contingent upon the insured
receiving long-term care services, and (ii) the contract or supplemental contract being offered or
sold does not meet those minimum requirements.
    Subd. 6. Accelerated benefits. (a) "Accelerated benefits" covered under this section are
benefits payable under the life insurance contract:
(1) to a policyholder or certificate holder, during the lifetime of the insured, upon the
occurrence of a specified life-threatening or catastrophic condition as defined by the policy or
rider;
(2) that reduce the death benefit otherwise payable under the life insurance contract; and
(3) that are payable upon the occurrence of a single qualifying event that results in the
payment of a benefit amount fixed at the time of acceleration.
(b) "Qualifying event" means one or more of the following:
(1) a medical condition that would result in a drastically limited life span as specified
in the contract;
(2) a medical condition that has required or requires extraordinary medical intervention,
such as, but not limited to, major organ transplant or continuous artificial life support without
which the insured would die;
(3) a condition that requires continuous confinement in an eligible institution as defined in
the contract if the insured is expected to remain there for the rest of the insured's life;
(4) a long-term care illness or physical condition that results in cognitive impairment or
the inability to perform the activities of daily life or the substantial and material duties of any
occupation; or
(5) other qualifying events that the commissioner approves for a particular filing.
History: 1989 c 125 s 3; 1990 c 507 s 1,2; 1996 c 446 art 1 s 11; 1997 c 71 art 2 s 1,2; 2001
c 215 s 8; 1Sp2003 c 14 art 2 s 1

61A.073 LIFE INSURANCE FOR THE BENEFIT OF CHARITY.
    Subdivision 1. Charitable beneficiary or owner permitted. Subject to the terms of the
policy, an organization described in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended through December 31, 1991, shall have an insurable interest in the life of an individual
insured under a life insurance policy, if the organization:
(1) has become the beneficiary or owner of a previously issued policy insuring the life
of the individual; or
(2) is the original beneficiary or original owner of a newly issued policy insuring the life
of the individual, if the individual signs the application or consents in writing to the issuance of
the policy.
    Subd. 2. Applicability. This section applies to life insurance policies issued by life
companies and fraternal benefit societies.
History: 1992 c 483 s 1

61A.074 INSURABLE INTERESTS.
    Subdivision 1. Corporation or trustee. A corporation or the trustee of a trust providing
life, annuity, health, disability, retirement, or similar benefits to employees of one or more
corporations, and acting in a fiduciary capacity with respect to the employees, retired employees,
or their dependents or beneficiaries, has an insurable interest in the lives of employees for whom
the benefits are to be provided. The written consent of the insured is required if the insurance
purchased under this subdivision is payable to the corporation or to the trustee.
    Subd. 2. Other insurable interests. Subdivision 1 does not limit the right of a corporation or
trustee to insure the life of an individual that is otherwise insurable under common law or any
statute. This section shall not be interpreted as in any way modifying the common law doctrine of
insurable interest, except as expressly provided in subdivision 1.
History: 1992 c 483 s 2; 1994 c 485 s 19

61A.08 EXCEPTIONS.
Sections 61A.02, 61A.03, 61A.07, 61A.23, and 61A.25 shall not, except as expressly
provided in this chapter, apply to industrial or group term policies, or to corporations or
associations operating on the assessment or fraternal plan, but every contract issued prior to the
operative date specified in section 61A.245 containing a provision for a deferred annuity on the
life of the insured only, unless paid for by a single premium, shall provide that, in event of the
nonpayment of any premium after three full years' premium shall have been paid, the annuity
shall automatically become converted into a paid-up annuity for that proportion of the original
annuity as the number of completed years' premiums paid bears to the total number of premiums
required under the contract.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 8; 1978 c 662 s 1; 1994 c 485 s 20

61A.09 GROUP LIFE INSURANCE.
    Subdivision 1. Filing requirement. No group life insurance policy or group annuity shall
be issued for delivery in this state until the form thereof and the form of any certificates issued
thereunder have been filed in accordance with and subject to the provisions of section 61A.02.
Each person insured under such a group life insurance policy (excepting policies which insure the
lives of debtors of a creditor or vendor to secure payment of indebtedness) shall be furnished a
certificate of insurance issued by the insurer and containing the following:
(a) name and location of the insurance company;
(b) a statement as to the insurance protection to which the certificate holder is entitled,
including any changes in such protection depending on the age of the person whose life is insured;
(c) any and all provisions regarding the termination or reduction of the certificate holder's
insurance protection;
(d) a statement that the master group policy may be examined at a reasonably accessible
place;
(e) the maximum rate of contribution to be paid by the certificate holder;
(f) beneficiary and method required to change such beneficiary;
(g) a statement that alternative methods for the payment of group life policy proceeds of
$15,000 or more must be offered to beneficiaries in lieu of a lump sum distribution, at their
request. Alternative payment methods which must be offered at the request of the beneficiaries
must include, but are not limited to, a life income option, an income option for fixed amounts or
fixed time periods, and the option to select an interest-bearing account with the company with the
right to select another option at a later date;
(h) in the case of a group term insurance policy if the policy provides that insurance of
the certificate holder will terminate, in case of a policy issued to an employer, by reason of
termination of the certificate holder's employment, or in case of a policy issued to an organization
of which the certificate holder is a member, by reason of termination of membership, a provision
to the effect that in case of termination of employment or membership, or in case of termination
of the group policy, the certificate holder shall be entitled to have issued by the insurer, without
evidence of insurability, upon application made to the insurer within 31 days after the termination,
and upon payment of the premium applicable to the class of risk to which that person belongs and
to the form and amount of the policy at that person's then attained age, a policy of life insurance
only, in any one of the forms customarily issued by the insurer except term insurance, in an
amount equal to the amount of the life insurance protection under such group insurance policy
at the time of such termination; and shall contain a further provision to the effect that upon the
death of the certificate holder during such 31-day period and before any such individual policy
has become effective, the amount of insurance for which the certificate holder was entitled to
make application shall be payable as a death benefit by the insurer.
This section applies to a policy, certificate of insurance, or similar evidence of coverage
issued to a Minnesota resident or issued to provide coverage to a Minnesota resident. This
section does not apply to a certificate of insurance or similar evidence of coverage that meets the
conditions of section 61A.093, subdivision 2.
    Subd. 2. Assignment of interests. Any or all of the interests of a certificate holder under any
group life insurance policy (excepting policies which insure the lives of debtors of a creditor or
vendor to secure payment of indebtedness) may be assigned by an assignment executed by the
owner of such interest and delivered to the insurer if the provisions of the policy so permit or if
both the insurer and the master policyholder agree to such assignment.
An assignment of interests of a certificate holder valid hereunder may transfer to the assignee
any or all the rights, privileges, and incidents of ownership of the certificate holder in the group
life insurance policy and group certificate thereunder, including, but not limited to the rights to
designate beneficiaries and to have an individual policy issued in accordance with subdivision 1,
clause (g).
Any assignment in accordance with this subdivision shall entitle the insurer to deal with the
assignee in accordance with the terms of the assignment until the insurer has received at its home
office written notice of a subsequent assignment made by such assignee; provided, however,
that the insurer shall not be prejudiced by any payment made or action taken inconsistent with
the terms of any assignment before the insurer has received and had reasonable time to act on
written notice of such assignment.
This subdivision declares and codifies without modifying the existing right of assignment of
interests of certificate holders under group life insurance policies by the persons owning such
interests. An assignment otherwise valid shall not be invalid because it was made prior to the
enactment of this subdivision.
    Subd. 3. Mortgage loans; certain debtor groups. Group life insurance policies may be
issued to cover groups of not less than ten debtors of a creditor written under a master policy
issued to a creditor to insure its debtors in connection with real estate mortgage loans, in an
amount not to exceed the actual amount of their indebtedness plus an amount equal to two
monthly payments or scheduled amount of their indebtedness, plus an amount equal to two
monthly payments, whichever is greater. If the mortgage loan provides for a variable rate of
finance charge or interest, the initial rate or the scheduled rates based on the initial index must be
used in determining the scheduled amount of indebtedness. Each application for group mortgage
insurance offered prior to or at the time of loan closing shall contain a clear and conspicuous
notice that the insurance is optional and is not a condition for obtaining the loan. Each person
insured under a group insurance policy issued under this subdivision shall be furnished a
certificate of insurance which conforms to the requirements of section 62B.06, subdivision 2, and
which includes a conversion privilege permitting an insured debtor to convert, without evidence
of insurability, to an individual policy of decreasing term insurance within 30 days of the date
the insured debtor's group coverage is terminated for any reason other than the nonpayment of
premiums. The initial amount of coverage under the individual policy shall be an amount equal to
the amount of coverage terminated under the group policy and shall decrease over a term that
corresponds with the scheduled term of the insured debtor's mortgage loan. The premium for the
individual policy shall be the same premium the insured debtor was paying under the group policy.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 9; 1973 c 439 s 1; 1986 c 444; 1989 c 330 s 5; 1994 c 485 s 21;
1995 c 116 s 1; 1995 c 171 s 65; 1996 c 446 art 1 s 12

61A.091 EMPLOYEE GROUP LIFE INSURANCE PLANS.
    Subdivision 1. Mandatory participation. No employer who makes available or otherwise
sponsors a group life insurance plan that provides life insurance benefits to more than five
employees of that employer, whether through insurance policies, self-insurance, or any
combination of these arrangements, may require an employee to participate in the life insurance
plan as a condition of employment, unless the employer pays the full cost of the plan. No
employer may discharge any employee who pursuant to this section refuses to contribute to an
employee group life insurance plan, nor shall the employer discriminate or otherwise retaliate
against the employee who pursuant to this section refuses to contribute to an employee group
life insurance plan. An employee may bring an action against an employer for recovery of
any wages withheld in violation of this section. This remedy shall be in addition to any other
remedy provided by law. For the purposes of this section, "employer" means any natural person,
company, corporation, partnership, association or firm which employs any employee. "Employee"
is an individual as defined by section 62E.02, subdivision 8. This section does not apply where
a collectively bargained contract provides for mandatory participation in a group life insurance
plan. This section does not apply to any insurance purchased or carried for the purpose of buying
or selling any part of employer, its shares, its assets or its business. This section does not apply to
any insurance purchased or carried by any pension, profit sharing or other retirement plan or trust.
    Subd. 2. Continuation of waiver of premiums for those otherwise eligible following
termination of insurance. All group life insurance policies covering employees of an employer
containing a waiver of premium benefits upon total disability of the employee shall provide that
termination of the master policy, for any reason whatsoever, will be without prejudice to the claim
of any covered employee who is suffering from a disability, as defined in the group life policy
waiver of premium section at the time of the termination. This subdivision may be superseded by
a rule promulgated by the commissioner of commerce.
History: 1977 c 192 s 1; 1980 c 376 s 1; 1983 c 289 s 114 subd 1; 1984 c 655 art 1 s
92; 1986 c 444

61A.092 CONTINUATION OF COVERAGE FOR LIFE INSURANCE.
    Subdivision 1. Continuation of coverage. Every group insurance policy issued or renewed
within this state after August 1, 1987, providing coverage for life insurance benefits shall contain
a provision that permits covered employees who are voluntarily or involuntarily terminated or
laid off from their employment, if the policy remains in force for any active employee of the
employer, to elect to continue the coverage for themselves and their dependents.
An employee is considered to be laid off from employment if there is a reduction in hours to
the point where the employee is no longer eligible for coverage under the group life insurance
policy. Termination does not include discharge for gross misconduct.
    Subd. 2. Responsibility of employee. Every covered employee electing to continue
coverage shall pay the employee's former employer, on a monthly basis, the cost of the continued
coverage. In no event shall the amount of premium charged exceed 102 percent of the cost to the
plan for such period of coverage for other similarly situated employees with respect to whom
neither termination nor layoff has occurred, without respect to whether such cost is paid by the
employer or employee. The employee is eligible to continue the coverage until the employee
obtains coverage under another group policy, or for a period of 18 months after the termination or
layoff from employment, whichever is shorter.
    Subd. 3. Notice of options. Upon termination of or layoff from employment of a covered
employee, the employer shall inform the employee of:
(1) the employee's right to elect to continue the coverage;
(2) the amount the employee must pay monthly to the employer to retain the coverage;
(3) the manner in which and the office of the employer to which the payment to the employer
must be made; and
(4) the time by which the payments to the employer must be made to retain coverage.
The employee has 60 days within which to elect coverage. The 60-day period shall begin
to run on the date coverage would otherwise terminate or on the date upon which notice of the
right to coverage is received, whichever is later.
If the covered employee or covered dependent dies during the 60-day election period and
before the covered employee makes an election to continue or reject continuation, then the
covered employee will be considered to have elected continuation of coverage. The beneficiary
previously selected by the former employee or covered dependent would then be entitled to a
death benefit equal to the amount of insurance that could have been continued less any unpaid
premium owing as of the date of death.
Notice must be in writing and sent by first class mail to the employee's last known address
which the employee has provided to the employer.
A notice in substantially the following form is sufficient: "As a terminated or laid off
employee, the law authorizes you to maintain your group insurance benefits, in an amount equal
to the amount of insurance in effect on the date you terminated or were laid off from employment,
for a period of up to 18 months. To do so, you must notify your former employer within 60 days
of your receipt of this notice that you intend to retain this coverage and must make a monthly
payment of $............ at ............. by the ............. of each month."
    Subd. 4. Responsibility of employer and insurer. If the employer fails to notify a covered
employee of the options set forth in subdivision 3, or if after timely receipt of the monthly
payment from a covered employee the employer fails to make the payment to the insurer, with the
result that the employee's coverage is terminated, the employer is still liable for the employee's
coverage to the same extent as the insurer would be if the coverage were still in effect.
    Subd. 5. Conversion to individual policy. A group insurance policy that provides
posttermination or layoff coverage as required by this section must also include a provision
allowing a covered employee, surviving spouse, or dependent at the expiration of the
posttermination or layoff coverage provided by subdivision 2 to obtain from the insurer offering
the group policy, at the employee's, spouse's, or dependent's option and expense, without further
evidence of insurability and without interruption of coverage, an individual policy of insurance
contract providing the same or substantially similar benefits.
A policy providing reduced benefits at a reduced premium rate may be accepted by
the employee, the spouse, or a dependent in lieu of the coverage otherwise required by this
subdivision.
    Subd. 6. Application. This section applies to a policy, certificate of insurance, or similar
evidence of coverage issued to a Minnesota resident or issued to provide coverage to a Minnesota
resident. This section does not apply to: (1) a certificate of insurance or similar evidence of
coverage that meets the conditions of section 61A.093, subdivision 2; or (2) a group life insurance
policy that contains a provision permitting the certificate holder, upon termination or layoff from
employment, to retain the coverage provided under the group policy by paying premiums directly
to the insurer, provided that the employer shall give the employee notice of the employee's and
each related certificate holder's right to continue the insurance by paying premiums directly to
the insurer. The insurer may reserve the right to increase premium rates after the first 18 months
of continued coverage provided for under clause (2). A related certificate holder is an insured
spouse or dependent child of the employee. Upon termination of this group policy or at the option
of the insured who has continued coverage under clause (2), each covered employee, spouse,
and dependent child is entitled to have issued to them a life conversion policy as prescribed in
section 61A.09, subdivision 1, paragraph (h).
History: 1987 c 337 s 42; 1989 c 330 s 6; 1994 c 485 s 22; 1995 c 258 s 17,18; 2000 c 483 s
10; 2002 c 307 art 2 s 1; 2002 c 330 s 7; 2006 c 255 s 6

61A.093 CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE.
    Subdivision 1. Coverage. A certificate of insurance or similar evidence of coverage issued
to a Minnesota resident shall provide coverage for all benefits required to be covered in group
policies in Minnesota by this chapter.
This subdivision supersedes any inconsistent provision of this chapter.
A policy of life insurance that is issued or delivered in this state and that covers a person
residing in another state may provide coverage or contain provisions that are less favorable to
that person than required by this chapter. Less favorable coverages or provisions must meet
the requirements that the state in which the person resides would have required had the policy
been issued or delivered in that state.
    Subd. 2. Nonapplication. Subdivision 1 does not apply to certificates issued in regard to a
master policy issued outside the state of Minnesota if all of the following are true:
(1) the policyholder or certificate holder exists primarily for purposes other than to obtain
insurance;
(2) the policyholder or certificate holder is not a Minnesota corporation and does not have its
principal office in Minnesota;
(3) the policy or certificate covers fewer than 25 persons who are residents of Minnesota and
the Minnesota residents represent less than 25 percent of all covered persons; and
(4) on request of the commissioner, the issuer files with the commissioner a copy of the
policy and a copy of each form of certificate.
    Subd. 3. Relation to other law. Section 60A.08, subdivision 4, shall not be construed as
requiring a certificate of insurance or similar evidence of insurance that meets the conditions
of subdivision 2 to comply with this chapter.
History: 1994 c 485 s 23

61A.10 EXTENSION OF TIME FOR PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS.
Parties to any policy of life insurance now or hereafter issued shall have the right at any time
to mutually agree, in writing, for an extension of time in which to pay a second or subsequent
premium on the policy, upon condition that the failure to pay the amount agreed upon at the time
agreed, shall lapse the policy as of the date mutually agreed upon in the writing; provided, no
such agreement shall impair any right to extended or paid-up insurance which the insured may
have under the policy, nor any right to have the premiums, any part thereof, or the amount payable
for the extension charged against the policy under the terms of the policy. No such agreement
need be attached to or made a part of the insurance policy so affected.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 10

61A.11 MISSTATEMENT, WHEN NOT TO INVALIDATE POLICY.
In any claim upon a policy issued in this state without previous medical examination, or
without the knowledge or consent of the insured, or, in case of a minor, without the consent of a
parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody, the statements made in the application as
to the age, physical condition, and family history of the insured shall be valid and binding upon
the company, unless willfully false or intentionally misleading.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 11; 1986 c 444

61A.12 BENEFICIARIES.
    Subdivision 1. Proceeds of life policy or annuity, who entitled to. When any insurance is
effected in favor of another, the beneficiary shall be entitled to its proceeds against the creditors
and representatives of the person effecting the same. All premiums paid for insurance in fraud of
creditors, with interest thereon, shall inure to their benefit from the proceeds of the policy, if the
company be specifically notified thereof, in writing, before payment.
    Subd. 2. Exemption in favor of family. Every policy made payable to, or for the benefit of,
the spouse of the insured, or after its issue assigned to or in trust for a spouse, shall inure to that
person's separate use and that of the children of the insured or the insured's spouse, subject to the
provisions of this section.
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1973 c 725 s 91]
    Subd. 4. Change of beneficiary. The person applying for and procuring a policy may change
the beneficiary or beneficiaries, if the consent of the beneficiary or beneficiaries named in the
policy is obtained, or if a power so to do is reserved in the contract of insurance or in case of the
death of the beneficiary, or in the case of the dissolution of a marriage between the insured and
the beneficiary subject to any limitations on the power to change beneficiaries imposed as a
condition of the dissolution.
    Subd. 5. Substitution. When a creditor requires credit life insurance, credit accident and
health insurance, or both, as additional security for an indebtedness, the debtor shall be given
the option of furnishing the required amount of insurance through existing policies of insurance
owned or controlled by the debtor or procuring and furnishing the required coverage through any
insurer authorized to transact insurance business in this state. If this subdivision is applicable,
the debtor shall be informed by the creditor of the right to provide alternative coverage before
the transaction is completed.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 12; 1976 c 121 s 1,2; 1977 c 382 s 5; 1986 c 444; 1994 c 485 s 24

CONTRACTS -- VARIABLE BASIS

61A.13 DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Contract on a variable basis. When used in sections 61A.13 to 61A.21,
"contract on a variable basis" means any contract on either a group or an individual basis issued
by a life insurance company providing for the dollar amount of benefits or other contractual
payments or values thereunder to vary so as to reflect investment results of a separate account in
which amounts have been placed in connection with any such contracts. Such contracts may also
provide benefits or values incidental thereto payable in fixed or variable dollar amounts, or both.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1969 c 752 s 18]
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 13; 1969 c 752 s 1; 1973 c 480 s 1

61A.14 COMPANIES ENTITLED TO ISSUE CONTRACTS; ACCOUNTS;
INVESTMENTS.
    Subdivision 1. Separate accounts. Any domestic life insurance company may, by or
pursuant to resolution of its governing body, establish and operate one or more separate accounts
and issue contracts on a variable basis, subject to the provisions of sections 61A.13 to 61A.21.
    Subd. 2. Allocations to account. Except as may be otherwise specifically provided by the
contract concerned, all amounts received by a life insurance company in connection with any
contract on a variable basis shall be allocated to the appropriate separate account. The income, if
any, and gains or losses, realized or unrealized on each such account may be credited to or charged
against the amount allocated to such account in accordance with such contract, without regard to
the other income, gains, or losses of the company.
    Subd. 3. Investments. Except as hereinafter provided, amounts allocated to any separate
account and accumulations thereon may be invested and reinvested without regard to any
requirements or limitations prescribed by the laws of this state governing the investments of life
insurance companies; provided, that to the extent that the company's reserve liability with regard to
(a) benefits guaranteed as to amount and duration, and (b) funds guaranteed as to principal amount
or stated rate of interest is maintained in any separate account, a portion of the assets of such
separate account at least equal to such reserve liability shall be, except as the commissioner may
otherwise approve, invested in accordance with the laws of this state governing the investments of
life insurance companies and shall be segregated from the other assets in the separate account.
    Subd. 4. Other investments. For purposes of determining whether the capital, surplus and
other funds of a domestic life insurance company, other than assets held in a separate account
pursuant to this section, are invested in accordance with sections 61A.28 to 61A.31, and 60L.01
to 60L.15, assets held by the company in a separate account in accordance with this section
shall be disregarded.
    Subd. 5. Account ownership. The assets held in a separate account pursuant to this section
shall be owned by the company, and the company shall not be, nor hold itself out to be, a trustee
with respect to such amounts. If and to the extent so provided under the applicable contracts or
as required pursuant to the Federal Investment Company Act of 1940 that portion of the assets
of any such separate account equal to reserves and other contract liabilities with respect to such
account shall not be chargeable with liabilities arising out of any other business the company may
conduct, but shall be held and applied exclusively for the benefit of the holders of those contracts
on a variable basis for which the separate account has been established, provided, however, that
the assets shall always be at least equal to the reserves and other contract liabilities with respect
to such account.
    Subd. 6. Compliance with laws. To the extent such company deems it necessary to comply
with any applicable federal or state laws, such company, with respect to any separate account,
including without limitation any separate account which is a management investment company or
a unit investment trust, may provide for persons having an interest therein appropriate voting and
other rights and special procedures for the conduct of the business of such account, including
without limitation special rights and procedures relating to investment policy, investment advisory
services, selection of independent public accountants, and the selection of a committee, the
members of which need not be otherwise affiliated with such company, to manage the business
of such account.
    Subd. 7. Valuation of assets. Unless otherwise approved by the commissioner, assets
allocated to a separate account shall be valued at their market value on the date of valuation,
or if there is no readily available market, then as provided under the terms of the contract or
the rules or other written agreement applicable to such separate account; provided, that unless
otherwise approved by the commissioner, a portion of the assets of such separate account equal to
the company's reserve liability with regard to the guaranteed benefits and funds referred to in
clauses (a) and (b) of subdivision 3, if any, shall be valued in accordance with the rules otherwise
applicable to the company's assets.
    Subd. 8. Transfer of assets. No sale, exchange or other transfer of assets may be made by
a company between any of its separate accounts or between any other investment account and
one or more of its separate accounts unless, (a) in case of a transfer into a separate account,
such transfer is made solely to establish the account or to support the contractual obligations
of the company with respect to the separate account to which the transfer is made, or (b) in
case of a transfer from a separate account, such transfer would not cause the remaining assets
of the account to become less than the reserves and other contract liabilities with respect to
such separate account. Such transfer, whether into or from a separate account, shall be made by
a transfer of cash, or by a transfer of securities having a readily determinable market value,
provided that such transfer of securities is approved by the commissioner. The commissioner may
approve other transfers among such accounts if, in the commissioner's opinion, such transfers
would not be inequitable. Where a company transfers assets into a separate account for the
purpose of establishing such account, such transfer shall be in the form of cash and, except as
the commissioner may otherwise approve, shall be made only from its surplus, provided that not
more than five percent of its surplus may be so invested in such accounts.
    Subd. 9. Life insurance companies. A domestic life insurance company having a separate
account or accounts pursuant to this section in connection with variable contracts or other separate
account products may indemnify a person who is serving or has served as a member of the
managing committee of that separate account, and may purchase and maintain insurance for that
purpose, in accordance with section 302A.521.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 14; 1969 c 7 s 21-23; 1969 c 752 s 2-8; 1973 c 480 s 2; 1986 c
444; 1998 c 319 s 16; 2005 c 69 art 2 s 10

61A.15 CONTRACT PROVISIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Variable annuity. All annuity contracts on a variable basis issued in this state
shall stipulate the expense, mortality, and investment-increment factors to be used in computing
(1) in the case of individual contracts, the dollar amount of variable benefits or other contractual
payments or values, and (2) in the case of group contracts, the dollar amount payable with
respect to a unit of variable benefits purchased thereunder. All such contracts shall guarantee
that expenses shall not affect such dollar amounts adversely. In computing the dollar amount
of variable benefits or other contractual payments or values under an individual contract on a
variable basis, (a) the annual net investment increment assumption shall not exceed five percent,
except with the approval of the commissioner, and (b) to the extent that the level of benefits
may be affected by mortality results, the mortality factor shall be determined from the Annuity
Mortality Table for 1949, Ultimate, or any modification of that table not having a higher mortality
rate at any age, or, if approved by the commissioner, from another table. The term "expense,"
as used in this section, may exclude some or all taxes as stipulated in the contracts and may
also exclude any investment management fee which is subject to change with the approval by
vote of the holders of such contracts.
    Subd. 2. Variable life insurance. Any life insurance contract on a variable basis delivered
or issued for delivery in this state shall stipulate the investment increment factor to be used
in computing the dollar amount of variable benefits or other variable contractual payments or
values thereunder and shall guarantee that expense and mortality results shall not adversely
affect such dollar amounts.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 15; 1969 c 752 s 9; 1973 c 480 s 3

61A.16 CONTRACT PROVISIONS.
Any contract on a variable basis providing benefits payable in variable amounts delivered or
issued for delivery in this state shall contain a statement of the essential features of the procedures
to be followed by the insurance company in determining the dollar amount of such variable
benefits. Any such contract, including a group contract and any certificate in evidence of variable
benefits issued thereunder, shall state the manner in which such dollar amounts will vary and shall
contain on its first page a statement to the effect that the benefits thereunder are on a variable basis.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 16; 1969 c 752 s 10

61A.17 FILING OF CONTRACTS.
No contract on a variable basis shall be issued in this state until a copy of the form thereof
(and, in the case of a group contract, the form of any certificate evidencing variable benefits
issued pursuant thereto) and any form of application for such contract shall have been filed with
the commissioner. No life insurance contract on a variable basis shall be filed for issuance in
Minnesota or issued in Minnesota before the commissioner has promulgated rules under section
61A.20 regarding life insurance contracts on a variable basis.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 17; 1969 c 752 s 11; 1973 c 480 s 7; 1974 c 203 s 1; 1985
c 248 s 70

61A.18 DISAPPROVAL OF CONTRACTS.
The commissioner shall have the power at any time to disapprove any contract form,
application, or certificate (1) if it does not comply with the provisions of sections 61A.13 to
61A.21; or (2) if it contains provisions which are unjust, unfair, inequitable, ambiguous, or
misleading. After the commissioner shall have notified a company of disapproval, it shall be
unlawful for that company to issue or use the contract, application or certificate in the form
so disapproved.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 18; 1969 c 752 s 12; 1986 c 444

61A.19 COMPANY REQUIREMENTS.
No company shall deliver or issue for delivery within this state contracts on a variable basis
unless it is licensed or organized to do a life insurance or annuity business in this state, and the
commissioner is satisfied that its condition or method of operation in connection with the issuance
of such contracts will not render its operation hazardous to the public or its policyholders in this
state. In this connection, the commissioner shall consider among other things:
(a) the history and financial condition of the company;
(b) the character, responsibility and fitness of the officers and directors of the company; and
(c) the law and regulation under which the company is authorized in the state of domicile
to issue such contracts. The state of entry of an alien company shall be deemed to be state of
domicile for this purpose.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 19; 1969 c 752 s 13; 1973 c 480 s 4; 1995 c 214 s 14

61A.20 RULES.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commissioner shall have sole and exclusive
authority to regulate the issuance and sale of contracts on a variable basis and to provide
for licensing of persons selling such contracts, and to issue such reasonable rules as may be
appropriate to carry out the purposes and provisions of sections 61A.13 to 61A.21.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 20; 1969 c 7 s 24; 1969 c 752 s 14; 1985 c 248 s 70

61A.21 APPLICATION OF OTHER LAWS.
Sections 61A.07, clause (4), and 61A.245 shall not apply to contracts on a variable basis. All
other appropriate provisions of this chapter shall apply to separate accounts and contracts on a
variable basis except those which are inconsistent with the provisions contained in sections 61A.13
to 61A.20. Any contract on a variable basis, delivered or issued for delivery in this state, shall
contain in substance provisions for grace, settlement option, loan or withdrawal and nonforfeiture
appropriate to such a contract and a life insurance contract on a variable basis should also contain
in substance a provision for reinstatement appropriate to such a contract. The reserve liability
for contracts on a variable basis shall be established in accordance with actuarial procedures that
recognize the variable nature of the benefits provided and any mortality guarantees.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 21; 1969 c 752 s 15; 1973 c 480 s 5; 1978 c 662 s 2

CONTRACTS -- MISCELLANEOUS

61A.22 CONTRACTS TO SPECIFY BENEFITS AND CONSIDERATION.
No life insurance company shall make any insurance, guaranty, contract, or pledge in this
state, or to or with any citizen or resident thereof, which does not distinctly specify the amount and
manner of payment of benefits and the consideration therefor, except that contracts on a variable
basis need not specify the amount of benefits thereunder or consideration after the initial premium.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 22; 1973 c 480 s 6

61A.23 PROVISIONS IN POLICIES; LAWS OF OTHER STATES.
The policies of a life insurance company, not organized under the laws of this state, may
contain any provision which the laws of the state, territory, district, or country under which the
company is organized, prescribe shall be in such policies, and the policies of a life insurance
company organized under the laws of this state may, when issued or delivered in any other state,
territory, district, or country, contain any provision required by the laws of the state, territory,
district, or country in which the same are issued, anything in this section and sections 61A.02,
61A.03, 61A.07, 61A.08, and 61A.25 to the contrary notwithstanding.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 23

STANDARD NONFORFEITURE LAW

61A.24 STANDARD NONFORFEITURE LAW FOR LIFE INSURANCE.
    Subdivision 1. Citation. This section shall be known as the Standard Nonforfeiture Law for
Life Insurance.
    Subd. 2. Policy provisions. No policy of life insurance, except as stated in subdivision 14,
shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state unless it contains in substance the following
provisions, or corresponding provisions which in the opinion of the commissioner are at least
as favorable to the defaulting or surrendering policyholder as are the minimum requirements
specified below and are essentially in compliance with subdivision 15:
(1) That, in the event of default in a premium payment, the company will grant, upon proper
request not later than 60 days after the date of the premium in default, a paid-up nonforfeiture
benefit on a plan stipulated in the policy, effective as of the due date, of the amount as may
be hereinafter specified. In lieu of the stipulated paid-up nonforfeiture benefit, the company
may substitute, upon proper request not later than 60 days after the due date of the premium in
default, an actuarially equivalent alternative paid-up nonforfeiture benefit which provides a
greater amount or longer period of death benefits or, if applicable, a greater amount or earlier
payment of endowment benefits.
(2) That, upon surrender of the policy within 60 days after the due date of a premium payment
in default after premiums have been paid for at least three full years in the case of ordinary
insurance or five full years in the case of industrial insurance, the company will pay, in lieu of a
paid-up nonforfeiture benefit, a cash surrender value of an amount as may be hereinafter specified.
(3) That a specified paid-up nonforfeiture benefit shall become effective as specified in the
policy unless the person entitled to make the election elects another available option not later than
60 days after the due date of the premium in default.
(4) That, if the policy becomes paid-up by completion of all premium payments or if it is
continued under a paid-up nonforfeiture benefit which became effective on or after the third
policy anniversary in the case of ordinary insurance or the fifth policy anniversary in the case of
industrial insurance, the company will pay, upon surrender of the policy within 30 days after any
policy anniversary, a cash surrender value of an amount as may be hereinafter specified.
(5) In the case of a policy which causes, on a basis guaranteed in the policy, unscheduled
changes in benefits or premiums, or which provides an option for changes in benefits or premiums
other than a change to a new policy, a statement of the mortality table, interest rate, and method
used in calculating cash surrender values and the paid-up nonforfeiture benefits available under
the policy. In the case of any other policy, a statement of the mortality table and interest rate used
in calculating the cash surrender values and the paid-up nonforfeiture benefits available under the
policy, and a table showing the cash surrender value, if any, and paid-up nonforfeiture benefit, if
any, available under the policy on each policy anniversary either during the first 20 policy years or
during the term of the policy, whichever is shorter, the values and benefits to be calculated upon
the assumption that there are no dividends or paid-up additions credited to the policy and that
there is no indebtedness to the company on the policy.
(6) A statement that the cash surrender values and the paid-up nonforfeiture benefits available
under the policy are not less than the minimum values and benefits required by or pursuant to the
insurance laws of the state in which the policy is delivered; an explanation of the manner in which
the cash surrender values and the paid-up nonforfeiture benefits are altered by the existence of any
paid-up additions credited to the policy or any indebtedness to the company on the policy; if a
detailed statement of the method of computation of the values and benefits shown in the policy is
not stated therein, a statement that the method of computation has been filed with the insurance
supervisory official of the state in which the policy is delivered; and a statement of the method
to be used in calculating the cash surrender value and paid-up nonforfeiture benefit available
under the policy on any policy anniversary beyond the last anniversary for which the values and
benefits are consecutively shown in the policy.
    Subd. 3. Exception; deferred payment. Any provision or portion of subdivision 2 not
applicable by reason of the plan of insurance may be omitted from the policy. The company shall
reserve the right to defer the payment of any cash surrender value for a period of six months after
demand therefor with surrender of the policy.
    Subd. 4. Cash surrender value. (a) Except as otherwise provided by paragraphs (b) and (c),
the cash surrender value available under the policy in the event of default in a premium payment
due on a policy anniversary, whether or not required by subdivisions 2 and 3, shall be an amount
not less than the excess of the present value on the anniversary of the future guaranteed benefits
which would have been provided for by the policy, including any existing paid-up additions, if
there had been no default, over the sum of (1) the then present value of the adjusted premiums as
prescribed in subdivisions 6 to 12, corresponding to premiums which would have fallen due on
and after the anniversary, and (2) the amount of any indebtedness to the company on the policy.
(b) For a policy issued on or after the operative date of subdivision 12 which provides
supplemental life insurance or annuity benefits at the option of the insured and for an identifiable
additional premium by rider or supplemental policy provision, the cash surrender value referred
to in paragraph (a) shall be an amount not less than the sum of the cash surrender value as
defined in that paragraph for an otherwise similar policy issued at the same age without the
rider or supplemental policy provision and the cash surrender value as defined in that paragraph
for a policy which provides only the benefits otherwise provided by the rider or supplemental
policy provision.
(c) For a family policy issued on or after the operative date of subdivision 12 which defines
a primary insured and provides term insurance on the life of the spouse of the primary insured
expiring before the spouse becomes 71 years old, the cash surrender value referred to in paragraph
(a) shall be an amount not less than the sum of the cash surrender value as defined in that
paragraph for an otherwise similar policy issued at the same age without the term insurance on the
life of the spouse and the cash surrender value as defined in that paragraph for a policy which
provides only the benefits otherwise provided by the term insurance on the life of the spouse.
The cash surrender value available within 30 days after a policy anniversary under a
policy paid-up by completion of all premium payments or a policy continued under a paid-up
nonforfeiture benefit, whether or not required by subdivisions 2 and 3, shall be an amount not
less than the present value on the anniversary of the future guaranteed benefits provided for
by the policy, including any existing paid-up additions, decreased by any indebtedness to the
company on the policy.
    Subd. 5. Paid-up nonforfeiture benefit. Any paid-up nonforfeiture benefit available under
the policy in the event of default in a premium payment due on any policy anniversary shall be
such that its present value as of such anniversary shall be at least equal to the cash surrender value
then provided for by the policy or, if none is provided for, that cash surrender value which would
have been required by this section in the absence of the condition that premiums shall have been
paid for at least a specified period.
    Subd. 6. Calculation of adjusted premiums; general. Except as provided in subdivision 8,
the adjusted premiums for a policy shall be calculated on an annual basis and shall be the uniform
percentage of the respective premiums specified in the policy for each policy year, excluding
extra premiums on a substandard policy. The present value, at the date of issue of the policy,
of all adjusted premiums shall be equal to the sum of (1) the then present value of the future
guaranteed benefits provided for by the policy; (2) two percent of the amount of insurance, if
the insurance is uniform in amount, or of the equivalent uniform amount, as hereinafter defined,
if the amount of insurance varies with duration of the policy; (3) 40 percent of the adjusted
premium for the first policy year; (4) 25 percent of either the adjusted premium for the first policy
year or the adjusted premium for a whole life policy of the same uniform or equivalent uniform
amount with uniform premiums for the whole of life issued at the same age for the same amount
of insurance, whichever is less. In applying the percentages specified in clauses (3) and (4), no
adjusted premiums shall be deemed to exceed four percent of the amount of insurance or uniform
amount equivalent thereto. The date of issue of a policy for the purpose of this section is the date
as of which the rated age of the insured is determined.
This subdivision does not apply to policies issued on or after the operative date of
subdivision 12.
    Subd. 7. Adjusted premiums; varying amount of insurance. In the case of a policy
providing an amount of insurance varying with duration of the policy, the equivalent uniform
amount thereof for the purpose of subdivisions 6 to 11 is the uniform amount of insurance
provided by an otherwise similar policy containing the same endowment benefit or benefits issued
at the same age and for the same term, the amount of which does not vary with duration and the
benefits under which have the same present value at the date of issue as the benefits under the
policy; provided, however, that in the case of a policy providing a varying amount of insurance
issued on the life of a child under age ten, the equivalent uniform amount may be computed as
though the amount of insurance provided by the policy prior to the attainment of age ten were the
amount provided by such policy at age ten.
    Subd. 8. Adjusted premiums; supplemental term insurance. The adjusted premiums for
any policy providing term insurance benefits by rider or supplemental policy provision shall
be equal to (a) the adjusted premiums for an otherwise similar policy issued at the same age
without such term insurance benefits, increased, during the period for which premiums for such
term insurance benefits are payable, by (b) the adjusted premiums for such term insurance, the
foregoing items (a) and (b) being calculated separately and as specified in subdivisions 6 and 7
except that, for the purposes of (2), (3) and (4) of subdivision 6, the amount of insurance or
equivalent uniform amount of insurance used in the calculation of the adjusted premiums referred
to in (b) shall be equal to the excess of the corresponding amount determined for the entire policy
over the amount used in the calculation of the adjusted premiums in (a).
    Subd. 9. Adjusted premiums; ordinary insurance. In the case of ordinary policies hereafter
issued all adjusted premiums and present values referred to in this section shall be calculated on
the basis of the Commissioners 1958 Standard Ordinary Mortality Table and the rate of interest
specified in the policy for calculating cash surrender values and paid-up nonforfeiture benefits.
The rate of interest shall not exceed 3-1/2 percent per annum for policies issued prior to April
11, 1974. A rate of interest not exceeding 4 percent per annum may be used for policies issued
on or after April 11, 1974 and prior to August 1, 1978. A rate of interest not exceeding 5-1/2
percent per annum may be used for policies issued on or after August 1, 1978, except that for
any single premium whole life or endowment insurance policy a rate of interest not exceeding
6-1/2 percent per annum may be used. For any category of ordinary insurance issued on female
risks, adjusted premiums and present values may be calculated according to an age not more than
six years younger than the actual age of the insured. However, in calculating the present value
of any paid-up term insurance with the accompanying pure endowment, if any, offered as a
nonforfeiture benefit, the rates of mortality assumed may be not more than those shown in the
Commissioners 1958 Extended Term Insurance Table. Provided, further, that for insurance issued
on a substandard basis, the calculation of adjusted premiums and present values may be based on
any other table of mortality specified by the company and approved by the commissioner.
This subdivision does not apply to ordinary policies issued on or after the operative date of
subdivision 12.
    Subd. 10. Adjusted premiums; industrial insurance. Except as otherwise provided in
subdivisions 11 and 11a, all adjusted premiums and present values referred to in this section
shall for all policies of industrial insurance be calculated on the basis of the 1941 Standard
Industrial Mortality Table. All calculations shall be made on the basis of the rate of interest, not
exceeding 3-1/2 percent per annum, specified in the policy for calculating cash surrender values
and paid-up nonforfeiture benefits. In calculating the present value of paid-up term insurance with
accompanying pure endowment, if any, offered as a nonforfeiture benefit, the rates of mortality
assumed may be not more than 130 percent of the rates of mortality according to the applicable
table. For insurance issued on a substandard basis, the calculation of adjusted premiums and
present values may be based on any table of mortality specified by the company and approved
by the commissioner.
    Subd. 11. Adjusted premiums; industrial insurance. In the case of industrial policies
issued on or after the operative date of this subdivision as defined in subdivision 11a, all adjusted
premiums and present values referred to in this section shall be calculated on the basis of the
Commissioners 1961 Standard Industrial Mortality Table and the rate of interest specified in
the policy for calculating cash surrender values and paid-up nonforfeiture benefits. The rate of
interest shall not exceed 3-1/2 percent per annum for policies issued prior to April 11, 1974. A
rate of interest not exceeding four percent per annum may be used for policies issued on or after
April 11, 1974 and prior to August 1, 1978. A rate of interest not exceeding 5-1/2 percent per
annum may be used for policies issued on or after August 1, 1978, except that for any single
premium whole life or endowment insurance policy a rate of interest not exceeding 6-1/2 percent
per annum may be used. In calculating the present value of any paid-up term insurance with
accompanying pure endowment, if any, offered as a nonforfeiture benefit, the rates of mortality
assumed may be not more than those shown in the Commissioners 1961 Industrial Extended
Term Insurance Table. For insurance issued on a substandard basis, the calculations of adjusted
premiums and present values may be based on any other table of mortality specified by the
company and approved by the commissioner.
This subdivision shall not apply to industrial policies issued on or after the operative date of
subdivision 12.
    Subd. 11a. Operative date of subdivision 11. After April 9, 1963, a company may file with
the commissioner a written notice of its election to comply with the provisions of subdivision
11 after a specified date before January 1, 1968. After the filing of the notice, then upon the
specified date, which shall be the operative date of subdivision 11 for the company, subdivision 11
shall become operative with respect to the industrial policies thereafter issued by the company.
If a company makes no election, the operative date of subdivision 11 for the company shall
be January 1, 1968.
    Subd. 12. Calculation of adjusted premiums by the nonforfeiture net level premium
method. (a) This subdivision applies to all policies issued on or after its operative date. Except as
provided in paragraph (g), the adjusted premiums for a policy shall be calculated on an annual
basis and shall be the uniform percentage of the respective premiums specified in the policy for
each policy year, excluding amounts payable as extra premiums to cover impairments or special
hazards and also excluding any uniform annual contract charge or policy fee specified in the
policy in a statement of the method to be used in calculating the cash surrender values and paid-up
nonforfeiture benefits, that the present value, at the date of issue of the policy, of all adjusted
premiums shall be equal to the sum of (1) the then present value of the future guaranteed benefits
provided for by the policy; (2) one percent of either the amount of insurance, if the insurance is
uniform in amount, or the average amount of insurance at the beginning of each of the first ten
policy years; and (3) 125 percent of the nonforfeiture net level premium as hereinafter defined.
In applying the percentage specified in clause (3), no nonforfeiture net level premium shall be
deemed to exceed four percent of either the amount of insurance, if the insurance is uniform in
amount, or the average amount of insurance at the beginning of each of the first ten policy years.
The date of issue of a policy for the purpose of this section is the date as of which the rated age of
the insured is determined.
(b) The nonforfeiture net level premium shall be equal to the present value, at the date of
issue of the policy, of the guaranteed benefits provided for by the policy divided by the present
value, at the date of issue of the policy, of an annuity of one per annum payable on the date of
issue of the policy and on each anniversary of the policy on which a premium falls due.
(c) In the case of a policy which causes, on a basis guaranteed in the policy, unscheduled
changes in benefits or premiums, or which provides an option for changes in benefits or premiums
other than a change to a new policy, the adjusted premiums and present values shall initially
be calculated on the assumption that future benefits and premiums do not change from those
stipulated at the date of issue of the policy. At the time of the change in the benefits or premiums
the future adjusted premiums, nonforfeiture net level premiums, and present values shall be
recalculated on the assumption that future benefits and premiums do not change from those
stipulated by the policy immediately after the change.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (g), the recalculated future adjusted premiums
for a policy shall be the uniform percentage of the respective future premiums specified in the
policy for each policy year, excluding amounts payable as extra premiums to cover impairments
and special hazards, and also excluding any uniform annual contract charge or policy fee specified
in the policy in a statement of the method to be used in calculating the cash surrender values and
paid-up nonforfeiture benefits, that the present value, at the time of change to the newly defined
benefits or premiums, of all future adjusted premiums shall be equal to the excess of: (1) the sum
of the then present value of the then future guaranteed benefits provided for by the policy, and the
additional expense allowance, if any, over; (2) the then cash surrender value, if any, or present
value of any paid-up nonforfeiture benefit under the policy.
(e) The additional expense allowance, at the time of the change to the newly defined benefits
or premiums, shall be the sum of: (1) one percent of the excess, if positive, of the average amount
of insurance at the beginning of each of the first ten policy years subsequent to the change over
the average amount of insurance prior to the change at the beginning of each of the first ten
policy years subsequent to the time of the most recent previous change, or, if there has been no
previous change, the date of issue of the policy; and (2) 125 percent of the increase, if positive, in
the nonforfeiture net level premium.
(f) The recalculated nonforfeiture net level premium shall be equal to the result obtained by
dividing clause (1) by clause (2) where clause (1) equals the sum of the nonforfeiture net level
premium applicable prior to the change times the present value of an annuity of one per annum
payable on each anniversary of the policy on or subsequent to the date of the change on which a
premium would have fallen due had the change not occurred, and the present value of the increase
in future guaranteed benefits provided for by the policy; and clause (2) equals the present value of
an annuity of one per annum payable on each anniversary of the policy on or subsequent to the
date of change on which a premium falls due.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subdivision to the contrary, in the case of a
policy issued on a substandard basis which provides reduced graded amounts of insurance so
that, in each policy year, the policy has the same tabular mortality cost as an otherwise similar
policy issued on the standard basis which provides higher uniform amounts of insurance, adjusted
premiums and present values for the substandard policy may be calculated as if it were issued to
provide the higher uniform amounts of insurance on the standard basis.
(h) All adjusted premiums and present values referred to in this subdivision shall: for all
policies of ordinary insurance be calculated on the basis of the Commissioners 1980 Standard
Ordinary Mortality Table, or at the election of the company for any one or more specified plans
of life insurance, the Commissioners 1980 Standard Ordinary Mortality Table with Ten-Year
Select Mortality Factors; for all policies of industrial insurance be calculated on the basis of the
Commissioners 1961 Standard Industrial Mortality Table; and for all policies issued in a particular
calendar year be calculated on the basis of a rate of interest not exceeding the nonforfeiture
interest rate as defined in this section for policies issued in that calendar year. However:
(1) at the option of the company, calculations for all policies issued in a particular calendar
year may be made on the basis of a rate of interest not exceeding the nonforfeiture interest rate, as
defined in this subdivision, for policies issued in the immediately preceding calendar year;
(2) under a paid-up nonforfeiture benefit, including any paid-up dividend additions, any cash
surrender value available, whether or not required by subdivision 2, shall be calculated on the
basis of the mortality table and rate of interest used in determining the amount of the paid-up
nonforfeiture benefit and paid-up dividend additions, if any;
(3) a company may calculate the amount of a guaranteed paid-up nonforfeiture benefit
including any paid-up additions under the policy on the basis of an interest rate no lower than that
specified in the policy for calculating cash surrender values;
(4) in calculating the present value of paid-up term insurance with accompanying pure
endowment, if any, offered as a nonforfeiture benefit, the rates of mortality assumed may be not
more than those shown in the commissioners 1980 Extended Term Insurance Table for policies
of ordinary insurance and not more than the Commissioners 1961 Industrial Extended Term
Insurance Table for policies of industrial insurance;
(5) for insurance issued on a substandard basis, the calculation of any adjusted premiums and
present values may be based on appropriate modifications of these tables;
(6) any ordinary mortality tables, including any adopted after 1980 by the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners, that are approved by rule adopted by the commissioner
for use in determining the minimum nonforfeiture standard may be substituted for the
Commissioners 1980 Standard Ordinary Mortality Table with or without Ten-Year Select
Mortality Factors or for the Commissioners 1980 Extended Term Insurance Table; and
(7) any industrial mortality tables, including any adopted after 1980 by the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners, that are approved by rule adopted by the commissioner
for use in determining the minimum nonforfeiture standard may be substituted for the
Commissioners 1961 Standard Industrial Mortality Table or the Commissioners 1961 Industrial
Extended Term Insurance Table.
(i) The nonforfeiture interest rate per annum for a policy issued in a particular calendar year
shall be equal to 125 percent of the calendar year statutory valuation interest rate for the policy as
defined in section 61A.25, rounded to the nearer one-quarter of one percent.
(j) Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter to the contrary, a refiling of
nonforfeiture values or their methods of computation for any previously approved policy form
which involves only a change in the interest rate or mortality table used to compute nonforfeiture
values shall not require refiling of any other provisions of that policy form.
(k) After August 1, 1982, a company may file with the commissioner a written notice of its
election to comply with the provision of this section after a specified date before January 1, 1989,
which shall be the operative date of this subdivision for the company. If a company makes no
election, the operative date of this subdivision for the company shall be January 1, 1989.
    Subd. 12a. Nonforfeiture benefits; plans not covered by other subdivisions. In the case of
a plan of life insurance which is of a nature that minimum values cannot be determined by the
methods described in subdivisions 2 to 12:
(a) the commissioner must be satisfied that the benefits provided under the plan are
substantially as favorable to policyholders and insureds as the minimum benefits otherwise
required by subdivisions 2 to 12;
(b) the commissioner must be satisfied that the benefits and the pattern of premiums of that
plan are not likely to mislead prospective policyholders or insureds; and
(c) the cash surrender values and paid-up nonforfeiture benefits provided by the plan must
not be less than the minimum values and benefits required for the plan computed by a method
consistent with the principles of this section, as determined by rules adopted by the commissioner.
    Subd. 13. Default in premium payment. A cash surrender value and a paid-up nonforfeiture
benefit, available under the policy in the event of default in a premium payment due at a time other
than on the policy anniversary, shall be calculated with allowance for the lapse of time and the
payment of fractional premiums beyond the last preceding policy anniversary. All values referred
to in subdivisions 4 to 12 may be calculated upon the assumption that any death benefit is payable
at the end of the policy year of death. The net value of any paid-up additions, other than paid-up
term additions, shall be not less than the amounts used to provide the additions. Notwithstanding
the provisions of subdivision 4, additional benefits payable (1) in the event of death or
dismemberment by accident or accidental means, (2) in the event of total and permanent disability,
(3) as reversionary annuity or deferred reversionary annuity benefits, (4) as term insurance benefits
provided by a rider or supplemental policy provisions to which, if issued as a separate policy, this
section would not apply, (5) as term insurance on the life of a child or on the lives of children
provided in a policy on the life of a parent of the child, if the term insurance expires before the
child's age is 26, is uniform in amount after the child's age is one, and has not become paid-up
by reason of the death of a parent of the child, and (6) as other policy benefits additional to life
insurance and endowment benefits, and premiums for all additional benefits, shall be disregarded
in ascertaining cash surrender values and nonforfeiture benefits required by this section, and no
additional benefits shall be required to be included in paid-up nonforfeiture benefits.
    Subd. 14. Application. Subdivisions 1 to 13 do not apply to any of the following:
(a) reinsurance;
(b) group insurance;
(c) a pure endowment;
(d) an annuity or reversionary annuity contract;
(e) a term policy of uniform amount, which provides no guaranteed nonforfeiture or
endowment benefits, or renewal thereof, of 20 years or less expiring before age 71, for which
uniform premiums are payable during the entire term of the policy;
(f) a term policy of decreasing amount, which provides no guaranteed nonforfeiture or
endowment benefits, on which each adjusted premium, calculated as specified in subdivisions 6
to 12, is less than the adjusted premium so calculated, on a term policy of uniform amount, or
renewal thereof, which provides no guaranteed nonforfeiture or endowment benefits, issued at the
same age and for the same initial amount of insurance and for a term of 20 years or less expiring
before age 71, for which uniform premiums are payable during the entire term of the policy;
(g) a policy, which provides no guaranteed nonforfeiture or endowment benefits, for which
no cash surrender value, if any, or present value of any paid-up nonforfeiture benefit, at the
beginning of any policy year, calculated as specified in subdivisions 4 to 12, exceeds 2-1/2 percent
of the amount of insurance at the beginning of the same policy year; or
(h) a policy delivered outside this state through an agent or other representative of the
company issuing the policy.
For purposes of determining the applicability of this section, the age at expiry for a joint term
life insurance policy shall be the age at expiry of the oldest life.
    Subd. 15. Consistency of progression of cash surrender values with increasing policy
duration. (a) This subdivision, in addition to all other applicable subdivisions of this section,
applies to all policies issued on or after January 1, 1985. Any cash surrender value available under
the policy in the event of default in a premium payment due on a policy anniversary shall be in
an amount which does not differ by more than two-tenths of one percent of either the amount
of insurance, if the insurance is uniform in amount, or the average amount of insurance at the
beginning of each of the first ten policy years, from the sum of (1) the greater of zero and the
basic cash value hereinafter specified, and (2) the present value of any existing paid-up additions
less the amount of any indebtedness to the company under the policy.
(b) The basic cash value shall be equal to the present value, on the anniversary, of the
future guaranteed benefits which would have been provided for by the policy, excluding any
existing paid-up additions and before deduction of any indebtedness to the company, if there had
been no default, less the then present value of the nonforfeiture factors, as hereinafter defined,
corresponding to premiums which would have fallen due on and after the anniversary; provided,
however, that the effects on the basic cash value of supplemental life insurance or annuity benefits
or of family coverage, as described in subdivision 4 or 6, whichever is applicable, shall be the
same as are the effects specified in subdivision 4 or 6, whichever is applicable, on the cash
surrender values defined in those subdivisions.
(c) The nonforfeiture factor for each policy year shall be an amount equal to a percentage
of the adjusted premium for the policy year, as defined in subdivision 6 or 12, whichever is
applicable. Except as is required by paragraph (d), the percentage:
(1) must be the same percentage for each policy year between the second policy anniversary
and the later of the fifth policy anniversary or the first policy anniversary at which there is
available under the policy a cash surrender value in an amount, before including any paid-up
additions and before deducting any indebtedness, of at least two-tenths of one percent of either the
amount of insurance, if the insurance be uniform in amount, or the average amount of insurance at
the beginning of each of the first ten policy years; and
(2) must be such that no percentage after the later of the two policy anniversaries specified in
clause (1) may apply to fewer than five consecutive policy years.
(d) No basic cash value may be less than the value which would be obtained if the adjusted
premiums for the policy, as defined in subdivision 6 or 12, whichever is applicable, were
substituted for the nonforfeiture factors in the calculation of the basic cash value.
(e) All adjusted premiums and present values referred to in this subdivision shall for
a particular policy be calculated on the same mortality and interest bases as are used in
demonstrating the policy's compliance with the other subdivisions of this section. The cash
surrender values referred to in this subdivision shall include any endowment benefits provided
for by the policy.
(f) The cash surrender value available other than in the event of default in a premium payment
due on a policy anniversary, and the amount of a paid-up nonforfeiture benefit available under the
policy in the event of default in a premium payment shall be determined in manners consistent
with the manners specified for determining the analogous minimum amounts in subdivisions 2,
3, 4, 5, 12 and 13. The amounts of cash surrender values and of paid-up nonforfeiture benefits
granted in connection with additional benefits such as those listed in subdivision 13, clauses (1) to
(6), shall conform with the principles of this subdivision.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 24; 1974 c 433 s 1,2; 1978 c 662 s 3-5; 1982 c 589 s 3-14

61A.245 STANDARD NONFORFEITURE LAW FOR INDIVIDUAL DEFERRED
ANNUITIES.
    Subdivision 1. Title. This section shall be known as the Standard Nonforfeiture Law for
Individual Deferred Annuities.
    Subd. 2. Nonapplication. This section shall not apply to any reinsurance, group annuity
purchased under a retirement plan or plan of deferred compensation established or maintained
by an employer, including but not limited to a partnership or sole proprietorship, or by an
employee organization, or by both, other than a plan providing individual retirement accounts
or individual retirement annuities under section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended,
premium deposit fund, variable annuity, investment annuity, immediate annuity, any deferred
annuity contract after annuity payments have commenced, or reversionary annuity, nor to any
contract which shall be delivered outside this state through an agent or other representative of
the company issuing the contract.
    Subd. 3. Required contract provisions. (a) In the case of contracts issued on or after the
operative date specified in subdivision 12, no contract of annuity, except as stated in subdivision 2,
shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state unless it contains in substance the following
provisions, or corresponding provisions which in the opinion of the commissioner are at least as
favorable to the contract holder, upon cessation of payment of considerations under the contract:
(1) that upon cessation of payment of considerations under a contract, or upon the written
request of the contract owner, the company shall grant a paid-up annuity benefit on a plan
stipulated in the contract of the value specified in subdivisions 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10;
(2) if a contract provides for a lump sum settlement at maturity, or at any other time, that upon
surrender of the contract at or prior to the commencement of any annuity payments, the company
shall pay in lieu of any paid-up annuity benefit a cash surrender benefit of the amount specified in
subdivisions 5, 6, 8 and 10. The company may reserve the right to defer the payment of the cash
surrender benefit for a period not to exceed six months after demand therefor with surrender of
the contract after making a written request and receiving written approval of the commissioner.
The request must address the necessity and equitability to all contract holders of the deferral;
(3) a statement of the mortality table, if any, and interest rates used in calculating any
minimum paid-up annuity, cash surrender or death benefits that are guaranteed under the contract,
together with sufficient information to determine the amounts of the benefits; and
(4) a statement that any paid-up annuity, cash surrender or death benefits that may be
available under the contract are not less than the minimum benefits required by any statute of the
state in which the contract is delivered and an explanation of the manner in which the benefits are
altered by the existence of any additional amounts credited by the company to the contract, any
indebtedness to the company on the contract or any prior withdrawals from or partial surrenders
of the contract.
(b) Notwithstanding the requirements of this subdivision, any deferred annuity contract
may provide that if no considerations have been received under a contract for a period of two
full years and the portion of the paid-up annuity benefit at maturity on the plan stipulated in the
contract arising from considerations paid prior to that period would be less than $20 monthly, the
company may at its option terminate the contract by payment in cash of the then present value of
the portion of the paid-up annuity benefit, calculated on the basis of the mortality table, if any,
and interest rate specified in the contract for determining the paid-up annuity benefit, and by the
payment shall be relieved of any further obligation under the contract.
    Subd. 4. Minimum values. The minimum values as specified in subdivisions 5, 6, 7, 8 and
10 of any paid-up annuity, cash surrender or death benefits available under an annuity contract
shall be based upon minimum nonforfeiture amounts as defined in this subdivision.
(a) The minimum nonforfeiture amount at any time at or prior to the commencement of any
annuity payments shall be equal to an accumulation up to that time at rates of interest as indicated
in paragraph (b) of the net considerations, as defined in this subdivision, paid prior to that time,
decreased by the sum of clauses (1) through (4):
(1) any prior withdrawals from or partial surrenders of the contract accumulated at rates of
interest as indicated in paragraph (b);
(2) an annual contract charge of $50, accumulated at rates of interest as indicated in
paragraph (b);
(3) any premium tax paid by the company for the contract and not subsequently credited
back to the company, such as upon early termination of the contract, in which case this decrease
must not be taken, accumulated at rates of interest as indicated in paragraph (b); and
(4) the amount of any indebtedness to the company on the contract, including interest due
and accrued.
The net considerations for a given contract year used to define the minimum nonforfeiture
amount shall be an amount equal to 87.5 percent of the gross considerations credited to the
contract during that contract year.
(b) The interest rate used in determining minimum nonforfeiture amounts must be an annual
rate of interest determined as the lesser of three percent per annum and the following, which must
be specified in the contract if the interest rate will be reset:
(1) the five-year constant maturity treasury rate reported by the Federal Reserve as of a date,
or average over a period, rounded to the nearest 1/20 of one percent, specified in the contract no
longer than 15 months prior to the contract issue date or redetermination date under clause (4);
(2) reduced by 125 basis points;
(3) where the resulting interest rate is not less than one percent; and
(4) the interest rate shall apply for an initial period and may be redetermined for additional
periods. The redetermination date, basis, and period, if any, shall be stated in the contract. The
basis is the date or average over a specified period that produces the value of the five-year constant
maturity treasury rate to be used at each redetermination date.
(c) During the period or term that a contract provides substantive participation in an equity
indexed benefit, it may increase the reduction described in clause (2) by up to an additional 100
basis points to reflect the value of the equity index benefit. The present value at the contract issue
date, and at each redetermination date thereafter, of the additional reduction must not exceed the
market value of the benefit. The commissioner may require a demonstration that the present
value of the additional reduction does not exceed the market value of the benefit. Lacking such a
demonstration that is acceptable to the commissioner, the commissioner may disallow or limit the
additional reduction.
    Subd. 5. Computation of paid-up annuity benefit. Any paid-up annuity benefit available
under a contract shall be such that its present value on the date annuity payments are to commence
is at least equal to the minimum nonforfeiture amount on that date. The present value shall be
computed using the mortality table, if any, and the interest rates specified in the contract for
determining the minimum paid-up annuity benefits guaranteed in the contract.
    Subd. 6. Contracts with cash surrender benefits; present value of benefit available. For
contracts which provide cash surrender benefits, the cash surrender benefits available prior to
maturity shall not be less than the present value as of the date of surrender of that portion of
the maturity value of the paid-up annuity benefit which would be provided under the contract
at maturity arising from considerations paid prior to the time of cash surrender reduced by the
amount appropriate to reflect any prior withdrawals from or partial surrenders of the contract, the
present value being calculated on the basis of an interest rate not more than one percent higher
than the interest rate specified in the contract for accumulating the considerations to determine the
maturity value, decreased by the amount of any indebtedness to the company on the contract,
including interest due and accrued, and increased by any existing additional amounts credited
by the company to the contract. In no event shall any cash surrender benefit be less than the
minimum nonforfeiture amount at that time. The death benefit under the contracts shall be at least
equal to the cash surrender benefit.
    Subd. 7. Contracts with no cash surrender benefits; present value of benefit available.
For contracts which do not provide cash surrender benefits, the present value of any paid-up
annuity benefit available as a nonforfeiture option at any time prior to maturity shall not be less
than the present value of that portion of the maturity value of the paid-up annuity benefit provided
under the contract arising from considerations paid prior to the time the contract is surrendered
in exchange for, or changed to, a deferred paid-up annuity, the present value being calculated
for the period prior to the maturity date on the basis of the interest rate specified in the contract
for accumulating the net considerations to determine the maturity value, and increased by any
existing additional amounts credited by the company to the contract. For contracts which do not
provide any death benefits prior to the commencement of any annuity payments, the present
values shall be calculated on the basis of the interest rate referred to in this subdivision and the
mortality table specified in the contract for determining the maturity value of the paid-up annuity
benefit. However, in no event shall the present value of a paid-up annuity benefit be less than the
minimum nonforfeiture amount at that time.
    Subd. 8. Optional maturity date contracts. For the purpose of determining the benefits
calculated under subdivisions 6 and 7, in the case of annuity contracts under which an election
may be made to have annuity payments commence at optional maturity dates, the maturity date
shall be deemed to be the latest date for which election shall be permitted by the contract, but
shall not be deemed to be later than the anniversary of the contract next following the annuitant's
seventieth birthday or the tenth anniversary of the contract, whichever is later.
    Subd. 9. Contracts providing benefits less than nonforfeiture amount before annuity
payments; statement. Any contract which does not provide cash surrender benefits or does
not provide death benefits at least equal to the minimum nonforfeiture amount prior to the
commencement of any annuity payments shall include a statement in a prominent place in the
contract that the benefits are not provided.
    Subd. 10. Fixed scheduled considerations; benefit calculations. Any paid-up annuity, cash
surrender or death benefits available at any time, other than on the contract anniversary under any
contract with fixed scheduled considerations, shall be calculated with allowance for the lapse of
time and the payment of any scheduled considerations beyond the beginning of the contract year
in which cessation of payment of considerations under the contract occurs.
    Subd. 11. Minimum nonforfeiture benefits of contracts providing excess annuity
benefits and life insurance benefits. For any contract which provides, within the same contract
by rider or supplemental contract provision, both annuity benefits and life insurance benefits that
are in excess of the greater of cash surrender benefits or a return of the gross considerations
with interest, the minimum nonforfeiture benefits shall be equal to the sum of the minimum
nonforfeiture benefits for the annuity portion and the minimum nonforfeiture benefits, if any, for
the life insurance portion computed as if each portion were a separate contract. Notwithstanding
the provisions of subdivisions 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10, additional benefits payable (a) in the event of total
and permanent disability, (b) as reversionary annuity or deferred reversionary annuity benefits, or
(c) as other policy benefits additional to life insurance, endowment, and annuity benefits, and
considerations for all the additional benefits, shall be disregarded in ascertaining the minimum
nonforfeiture amounts, paid-up annuity, cash surrender and death benefits that may be required
by this section. The inclusion of the additional benefits shall not be required in any paid-up
benefits, unless the additional benefits separately would require minimum nonforfeiture amounts,
paid-up annuity, cash surrender and death benefits.
    Subd. 12. Notice of election to comply; effective date. After August 1, 2003, a company
may elect to apply its provisions to annuity contracts on a contract form-by-contract form basis
before August 1, 2005. In this instance, the operative date of Laws 2003, chapter 51, sections
10 to 14, is the date elected for the contract form. In all other instances, Laws 2003, chapter 51,
sections 10 to 14, apply to annuity contracts issued by the company after August 1, 2005, which
then becomes the operative date of Laws 2003, chapter 51, sections 10 to 14.
History: 1978 c 662 s 6; 1979 c 50 s 8-10; 2003 c 51 s 10-14

STANDARD VALUATION LAW

61A.25 STANDARD VALUATION LAW.
    Subdivision 1. Citation. This section shall be known as the Standard Valuation Law.
    Subd. 2. Valuation of reserves. The commissioner shall cause to be valued annually the
reserve liabilities, hereinafter called reserves, for all outstanding life insurance policies and annuity
and pure endowment contracts of every life insurance company doing business in this state,
except that in the case of a foreign or alien insurer such valuation shall be limited to its insurance
transactions in the United States, and may certify the amount of any such reserves, specifying the
mortality table or tables, rate or rates of interest and methods (net level premium method or other)
used in calculation of such reserves. In calculating such reserves, the commissioner may use group
methods and approximate averages for fractions of a year or otherwise. In lieu of the valuation of
the reserves herein required of any foreign or alien company, the commissioner may accept any
valuation made, or caused to be made, by the insurance supervisory official of any state or other
jurisdiction when such valuation complies with the minimum standard herein provided and if
the official of such state or jurisdiction accepts as sufficient and valid for all legal purposes the
certificate of valuation of the commissioner when such certificate states the valuation to have been
made in a specified manner according to which the aggregate reserves would be at least as large as
if they had been computed in the manner prescribed by the law of that state or jurisdiction. In the
case of insurance issued by a domestic insurer upon the lives of residents of a foreign country, the
commissioner may vary the mortality standard to a standard applicable to that country.
    Subd. 2a. Actuarial opinion of reserves; general. (a) Every life insurance company doing
business in this state shall annually submit the opinion of a qualified actuary as to whether the
reserves and related actuarial items held in support of the policies and contracts specified by
the commissioner by rule are computed appropriately, are based on assumptions which satisfy
contractual provisions, are consistent with prior reported amounts, and comply with applicable
laws of this state. The commissioner may by rule define the specifics of this opinion and add
any other items considered to be necessary to its scope. The opinion must be included in the
company's annual statement.
(b) The requirement to annually submit the opinion of a qualified actuary applies to service
plan corporations licensed under chapter 62C, to legal service plans licensed under chapter 62G,
and to all fraternal benefit societies except those societies paying only sick benefits not exceeding
$250 in any one year, or paying funeral benefits of not more than $350, or aiding those dependent
on a member not more than $350, nor any subordinate lodge or council which is, or whose
members are, assessed for benefits which are payable by a grand body.
(c) The opinion applies to all business in force, including individual and group health
insurance plans, and must be based on standards adopted by the Actuarial Standards Board. The
opinion must be acceptable to the commissioner in both form and substance.
(d) In the case of an opinion required to be submitted by a foreign or alien company, the
commissioner may accept the opinion filed by that company with the insurance supervisory
official of another state if the commissioner determines that the opinion reasonably meets the
requirements applicable to a company domiciled in this state.
(e) For the purposes of this section, "qualified actuary" means a member in good standing of
the American Academy of Actuaries who meets the requirements specified in the regulations.
(f) The board of directors of every insurer subject to this section shall appoint a qualified
actuary to sign its actuarial opinion. The appointment of the qualified actuary shall be approved
by the commissioner. The qualified actuary so appointed may be an employee of the insurer.
Notice of the appointment, including a copy of the board of directors' resolution, and the date of
appointment shall be filed with the commissioner. The notice may be filed before or at the time
the actuarial opinion is submitted. The notice shall state the qualifications of the actuary. If the
board appoints a new actuary to sign actuarial opinions during the year, the commissioner shall
be notified of the new appointment and the reason for change.
(g) Except in cases of fraud or willful misconduct, the qualified actuary is not liable for
damages to any person, other than the insurance company and the commissioner, for any act,
error, omission, decision, or conduct with respect to the actuary's opinion.
(h) A memorandum, in form and substance acceptable to the commissioner based on
standards adopted by the Actuarial Standards Board and on additional standards as the
commissioner may by rule prescribe, must be prepared to support each actuarial opinion.
(i) If the insurance company fails to provide a supporting memorandum at the request of the
commissioner within a period specified by the commissioner, or the commissioner determines
that the supporting memorandum provided by the insurance company fails to meet the standards
based on standards adopted by the Actuarial Standards Board and on additional standards as
the commissioner may by rule prescribe or is otherwise unacceptable to the commissioner, the
commissioner may engage a qualified actuary at the expense of the company to review the opinion
and the basis for the opinion and prepare the required supporting memorandum.
(j) Any memorandum in support of the opinion, and any other material provided by the
company to the commissioner in connection with the memorandum, must be kept confidential by
the commissioner and must not be made public and is not subject to subpoena, other than for the
purpose of defending an action seeking damages from any person by reason of any action required
by this section or by rules promulgated under this section. The memorandum or other material
may otherwise be released by the commissioner (1) with the written consent of the company or
(2) to the American Academy of Actuaries upon request stating that the memorandum or other
material is required for the purpose of professional disciplinary proceedings and setting forth
procedures satisfactory to the commissioner for preserving the confidentiality of the memorandum
or other material. Once any portion of the confidential memorandum is cited by the company in
its marketing or is cited before any governmental agency other than a state insurance department
or is released by the company to the news media, all portions of the confidential memorandum
are no longer confidential.
    Subd. 2b. Actuarial analysis. (a) Every life insurance company, except as exempted by or
pursuant to regulation, shall also annually include in the opinion required under subdivision 2a,
paragraph (a), an opinion of the same qualified actuary as to whether the reserves and related
actuarial items, including page 3, line 10, of the annual statement, held in support of the policies
and contracts specified by the commissioner, when considered in light of the assets held by the
company with respect to the reserves and related actuarial items, including but not limited to the
investment earnings on the assets and the considerations anticipated to be received and retained
under the policies and contracts, make adequate provision for the company's obligations under the
policies and contracts, including but not limited to the benefits under and expenses associated
with the policies and contracts.
(b) The commissioner may provide by rule for a transition period for establishing any higher
reserves which the qualified actuary may consider necessary in order to give the opinion required
under subdivision 2a.
    Subd. 3. Minimum standards of valuation generally. Except as otherwise provided in
subdivisions 3a and 3b, the minimum standard for the valuation of the policies and contracts
issued prior to the operative date of Laws 1947, chapter 182, shall be that provided by the laws in
effect immediately prior to that date. Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions 3a and 3b, the
minimum standard for the valuation of the policies and contracts issued on or after the operative
date of Laws 1947, chapter 182, shall be the commissioners reserve valuation methods described
in subdivisions 4, 4a and 7, 3-1/2 percent interest, or in the case of policies and contracts, other
than annuity and pure endowment contracts, issued on or after April 11, 1974, four percent
interest for policies issued prior to August 1, 1978, 5-1/2 percent interest for single premium
life insurance policies and 4-1/2 percent interest for other policies issued on or after August
1, 1978, and the following tables:
(a) For all ordinary policies of life insurance issued on the standard basis, excluding any
disability and accidental death benefits in the policies, the Commissioners 1941 Standard
Ordinary Mortality Table for the policies issued prior to the operative date of section 61A.24,
subdivision 9 and the Commissioners 1958 Standard Ordinary Mortality Table for the policies
issued on or after the operative date of section 61A.24, subdivision 9, and prior to the operative
date of section 61A.24, subdivision 12; provided, that for any category of the policies issued on
female risks all modified net premiums and present values referred to in Laws 1959, chapter 26,
may be calculated according to an age not more than six years younger than the actual age of the
insured; and for policies issued on or after the operative date of section 61A.24, subdivision 12:
(1) the Commissioners 1980 Standard Ordinary Mortality Table; (2) at the election of the
company for any one or more specified plans of life insurance, the Commissioners 1980 Standard
Ordinary Mortality Table with Ten-Year Select Mortality Factors; or (3) any ordinary mortality
table, including any adopted after 1980 by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners,
that is approved by rule adopted by the commissioner for use in determining the minimum
standard of valuation for the policies.
(b) For all industrial life insurance policies issued on the standard basis, excluding any
disability and accidental death benefits in the policies, the 1941 Standard Industrial Mortality
Table for the policies issued prior to the operative date of section 61A.24, subdivision 11 and for
the policies issued on or after the operative date, the Commissioners 1961 Standard Industrial
Mortality Table or any industrial mortality table, including any adopted after 1980 by the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners, that is approved by rule adopted by the commissioner
for use in determining the minimum standard of valuation for the policies.
(c) For individual annuity and pure endowment contracts, excluding any disability and
accidental death benefits in the policies, the 1937 Standard Annuity Mortality Table or, at the
option of the company, the Annuity Mortality Table for 1949, ultimate, or any modification of
either of these tables approved by the commissioner.
(d) For group annuity and pure endowment contracts, excluding any disability and accidental
death benefits in the policies, the Group Annuity Mortality Table for 1951, any modification of
the table approved by the commissioner, or at the option of the company, any of the tables or
modifications of tables specified for individual annuity and pure endowment contracts.
(e) For total and permanent disability benefits in or supplemental to ordinary policies or
contracts, for policies or contracts issued on or after January 1, 1966, the tables of period 2
disablement rates and the 1930 to 1950 termination rates of the 1952 disability study of the
Society of Actuaries, with due regard to the type of benefit or any tables of disablement rates
and termination rates, including any adopted after 1980 by the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners, that are approved by rule adopted by the commissioner for use in determining
the minimum standard of valuation for the policies; for policies or contracts issued on or after
January 1, 1963, and prior to January 1, 1966, either the tables or, at the option of the company,
the class (3) disability table (1926); and for policies issued prior to January 1, 1963, the class
(3) disability table (1926). The table shall, for active lives, be combined with a mortality table
permitted for calculating the reserves for life insurance policies.
(f) For accidental death benefits in or supplementary to policies, for policies issued on or
after January 1, 1966, the 1959 Accidental Death Benefits Table or any accidental death benefits
table, including any adopted after 1980 by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners,
that is approved by rule adopted by the commissioner for use in determining the minimum
standard of valuation for the policies; for policies issued on or after January 1, 1963, and prior to
January 1, 1966, either table or, at the option of the company, the Intercompany Double Indemnity
Mortality Table; and for policies issued prior to January 1, 1963, the Intercompany Double
Indemnity Mortality Table. Either table shall be combined with a mortality table permitted for
calculating the reserves for life insurance policies.
(g) For group life insurance, life insurance issued on the substandard basis and other special
benefits, any tables as may be approved by the commissioner.
    Subd. 3a. Minimum standard of valuation for annuities and pure endowment contracts.
Except as provided in subdivision 3b, the minimum standard for the valuation of all individual
annuity and pure endowment contracts issued on or after the operative date of this subdivision
and for all annuities and pure endowments purchased on or after this operative date under group
annuity and pure endowment contracts, shall be the commissioner's reserve valuation methods
defined in subdivisions 4 and 4a, and the following tables and interest rates:
(a) For individual annuity and pure endowment contracts issued prior to August 1, 1978,
excluding any disability and accidental death benefits in the contracts, the 1971 individual annuity
mortality table, or any modification of this table approved by the commissioner, and six percent
interest for single premium immediate annuity contracts, and four percent interest for all other
individual annuity and pure endowment contracts.
(b) For individual single premium immediate annuity contracts issued on or after August 1,
1978, excluding any disability and accidental death benefits in the contracts, the 1971 individual
annuity mortality table, any individual annuity mortality table, including any adopted after 1980
by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, that is approved by rule adopted by the
commissioner for use in determining the minimum standard of valuation for the contracts, or any
modification of these tables approved by the commissioner, and 7-1/2 percent interest.
(c) For individual annuity and pure endowment contracts issued on or after August 1, 1978,
other than single premium immediate annuity contracts, excluding any disability and accidental
death benefits in the contracts, the 1971 individual annuity mortality table, any individual annuity
mortality table, including any adopted after 1980 by the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners, that is approved by rule adopted by the commissioner for use in determining the
minimum standard of valuation for the contracts, or any modification of these tables approved
by the commissioner, and 5-1/2 percent interest for single premium deferred annuity and
pure endowment contracts and 4-1/2 percent interest for all other individual annuity and pure
endowment contracts.
(d) For all annuities and pure endowments purchased prior to August 1, 1978, under group
annuity and pure endowment contracts, excluding any disability and accidental death benefits
purchased under the contracts, the 1971 group annuity mortality table, or any modification of this
table approved by the commissioner, and six percent interest.
(e) For all annuities and pure endowments purchased on or after August 1, 1978, under
group annuity and pure endowment contracts, excluding any disability and accidental death
benefits purchased under the contracts, the 1971 group annuity mortality table, any group annuity
mortality table, including any adopted after 1980 by the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners, that is approved by rule adopted by the commissioner for use in determining the
minimum standard of valuation for the annuities and pure endowments, or any modification of
these tables approved by the commissioner, and 7-1/2 percent interest.
After April 11, 1974, a company may file with the commissioner a written notice of its
election to comply with the provisions of this subdivision after a specified date before January 1,
1979, which shall be the operative date of this subdivision for the company. A company may elect
a different operative date for individual annuity and pure endowment contracts from that elected
for group annuity and pure endowment contracts. If a company makes no election, the operative
date of this subdivision for the company shall be January 1, 1979.
    Subd. 3b. Computation of minimum standard by calendar year of issue. (a) The interest
rates used in determining the minimum standard for the valuation of the following shall be the
calendar year statutory valuation interest rates as defined in this subdivision:
(1) all life insurance policies issued in a particular calendar year, on or after the operative
date of section 61A.24, subdivision 12;
(2) all individual annuity and pure endowment contracts issued in a particular calendar year
on or after January 1, 1982;
(3) all annuities and pure endowments purchased in a particular calendar year on or after
January 1, 1982, under group annuity and pure endowment contracts; and
(4) the net increase, if any, in a particular calendar year after January 1, 1982, in amounts
held under guaranteed interest contracts.
(b) The calendar year statutory valuation interest rates, I, shall be determined as follows and
the results rounded to the nearer one-quarter of one percent:
(1) for life insurance, I = .03 + W (R1 - .03) + (W/2) (R2 - .09);
(2) for single premium immediate annuities and for annuity benefits involving life
contingencies arising from other annuities with cash settlement options and from guaranteed
interest contracts with cash settlement options, I = .03 + W (R - .03) where R1 is the lesser of R
and .09, R2 is the greater of R and .09, R is the reference interest rate defined in this subdivision,
and W is the weighting factor defined in this subdivision;
(3) for other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with
cash settlement options, valued on an issue year basis, except as stated in clause (2), the formula
for life insurance stated in clause (1) shall apply to annuities and guaranteed interest contracts
with guarantee durations in excess of ten years and the formula for single premium immediate
annuities stated in clause (2) shall apply to annuities and guaranteed interest contracts with
guarantee duration of ten years or less;
(4) for other annuities with no cash settlement options and for guaranteed interest contracts
with no cash settlement options, the formula for single premium immediate annuities stated in
clause (2) shall apply;
(5) for other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with
cash settlement options, valued on a change in fund basis, the formula for single premium
immediate annuities stated in clause (2) shall apply.
However, if the calendar year statutory valuation interest rate for life insurance policies
issued in a calendar year determined without reference to this sentence differs from the
corresponding actual rate for similar policies issued in the immediately preceding calendar year
by less than one-half of one percent, the calendar year statutory valuation interest rate for the life
insurance policies shall be equal to the corresponding actual rate for the immediately preceding
calendar year.
For purposes of applying the immediately preceding sentence, the calendar year statutory
valuation interest rate for life insurance policies issued in a calendar year shall be determined
for 1980 using the reference interest rate defined for 1979 and shall be determined for each
subsequent calendar year regardless of when section 61A.24, subdivision 12 becomes operative.
(c) The weighting factors referred to in the formulas stated above are as follows:
(1) The weighting factors for life insurance are:

		Guarantee Duration (Years)		Weighting Factors
		ten or less			.50
		more than ten, but not more than 20			.45
		more than 20			.35

For life insurance, the guarantee duration is the maximum number of years the life insurance
can remain in force on a basis guaranteed in the policy or under options to convert to plans of
life insurance with premium rates or nonforfeiture values or both which are guaranteed in the
original policy;
(2) The weighting factor for single premium immediate annuities and for annuity benefits
involving life contingencies arising from other annuities with cash settlement options and
guaranteed interest contracts with cash settlement options is .80; and
(3) The weighting factors for other annuities and for guaranteed interest contracts, except
as stated in clause (2), shall be as specified in tables (i), (ii), and (iii), according to the rules
and definitions in (iv), (v), and (vi):

		(i) For annuities and guaranteed interest contracts valued on an issue year basis:
			Guarantee Duration (Years)		Weighting Factor for Plan Type
					A	B	C
			five or less:		.80	.60	.50
			more than five, but not more than ten:		.75	.60	.50
			more than ten, but not more than 20:		.65	.50	.45
			more than 20:		.45	.35	.35
		(ii)				Plan Type
					A	B	C
			For annuities and guaranteed interest contracts valued on a change in fund basis, the factors shown in (i) increased by:		.15	.25	.05
		(iii)				Plan Type
					A	B	C
			For annuities and guaranteed interest contracts valued on an issue year basis, other than those with no cash settlement options, which do not guarantee interest on considerations received more than one year after issue or purchase and for annuities and guaranteed interest contracts valued on a change in fund basis which do not guarantee interest rates on considerations received more than 12 months beyond the valuation date, the factors shown in (i) or derived in (ii) increased by:		.05	.05	.05

(iv) For other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with
cash settlement options, the guarantee duration is the number of years for which the contract
guarantees interest rates in excess of the calendar year statutory valuation interest rate for life
insurance policies with guarantee duration in excess of 20 years. For other annuities with no cash
settlement options and for guaranteed interest contracts with no cash settlement options, the
guarantee duration is the number of years from the date of issue or date of purchase to the date
annuity benefits are scheduled to commence.
(v) Plan type as used in the above tables is defined as follows:
Plan Type A: At any time policyholders may withdraw funds only (1) with an adjustment
to reflect changes in interest rates or asset values since receipt of the funds by the insurance
company, (2) without the adjustment but in installments over five years or more, or (3) as an
immediate life annuity.
Plan Type B: Before expiration of the interest rate guarantee, policyholders may withdraw
funds only (1) with an adjustment to reflect changes in interest rates or asset values since receipt
of the funds by the insurance company, or (2) without the adjustment but in installments over
five years or more. At the end of interest rate guarantee, funds may be withdrawn without the
adjustment in a single sum or installments over less than five years.
Plan Type C: Policyholders may withdraw funds before expiration of interest rate guarantee
in a single sum or installments over less than five years either (1) without adjustment to reflect
changes in interest rates or asset values since receipt of the funds by the insurance company, or (2)
subject only to a fixed surrender charge stipulated in the contract as a percentage of the fund.
(vi) A company may elect to value guaranteed interest contracts with cash settlement options
and annuities with cash settlement options on either an issue year basis or on a change in fund
basis. Guaranteed interest contracts with no cash settlement options and other annuities with no
cash settlement options must be valued on an issue year basis. As used in this subdivision, an
issue year basis of valuation refers to a valuation basis under which the interest rate used to
determine the minimum valuation standard for the entire duration of the annuity or guaranteed
interest contract is the calendar year valuation interest rate for the year of issue or year of purchase
of the annuity or guaranteed interest contract, and the change in fund basis of valuation refers to a
valuation basis under which the interest rate used to determine the minimum valuation standard
applicable to each change in the fund held under the annuity or guaranteed interest contract is the
calendar year valuation interest rate for the year of the change in the fund.
(d) The reference interest rate referred to in paragraph (b) shall be defined as follows:
(1) for all life insurance, the lesser of the average over a period of 36 months and the average
over a period of 12 months, ending on June 30 of the calendar year next preceding the year of
issue, of Moody's Corporate Bond Yield Average-Monthly Average Corporates, as published
by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.;
(2) for single premium immediate annuities and for annuity benefits involving life
contingencies arising from other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest
contracts with cash settlement options, the average over a period of 12 months, ending on
June 30 of the calendar year of issue or year of purchase, of Moody's Corporate Bond Yield
Average-Monthly Average Corporates, as published by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.;
(3) for other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with
cash settlement options, valued on a year of issue basis, except as stated in clause (2), with
guarantee duration in excess of ten years, the lesser of the average over a period of 36 months
and the average over a period of 12 months, ending on June 30 of the calendar year of issue or
purchase, of Moody's Corporate Bond Yield Average-Monthly Average Corporates, as published
by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.;
(4) for other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with
cash settlement options, valued on a year of issue basis, except as stated in clause (2), with
guarantee duration of ten years or less, the average over a period of 12 months, ending on June 30
of the calendar year of issue or purchase, of Moody's Corporate Bond Yield Average-Monthly
Average Corporates, as published by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.;
(5) for other annuities with no cash settlement options and for guaranteed interest contracts
with no cash settlement options, the average over a period of 12 months, ending on June 30 of the
calendar year of issue or purchase, of Moody's Corporate Bond Yield Average-Monthly Average
Corporates, as published by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.; and
(6) for other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with
cash settlement options, valued on a change in fund basis, except as stated in clause (2), the
average over a period of 12 months, ending on June 30 of the calendar year of the change in the
fund, of Moody's Corporate Bond Yield Average-Monthly Average Corporates, as published
by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
(e) In the event that Moody's Corporate Bond Yield Average-Monthly Average Corporates is
no longer published by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or in the event that the commissioner
determines that Moody's Corporate Bond Yield Average-Monthly Average Corporates as
published by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. is no longer appropriate for the determination of the
reference interest rate, then an alternative method for determination of the reference interest rate,
which has been approved by rule adopted by the commissioner, may be substituted.
    Subd. 4. Reserve valuation of life insurance and endowment benefits; modified
premiums. (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) and subdivisions 4a and 7, reserves
according to the commissioners reserve valuation method, for the life insurance and endowment
benefits of policies providing for a uniform amount of insurance and requiring the payment of
uniform premiums shall be the excess, if any, of the present value at the date of valuation of future
guaranteed benefits provided for by the policies over the then present value of any future modified
net premiums therefor. The modified net premiums for a policy shall be the uniform percentage of
the respective contract premiums for the benefits that the present value, at the date of issue of the
policy, of all the modified net premiums shall be equal to the sum of the then present value of the
benefits provided for by the policy and the excess of clause (1) over clause (2) as follows:
(1) a net level annual premium equal to the present value, at the date of issue, of the benefits
provided for after the first policy year, divided by the present value at the date of issue of an
annuity of one per annum payable on the first and each subsequent anniversary of the policy on
which a premium falls due; but the net level annual premium shall not exceed the net level annual
premium on the 19 year premium whole life plan for insurance of the same amount at an age one
year higher than the age at issue of the policy;
(2) a net one year term premium for the benefits provided for in the first policy year.
(b) For a life insurance policy issued on or after January 1, 1985, for which the contract
premium in the first policy year exceeds that of the second year and for which no comparable
additional benefit is provided in the first year for the excess and which provides an endowment
benefit or a cash surrender value or a combination thereof in an amount greater than the excess
premium, the reserve according to the commissioners reserve valuation method as of a policy
anniversary occurring on or before the assumed ending date defined herein as the first policy
anniversary on which the sum of any endowment benefit and any cash surrender value then
available is greater than the excess premium shall, except as otherwise provided in subdivision 7,
be the greater of the reserve as of the policy anniversary calculated as described in paragraph (a)
and the reserve as of the policy anniversary calculated as described in that paragraph, but with the
value defined in clause (1) of that paragraph being reduced by 15 percent of the amount of the
excess first year premium; all present values of benefits and premiums being determined without
reference to premiums or benefits provided for by the policy after the assumed ending date; the
policy being assumed to mature on that date as an endowment; and the cash surrender value
provided on that date being considered as an endowment benefit. In making the above comparison
the mortality and interest bases stated in subdivisions 3 and 3b shall be used.
(c) Reserves according to the commissioners reserve valuation method for (1) life insurance
policies providing for a varying amount of insurance or requiring the payment of varying
premiums, (2) group annuity and pure endowment contracts purchased under a retirement plan
or plan of deferred compensation, established or maintained by an employer, including but not
limited to a partnership or sole proprietorship, or by an employee organization, or by both, other
than a plan providing individual retirement accounts or individual retirement annuities under
Section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, (3) disability and accidental death benefits
in all policies and contracts, and (4) all other benefits, except life insurance and endowment
benefits in life insurance policies and benefits provided by all other annuity and pure endowment
contracts, shall be calculated by a method consistent with the principles of paragraphs (a) and
(b), except that any extra premiums charged because of impairments or special hazards shall be
disregarded in the determination of modified net premiums.
    Subd. 4a. Annuity and pure endowment contracts. This subdivision shall apply to all
annuity and pure endowment contracts other than group annuity and pure endowment contracts
purchased under a retirement plan or plan of deferred compensation, established or maintained by
an employer, including but not limited to a partnership or sole proprietorship, or by an employee
organization, or by both, other than a plan providing individual retirement accounts or individual
retirement annuities under Section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended.
Reserves according to the commissioner's annuity reserve method for benefits under annuity
or pure endowment contracts, excluding any disability and accidental death benefits in the
contracts, shall be the greatest of the respective excesses of the present values, at the date of
valuation, of the future guaranteed benefits, including guaranteed nonforfeiture benefits, provided
for by the contracts at the end of each respective contract year, over the present value, at the date
of valuation, of any future valuation considerations derived from future gross considerations,
required by the terms of the contract, that become payable prior to the end of the respective
contract year. The future guaranteed benefits shall be determined by using the mortality table, if
any, and the interest rate, or rates, specified in the contracts for determining guaranteed benefits.
The valuation considerations are the portions of the respective gross considerations applied under
the terms of the contracts to determine nonforfeiture values.
    Subd. 5. Minimum aggregate reserves. A company's aggregate reserves for all life
insurance policies, excluding disability and accidental death benefits, issued on or after the
operative date of Laws 1947, chapter 182, shall not be less than the aggregate reserves calculated
in accordance with the methods set forth in subdivisions 4, 4a, 7, and 8, and the mortality table or
tables and rate or rates of interest used in calculating nonforfeiture benefits for the policies.
In no event shall the aggregate reserves for all policies, contracts, and benefits be less than
the aggregate reserves determined by the qualified actuary to be necessary to render the opinion
required under subdivision 2a.
    Subd. 6. Calculation of reserves. (1) Reserves for all policies and contracts issued prior to
the operative date of Laws 1947, chapter 182, may be calculated, at the option of the company,
according to any standards which produce greater aggregate reserves for all such policies and
contracts than the minimum reserves required by the laws in effect immediately prior to such date.
(2) Reserves for any category of policies, contracts or benefits as established by the
commissioner, issued on or after the operative date of Laws 1947, chapter 182, may be calculated,
at the option of the company, according to any standards which produce greater aggregate reserves
for such category than those calculated according to the minimum standard herein provided, but
the rate or rates of interest used for policies and contracts, other than annuity and pure endowment
contracts, shall not be higher than the corresponding rate or rates of interest used in calculating
any nonforfeiture benefits provided for therein.
(3) Any such company which at any time shall have adopted any standard of valuation
producing greater aggregate reserves than those calculated according to the minimum standard
herein provided may, with the approval of the commissioner, adopt any lower standard of
valuation, but not lower than the minimum herein provided. For purposes of this section, the
holding of additional reserves previously determined by a qualified actuary to be necessary to
give the opinion required under subdivision 2a shall not be considered the adoption of a higher
standard of valuation.
    Subd. 7. Reserve calculation; valuation net premium exceeding the gross premium
charged. If in a contract year the gross premium charged by a life insurance company on a policy
or contract is less than the valuation net premium for the policy or contract calculated by the
method used in calculating the reserve thereon, but using the minimum valuation standards of
mortality and rate of interest, the minimum reserve required for the policy or contract shall be
the greater of either the reserve calculated according to the mortality table, rate of interest, and
method actually used for the policy or contract, or the reserve calculated by the method actually
used for the policy or contract but using the minimum valuation standards of mortality and rate of
interest and replacing the valuation net premium by the actual gross premium in each contract
year for which the valuation net premium exceeds the actual gross premium. The minimum
valuation standards of mortality and rate of interest referred to in this subdivision are those
standards stated in subdivisions 3 and 3b. However, for a life insurance policy issued on or after
January 1, 1985 for which the gross premium in the first policy year exceeds that of the second
year and for which no comparable additional benefit is provided in the first year for the excess
and which provides an endowment benefit or a cash surrender value or a combination thereof
in an amount greater than the excess premium, the foregoing provisions of this subdivision
shall be applied as if the method actually used in calculating the reserve for the policy was the
method described in subdivision 4, ignoring subdivision 4, paragraph (b). The minimum reserve
at each policy anniversary of the policy shall be the greater of the minimum reserve calculated in
accordance with subdivision 4, including subdivision 4, paragraph (b), and the minimum reserve
calculated in accordance with this subdivision.
    Subd. 8. Reserve calculation; plans not covered by other subdivisions. In the case of a
plan of life insurance or annuity for which the minimum reserves cannot be determined by the
methods described in subdivisions 4, 4a, and 7, the reserves which are held under any plan must:
(a) be appropriate in relation to the benefits and the pattern of premiums for that plan, and
(b) be computed by a method which is consistent with the principles of this section as
determined by rules adopted by the commissioner.
    Subd. 9. Minimum standards for health, disability, accident, and sickness plans. The
commissioner may adopt a rule containing the minimum standards applicable to the valuation of
health, disability, accident, and sickness plans.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 25; 1974 c 433 s 3,4; 1978 c 662 s 7-13; 1982 c 589 s 15-21;
1986 c 444; 1991 c 325 art 7 s 1-5

61A.255 SMOKER AND NONSMOKER MORTALITY TABLES.
For the purposes of sections 61A.24 and 61A.25, insurers may utilize the 1958
Commissioners Standard Ordinary and the 1958 Commissioners Extended Term smoker and
nonsmoker mortality tables and the 1980 Commissioners Standard Ordinary and the 1980
Commissioners Extended Term smoker and nonsmoker mortality tables in addition to the
tables specified in sections 61A.24 and 61A.25. The tables may be utilized as provided in the
model rule permitting smoker and nonsmoker mortality tables for use in determining minimum
reserve liabilities and nonforfeiture benefits adopted by the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners. This section applies to policies issued on or after January 1, 1984, and before
January 1, 1989.
History: 1984 c 538 s 1; 1984 c 592 s 46

61A.26 [Renumbered 66A.34]

CONTINGENCY RESERVE

61A.27 CONTINGENCY RESERVE; LIMITATIONS.
Any life insurance company doing business in this state may accumulate and maintain, in
addition to the capital and surplus contributed by its stockholders, and in addition to an amount
equal to the net values of its policies, computed according to the laws of the jurisdiction under
which it is organized, a contingency reserve not exceeding the following respective percentages
of these net values: When the net values are less than $100,000, 20 percent thereof, or the
sum of $10,000, whichever is the greater; when the net values are greater than $100,000, the
percentage thereof measuring the contingency reserve shall decrease one-half of one percent
for each $100,000 of the net values up to $1,000,000; when the net values are greater than
$1,000,000, but do not exceed $25,000,000, the contingency reserve shall not exceed 15 percent
thereof; when the net values are greater than $25,000,000, but do not exceed $150,000,000, the
contingency reserve shall not exceed 12-1/2 percent thereof; when the net values are greater than
$150,000,000, the contingency reserve shall not exceed ten percent thereof; provided, that as the
net values of these policies increase and the maximum percentage measuring the contingency
reserve decreases, the corporation may maintain the contingency reserve already accumulated
hereunder, although for the time being it may exceed the maximum percentage herein prescribed,
but may not add to the contingency reserve when the addition will bring it beyond the maximum
percentage. For cause shown, the commissioner may, at any time and from time to time, permit
any corporation to accumulate and maintain a contingency reserve in excess of the limit above
mentioned for a prescribed period, not exceeding one year under any one permission, by filing
in the commissioner's office a decision stating the reasons therefor and causing the same to be
published in the next annual report. This section shall not apply to any company doing exclusively
a nonparticipating business.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 27; 1986 c 444

BENEFIT ACCOUNTS

61A.275 SEPARATE ACCOUNTS; PENSION PLANS.
    Subdivision 1. Establishment. Any domestic life insurance company, by adoption of a
resolution by its governing body, may establish one or more separate accounts and may allocate
thereto, in accordance with the terms of a written agreement, any amounts which are paid to or
held by the company in connection with a pension, retirement, or profit-sharing plan described
under section 401, 414(d), or 457 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended through
December 31, 1981. In connection with the separate accounts, the company may issue, subject
to the terms of the written agreement, group policies or contracts with benefits payable in fixed
or variable amounts.
The assets held in a separate account pursuant to this section shall be owned by the company.
The company shall not be, nor hold itself out to be, a trustee with respect to the assets.
    Subd. 2. Allocations, credits, or charges. The income, if any, and gains or losses realized or
unrealized on each separate account may be credited to or charged against the amount allocated
to that separate account in accordance with the written agreement, without regard to the other
income, gains, or losses of the company.
    Subd. 3. Transfer of assets. No sale, exchange, or other transfer of assets may be made by
a company between any of its separate accounts or between any other investment account and
one or more of its separate accounts unless:
(1) in case of a transfer into a separate account, the transfer is made solely to establish the
account or to support the contractual obligations of the company with respect to the separate
account to which the transfer is made; or
(2) in case of a transfer from a separate account, the transfer would not cause the remaining
assets of the account to become less than the reserves and other contract liabilities with respect to
that separate account. A transfer, whether into or from a separate account, shall be made by a
transfer of cash, or by a transfer of securities having a readily determinable market value, if the
transfer of securities is approved by the commissioner. The commissioner may approve other
transfers among separate accounts if, in the commissioner's opinion, the transfers would not
be inequitable.
Except as the commissioner may otherwise approve, where a company transfers assets
into a separate account for the purpose of establishing the account, the transfer shall be in the
form of cash and shall be made only from its surplus. Not more than five percent of its surplus
may be so invested in its separate accounts.
    Subd. 4. Application of investment law. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision in the
company's charter or other law, the amounts allocated to separate accounts and accumulations
thereon may be invested and reinvested in any class of loans and investments. The loans and
investments shall not be included in applying any of the limitations provided in section 61A.28.
However, unless otherwise approved by the commissioner, a portion of the assets of each separate
account equal to the company's reserve liability with regard to the guaranteed benefits and
funds, if any, shall be invested in accordance with the requirements otherwise applicable to the
company's general assets.
    Subd. 5. Valuation of assets. Unless otherwise approved by the commissioner, assets
allocated to a separate account shall be valued at their market value on the date of valuation, or
if there is no readily available market, then as provided under the terms of the contract or the
requirements or other written agreement applicable to the separate account. However, unless
otherwise approved by the commissioner, a portion of the assets of each separate account equal to
the company's reserve liability with regard to the guaranteed benefits and funds, if any, shall be
valued in accordance with the requirements otherwise applicable to the company's general assets.
    Subd. 6. Other laws. No separate account established pursuant to this section shall be
subject to the provisions of sections 61A.13 to 61A.21, nor shall any of the provisions of this
section be construed to have any application to separate accounts established pursuant to sections
61A.13 to 61A.21.
History: 1982 c 555 s 3; 1986 c 444

61A.276 FUNDING AGREEMENTS.
    Subdivision 1. Authorization. An insurer authorized to deliver or issue for delivery annuity
contracts in this state may deliver or issue for delivery one or more funding agreements. The
issuance or delivery of these funding agreements shall not be deemed to be doing a kind of
business specifically authorized by section 60A.06. Notwithstanding the definition of contracts
of life and endowment insurance or of annuities under section 60A.06, subdivision 1, clause (4)
or the definition of life insurance company under section 61A.01, the issuance or delivery of a
funding agreement by an insurer in this state constitutes doing an insurance business in the state.
    Subd. 2. Issuance. The funding agreements may be issued to: (1) individuals; or (2) persons
authorized by a state or foreign country to engage in an insurance business or subsidiaries
or affiliates of these persons; or (3) entities other than individuals and other than persons
authorized to engage in an insurance business, and subsidiaries and affiliates of these persons, for
the following purposes: (i) to fund benefits under any employee benefit plan as defined in the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as now or hereafter amended, maintained
in the United States or in a foreign country; (ii) to fund the activities of any organization
exempt from taxation under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended
through December 31, 1992, or of any similar organization in any foreign country; (iii) to fund
any program of any state, foreign country or political subdivision thereof, or any agency or
instrumentality thereof; (iv) to fund any agreement providing for periodic payments in satisfaction
of a claim; or (v) to fund a program of an institution that has assets in excess of $25,000,000. No
funding agreement shall be issued in an amount less than $1,000,000.
    Subd. 3. General operation. No amounts shall be guaranteed or credited under a funding
agreement except upon reasonable assumptions as to investment income and expenses and on a
basis equitable to all holders of funding agreements of a given class. The funding agreements
shall not provide for payments to or by the insurer based on mortality or morbidity contingencies.
    Subd. 4. Allocation to separate accounts. Amounts paid to the insurer, and proceeds
applied under optional modes of settlement, under the funding agreements may be allocated by
the insurer to one or more separate accounts pursuant to section 61A.275, 61A.14, or 60L.01 to
60L.15. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 61A.275, subdivision 1, a separate account
for funding agreement proceeds may include funds from any source authorized to purchase a
funding agreement pursuant to this section.
    Subd. 5. Rules. The commissioner may adopt rules relating to (1) the standards to be
followed in the approval of forms of the funding agreements, (2) the reserves to be maintained by
insurers issuing the funding agreements, (3) the accounting and reporting of funds credited under
the funding agreements, (4) the disclosure of information to be given to holders and prospective
holders of the funding agreements, and (5) the qualification and compensation of persons selling
the funding agreements on behalf of insurers. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
commissioner has sole authority to regulate the issuance and sale of the funding agreements,
including the persons selling the funding agreements on behalf of insurers.
History: 1985 c 43 s 1; 1993 c 375 art 8 s 14; 1998 c 319 s 17; 1999 c 177 s 34; 2001
c 131 s 11

INVESTMENTS

61A.28 DOMESTIC COMPANIES, INVESTMENTS.
    Subdivision 1. Investment guidelines and procedures. Each domestic life insurance
company must comply with section 60A.112.
No investment or loan, except policy loans, shall be made by a domestic life insurance
company unless authorized or approved by the board of directors or by a committee of directors,
officers, or employees of the company designated by the board and charged with the duty of
supervising the investment or loan. Accurate records of all authorizations and approvals must
be maintained.
The capital, surplus and other funds of every domestic life insurance company, whether
incorporated by special act or under the general law (in addition to investments in real estate as
otherwise permitted by law) may be invested only in one or more of the following kinds of
securities or property. An investment may not be made under this section if the required interest
obligation is in default.
Investments must be valued in accordance with the valuation procedures established by the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners, unless the commissioner requires or finds
another method of valuation reasonable under the circumstances. Other invested assets must
be valued according to the procedures promulgated by the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners, if not addressed in another section, unless the commissioner requires or finds
another method of valuation reasonable under the circumstances.
    Subd. 2. Government obligations. Bonds or other obligations of, or bonds or other
obligations insured or guaranteed by: (a) the United States or any state thereof; (b) the Dominion
of Canada or any province thereof; (c) any county, city, town, statutory city formerly a village,
organized school district, municipality, or other civil or political subdivision of this state, or of
any state of the United States or of any province of the Dominion of Canada; (d) any agency
or instrumentality of the foregoing, including but not limited to, debentures issued by the
federal housing administrator, obligations of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the
Federal National Mortgage Association, the Government National Mortgage Association; and
(e) obligations payable in United States dollars issued or fully guaranteed by the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian
Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank, or any other
United States government sponsored organization of which the United States is a member. The
life insurance company may not invest in the obligations of these banks or organizations if the
investment causes the company's aggregate investments in the obligations of any one of these
banks or organizations to exceed five percent of its admitted assets or if the investment causes the
company's aggregate investments in the obligations of all banks or organizations described in
clause (e) to exceed 15 percent of its admitted assets.
    Subd. 3. Loans or obligations secured by mortgage. Loans or obligations (hereinafter
loans) secured by a first mortgage, or deed of trust (hereinafter mortgage), on improved real estate
in the United States, if the amount of the loan secured thereby is not in excess of 66-2/3 percent of
the market value of the real estate at the time of the loan, or, when the loan is to be fully amortized
by installment payments of principal, which may begin up to five years from the date of the loan
if the real estate is to be used for commercial purposes, and interest at least annually over a
period of not to exceed 40 years, the amount of the loan does not exceed (a) 80 percent of the
market value of the real estate at the time of the loan; (b) 90 percent of the market value of the
real estate at the time of the loan if the loan is secured by a purchase money mortgage made in
connection with the disposition of real estate acquired pursuant to section 61A.31, subdivision 1,
or, if (1) the real estate is used for commercial purposes, and (2) the loan is additionally secured
by an assignment of lease or leases, and (3) the lessee or lessees under the lease or leases, or a
guarantor or guarantors of the lessee's obligations, is a corporation whose obligations would
qualify as an investment under subdivision 6, paragraph (e), and (4) the rents payable during the
primary term of the lease or leases are sufficient to amortize at least 60 percent of the loan. In
calculating the ratio of the amount of the loan to the value of the property, no part of the amount
of any loan is to be included which the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof or
other mortgage insurer as may be approved by the commissioner has insured or guaranteed or
made a commitment to insure or guarantee; provided, in no event may the loan exceed the market
value of the property. No improvement may be included in estimating the market value of the
real estate unless it is insured against fire by policies payable to the security holder or a trustee
for its benefit. This requirement may be met by a program of self-insurance established and
maintained by a corporation whose debt obligations would qualify for purchase under subdivision
6, paragraph (g), clause (4). Also loans secured by mortgage, upon leasehold estates in improved
real property where at the date of investment the lease has an unexpired term of at least five years
longer than the term of the loan secured thereby, and where the leasehold estate is unencumbered
except by the lien reserved in the lease for the payment of rentals and the observance of the other
covenants, terms and conditions of the lease and where the mortgagee, upon default, is entitled
to be subrogated to, or to exercise, all the rights and to perform all the covenants of the lessee,
provided that no loan on the leasehold estate may exceed (a) 66-2/3 percent of the market value
thereof at the time of the loan, or (b) 80 percent of the market value thereof at the time of the
loan if the loan is to be fully amortized by installment payments of principal which begin within
five years from the date of the loan if the leasehold estate is to be used for commercial purposes,
interest is payable at least annually over the period of the loan which may not exceed 40 years
and the market value of the leasehold estate is shown by the sworn certificate of a competent
appraiser, or (c) 90 percent of the market value of the leasehold estate at the time of the loan if
the loan is secured by a purchase money mortgage made in connection with the disposition of
real estate acquired pursuant to section 61A.31, subdivision 1. In calculating the ratio of the
amount of the loan to the value of the leasehold estate, no part of the amount of any loan is to
be included which the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof or other mortgage
insurer approved by the commissioner has insured or guaranteed or made a commitment to insure
or guarantee; provided, in no event may the loan exceed the market value of the leasehold estate.
Also loans secured by mortgage, which the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof
or other mortgage insurer approved by the commissioner has insured or guaranteed or made a
commitment to insure or guarantee. Also loans secured by mortgage, on improved real estate in
the Dominion of Canada if the amount of the loan is not in excess of 66-2/3 percent of the market
value of the real estate at the time of the loan, or, when the loan is to be fully amortized by
installment payments of principal, which may begin up to five years from the date of the loan if
the real estate is used for commercial purposes, and interest at least annually over a period of not
to exceed 40 years, the amount of the loan does not exceed (a) 80 percent of the market value of
the real estate at the time of the loan, or (b) 90 percent of the market value of the real estate at the
time of the loan if the loan is secured by a purchase money mortgage made in connection with the
disposition of real estate acquired pursuant to section 61A.31, subdivision 1. In calculating the
ratio of the amount of the loan to the value of the property, no part of the amount of any loan is to
be included which the Dominion of Canada or any agency or instrumentality thereof has insured
or guaranteed or made a commitment to insure or guarantee; provided in no event may the loan
exceed the market value of the property. Also loans secured by mortgage, on real estate in the
United States which may be unimproved provided there exists a definite plan for commencement
of development for commercial purposes within not more than five years where the amount of the
loan does not exceed 80 percent of the market value of the unimproved real estate at the time of
the loan and the loan is to be fully amortized by installment payments of principal, which may
begin up to five years from the date of the loan, and interest at least annually over a period of
not to exceed 40 years. Also loans secured by second mortgage on improved or unimproved real
estate used, or to be used, for commercial purposes; provided, that if unimproved real estate there
exists a definite plan for commencement of development within not more than five years, in the
United States or the Dominion of Canada under the following conditions: (a) the amount of the
loan secured by the second mortgage is equal to the sum of the amount disbursed by the company
and the then outstanding indebtedness under the first mortgage loan; and (b) the company has
control over the payments under the first mortgage indebtedness; and (c) the total amount of the
loan does not exceed 66-2/3 percent of the market value of the real estate at the date of the loan or,
when the note or bond is to be fully amortized by installment payments of principal, beginning
not more than five years from the date of the loan, and interest at least annually over a period
of not to exceed 40 years, the amount of the loan does not exceed 80 percent of the market
value of the real estate at the date of the loan.
A company may not invest in a mortgage loan authorized under this subdivision, if the
investment causes the company's aggregate investments in mortgages secured by a single property
to exceed one percent of its admitted assets.
For purposes of this subdivision, improved real estate includes real estate improved with
permanent buildings, used for agriculture or pasture, or income producing real estate, including
but not limited to, parking lots and leases, royalty or other mineral interests in properties producing
oil, gas, or other minerals and interests in properties for the harvesting of forest products.
A loan or obligation otherwise permitted under this subdivision must be permitted
notwithstanding the fact that it provides for a payment of the principal balance prior to the end of
the period of amortization of the loan.
The vendor's equity in a contract for deed qualifies as a loan secured by mortgage for the
purposes of this subdivision.
    Subd. 4.[Repealed, 1991 c 325 art 9 s 13]
    Subd. 5.[Repealed, 1991 c 325 art 9 s 13]
    Subd. 6. Stocks, obligations, and other investments. (a) Common stocks, common stock
equivalents, or securities convertible into common stock or common stock equivalents of a
business entity organized under the laws of the United States or any state thereof, or the Dominion
of Canada or any province thereof.
(b) Preferred stock of, or common or preferred stock guaranteed as to dividends by a
business entity organized under the laws of the United States or any state thereof, or the Dominion
of Canada or any province thereof, under the following conditions: (1) No investment may be
made under this paragraph in a stock upon which any dividend, current or cumulative, is in
arrears; (2) the company may not invest in stocks under this paragraph and in common stocks
under paragraph (a) if the investment causes the company's aggregate investments in the common
or preferred stocks to exceed 25 percent of the company's total admitted assets, provided that
no more than 20 percent of the company's admitted assets may be invested in common stocks
under paragraph (a); and (3) the company may not invest in any preferred stock or common
stock guaranteed as to dividends, which is rated in the four lowest categories established by
the Securities Valuation Office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, if the
investment causes the company's aggregate investment in the lower rated preferred or common
stock guaranteed as to dividends to exceed five percent of its total admitted assets.
(c) Warrants, options, and rights to purchase stock if the stock, at the time of the acquisition
of the warrant, option, or right to purchase, would qualify as an investment under paragraph (a) or
(b), whichever is applicable. A company shall not invest in a warrant, option, or right to purchase
stock if, upon purchase and immediate exercise thereof, the acquisition of the stock violates any
of the concentration limitations contained in paragraphs (a) and (b).
(d) In addition to amounts that may be invested under subdivision 8 and without regard to
the percentage limitation applicable to stocks, warrants, options, and rights to purchase, the
securities of any face amount certificate company, unit investment trust, or management type
investment company, registered or in the process of registration under the Investment Company
Act of 1940 as from time to time amended. In addition, the company may transfer assets into
one or more of its separate accounts for the purpose of establishing, or supporting its contractual
obligations under, the accounts in accordance with the provisions of sections 61A.13 to 61A.21.
A company may not invest in a security authorized under this paragraph if the investment
causes the company's aggregate investments in the securities to exceed ten percent of its total
admitted assets, except that for a health service plan corporation operating under chapter 62C,
and for a health maintenance organization operating under chapter 62D, the company's aggregate
investments may not exceed 20 percent of its total admitted assets. No more than five percent of
the allowed investment by health service plan corporations or health maintenance organizations
may be invested in funds that invest in assets not backed by the federal government. When
investing in money market mutual funds, nonprofit health service plans regulated under chapter
62C, and health maintenance organizations regulated under chapter 62D, shall establish a trustee
custodial account for the transfer of cash into the money market mutual fund.
(e) Investment grade obligations that are:
(1) bonds, obligations, notes, debentures, repurchase agreements, or other evidences of
indebtedness of a business entity, organized under the laws of the United States or any state
thereof, or the Dominion of Canada or any province thereof; and
(2) rated in one of the four highest rating categories by at least one nationally recognized
statistical rating organization, or are rated in one of the two highest categories established by the
Securities Valuation Office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
(f) Noninvestment grade obligations: A company may acquire noninvestment grade
obligations as defined in subclause (i) (hereinafter noninvestment grade obligations) which
meet the earnings test set forth in subclause (ii). A company may not acquire a noninvestment
grade obligation if the acquisition will cause the company to exceed the limitations set forth in
subclause (iii).
(i) A noninvestment grade obligation is an obligation of a business entity, organized under the
laws of the United States or any state thereof, or the Dominion of Canada or any province thereof,
that is not rated in one of the four highest rating categories by at least one nationally recognized
statistical rating organization, or is not rated in one of the two highest categories established by
the Securities Valuation Office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
(ii) Noninvestment grade obligations authorized by this subdivision may be acquired by a
company if the business entity issuing or assuming the obligation, or the business entity securing
or guaranteeing the obligation, has had net earnings after the elimination of extraordinary
nonrecurring items of income and expense and before income taxes and fixed charges over the five
immediately preceding completed fiscal years, or its period of existence of less than five years,
has averaged not less than 1-1/4 times its average annual fixed charges applicable to the period;
provided, however, that if a business entity issuing or assuming the obligation, or the business
entity securing or guaranteeing the obligation, has undergone an acquisition, recapitalization, or
reorganization within the immediately preceding 12 months, or will use the proceeds of the
obligation for an acquisition, recapitalization, or reorganization, then such business entity shall
also have, on a pro forma basis, for the next succeeding 12 months, net earnings averaging 1-1/4
times its average annual fixed charges applicable to such period after elimination of extraordinary
nonrecurring items of income and expense and before taxes and fixed charges; no investment may
be made under this section upon which any interest obligation is in default.
(iii) Limitation on aggregate interest in noninvestment grade obligations. A company
may not invest in a noninvestment grade obligation if the investment will cause the company's
aggregate investments in noninvestment grade obligations to exceed the applicable percentage of
admitted assets set forth in the following table:

Effective Date

Percentage of Admitted Assets

		January 1, 1992	20
		January 1, 1993	17.5
		January 1, 1994	15

Nothing in this paragraph limits the ability of a company to invest in noninvestment grade
obligations as provided under subdivision 12.
(g) Obligations for the payment of money under the following conditions: (1) The obligation
must be secured, either solely or in conjunction with other security, by an assignment of a lease or
leases on property, real or personal; (2) the lease or leases must be nonterminable by the lessee
or lessees upon foreclosure of any lien upon the leased property; (3) the rents payable under the
lease or leases must be sufficient to amortize at least 90 percent of the obligation during the
primary term of the lease; and (4) the lessee or lessees under the lease or leases, or a governmental
entity or business entity, organized under the laws of the United States or any state thereof, or
the Dominion of Canada, or any province thereof, that has assumed or guaranteed any lessee's
performance thereunder, must be a governmental entity or business entity whose obligations
would qualify as an investment under subdivision 2 or paragraph (e) or (f). A company may
acquire leases assumed or guaranteed by a noninvestment grade lessee unless the value of the
lease, when added to the other noninvestment grade obligations owned by the company, exceeds
15 percent of the company's admitted assets.
(h) A company may sell call options against stocks or other securities owned by the company
and may purchase call options in a closing transaction against a call option previously written by
the company. In addition to the authority granted by paragraph (c), to the extent and on the terms
and conditions the commissioner determines to be consistent with the purposes of this chapter,
a company may purchase or sell other exchange-traded call options, and may sell or purchase
exchange-traded put options.
(i) A company may not invest in a security or other obligation authorized under this
subdivision if the investment, valued at cost at the date of purchase, causes the company's
aggregate investment in any one business entity to exceed two percent of the company's admitted
assets.
(j) For nonprofit health service plan corporations regulated under chapter 62C, and for
health maintenance organizations regulated under chapter 62D, a company may invest in
commercial paper rated in one of the two highest rating categories by at least one nationally
recognized statistical rating organization, or rated in one of the two highest categories established
by the Securities Valuation Office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, if
the investment, valued at cost at the date of purchase, does not cause the company's aggregate
investment in any one business entity to exceed six percent of the company's admitted assets.
    Subd. 7. Transportation equipment obligations. Equipment trust obligations or certificates
which are adequately secured or other adequately secured instruments evidencing an interest
in transportation equipment purchased, leased, or under contract for purchase or lease by a
corporation incorporated in the United States or in Canada or by a receiver or trustee of such
corporation and a right to receive determined portions of rental, purchase or other fixed obligatory
payments for the use or purchase of such transportation equipment.
    Subd. 8. Asset backed arrangements. Investments in asset backed arrangements that meet
the definitions and credit criteria provided in this subdivision. For purposes of this subdivision,
"asset backed arrangement" means a loan participation or loan to or equity investment in a
business entity that has as its primary business activity the acquisition and holding of financial
assets for the benefit of its debt and equity holders.
In order to qualify for investment under this subdivision:
(a) the investment in the asset backed arrangement must be secured by or represent an
undivided interest in a single financial asset or a pool of financial assets; and
(b) either (1) at least 90 percent of the dollar value of the financial assets held under the
asset backed arrangement qualifies for direct investment under this section; (2) the investment
in the asset backed arrangement is rated in one of the four highest rating categories by at least
one nationally recognized statistical rating organization; or (3) the investment in the asset backed
arrangement is rated in one of the two highest categories established by the Securities Valuation
Office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Examples of asset backed arrangements authorized by this subdivision include, but are not
limited to: general and limited partnership interests; participations under unit investment trusts
such as collateralized mortgage obligations and collateralized bond obligations; shares in, or
obligations of, corporations formed for holding investment assets, and contractual participation
interests in a loan or group of loans.
A company may not invest in an asset backed arrangement if the investment causes the
company's aggregate investment in the financial assets held under the asset backed arrangement to
exceed any of the concentration limits contained in this section.
    Subd. 9. Obligations of trustees and receivers. Certificates, notes, or other obligations
issued by trustees or receivers of any institution created or existing under the laws of the
United States or of any state, district, or territory thereof, which, or the assets of which, are
being administered under the direction of any court having jurisdiction if such obligation is
adequately secured as to principal and interest; the amount invested in the securities mentioned in
this subdivision shall not, at any time, exceed 25 percent of the unassigned surplus and capital
of the company.
    Subd. 9a. Hedging. A domestic life insurance company may enter into financial transactions
solely for the purpose of reducing the risk associated with assets and liabilities that the company
has acquired or incurred or has legally contracted to acquire or incur, and not for speculative
or other purposes. For purposes of this subdivision, "financial transactions" include, but are
not limited to, futures, options to buy or sell fixed income securities, repurchase and reverse
repurchase agreements, and interest rate swaps, caps, and floors. This authority is in addition to
any other authority of the insurer.
    Subd. 10. Real estate sales contracts. Real estate sales contracts to which the company is
not an original party, involving unencumbered real property situated in the United States, having a
value of at least 50 percent more than the amount of the unpaid balance of the contract, same to be
assigned or otherwise transferred to the company or to a trustee or nominee of its choosing. No
improvement shall be included in estimating the value unless the same shall be insured against
fire by policies payable to and held by the company or a trustee or nominee for its benefit. The
foregoing provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to real estate sales contracts to which the
company is an original party and shall not prohibit the company from holding such contracts as
an investment.
    Subd. 11. Policy loans. Loans on the security of insurance policies issued by itself to an
amount not exceeding the loan value thereof; and loans on the pledge of any of the securities
eligible for investment under the provisions of subdivisions 2 to 10, with the exception of
noninvestment grade obligations as defined in subdivision 6, paragraph (f), but not exceeding 95
percent of the value of securities enumerated in subdivisions 2, 3, and 4 and 80 percent of the
value of stocks and other securities; in case of securities enumerated in subdivisions 3, 5, and
10 "value" means principal amount unpaid thereon and in case of other securities market value
thereof; in case of securities enumerated in subdivisions 3 and 10 the pledge agreement shall
require principal payments by the pledgor at least equal to and concurrent with principal payments
on the pledged security; in loans authorized by this subdivision, except as otherwise provided
by law in regard to policy loans, the company shall reserve the right at any time to declare the
indebtedness due and payable when in excess of such proportions of value or, in case of pledge of
securities other than those enumerated in subdivisions 3 and 10, upon depreciation of security.
In the case of securities enumerated in subdivision 8, the provision of this subdivision must be
applied in accordance with the type of security subject to the asset backed arrangement.
    Subd. 12. Additional investments. Investments of any kind, without regard to the
categories, conditions, standards, or other limitations set forth in the foregoing subdivisions and
section 61A.31, subdivision 3, except that the prohibitions in clause (d) of subdivision 3 remains
applicable, may be made by a domestic life insurance company in an amount not to exceed
the lesser of the following:
(1) five percent of the company's total admitted assets as of the end of the preceding calendar
year; or
(2) fifty percent of the amount by which its capital and surplus as of the end of the preceding
calendar year exceeds $675,000. Except as provided in section 61A.281, a company's total
investment under this section in the common stock of any corporation, other than the stock of the
types of corporations specified in section 61A.284, may not exceed ten percent of the common
stock of the corporation. No investment may be made under the authority of this clause or clause
(1) by a company that has not completed five years of actual operation since the date of its first
certificate of authority.
If, subsequent to being made under the provisions of this subdivision, an investment is
determined to have become qualified or eligible under any of the other provisions of this
chapter, the company may consider the investment as being held under the other provision and
the investment need no longer be considered as having been made under the provisions of this
subdivision.
In addition to the investments authorized by this subdivision, with the written order of the
commissioner, a domestic life insurance company may make qualified investments in any other
type of investment or exceed any limitations of quality, quantity, or percentage of admitted assets
contained in this section, section 61A.29 or 61A.31, or other provision governing the investments
of a domestic life insurance company. This approval is at the discretion of the commissioner,
provided that the additional investments allowed by the commissioner's written order may not
exceed five percent of the company's admitted assets.
    Subd. 13. Additional limitations. Under the standards and procedures in sections 60G.20
to 60G.22 for individual insurers, the commissioner may impose additional limitations on all
insurers on the types and percentages of investments as the commissioner determines necessary to
protect and ensure the safety of the general public.
    Subd. 14. Replication transactions. An insurer engaging in replication transactions shall
include all replicated investment positions in calculating compliance with the limitations on
investments applicable to the insurer. Replication transactions are permitted only under the
authority of subdivision 12. For these purposes, "replication transaction" means a derivative
transaction that is intended to replicate the performance of one or more assets that an insurer is
authorized to acquire under applicable law. A derivative transaction that either is authorized by
subdivision 6, 8, or 9a or section 61A.29, subdivision 2, paragraph (d), or is entered into as
a hedging transaction shall not be considered a replication transaction. "Replicated investment
position" means the statement value of the position reported under the heading "Replicated
(Synthetic) Asset" on Schedule DB, Part F, of the annual statement of the insurer, or any
successor provision.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 28; 1969 c 494 s 12-16; 1971 c 816 s 1,2; 1973 c 123 art 5 s
7; 1974 c 64 s 6; 1975 c 141 s 1; 1981 c 211 s 32-34; 1983 c 340 s 12-14; 1984 c 382 s 4;
1985 c 147 s 1; 1987 c 337 s 43; 1991 c 325 art 9 s 1-9; 1992 c 540 art 2 s 13; 1994 c 425 s
9,10; 1998 c 328 s 1-3; 2001 c 131 s 12,13

61A.281 INVESTMENTS; SUBSIDIARIES.
    Subdivision 1. Special purpose corporations. A domestic life insurance company may
organize and hold, or acquire and hold, more than 50 percent of the capital stock of any
corporation organized under the laws of the United States or any state thereof, or the Dominion of
Canada or any province thereof, or if approved by the commissioner, elsewhere, which is one or
more of the following: (1) a corporation providing investment advisory, management or sales
services to an investment company or to an insurance company; or (2) a data processing or
computer service corporation; or (3) a real property holding, developing, managing or leasing
corporation; or (4) a mortgage loan corporation engaged in the business of making, originating,
purchasing, or otherwise acquiring or investing in, and servicing or selling or otherwise disposing
of loans secured by mortgages on real property; or (5) a corporation whose business is owning
and managing or leasing personal property; or (6) a corporation other than a bank or an insurance
company, whose business has been approved by the commissioner as complementary or
supplementary to the business of a domestic life insurance company. Provided, however, that such
percentage of stock may, with the approval of the commissioner, be 50 percent or less. The limits
contained in the other investment sections of the insurance code shall not apply to such holdings,
provided that the aggregate cost of the investments made under this subdivision shall not exceed
five percent of the domestic life insurance company's admitted assets.
    Subd. 2. General purpose corporations. A domestic life insurance company may organize
and hold, or acquire and hold, more than 50 percent of the capital stock of any corporation
organized under the laws of the United States or any state thereof, or the Dominion of Canada or
any province thereof, or if approved by the commissioner, elsewhere, whether or not of the type
of corporation enumerated in subdivision 1 or approved by the commissioner under subdivision 1.
The limits contained in the other investment sections of Minnesota Statutes relating to insurance
shall not apply to such holdings, provided that the aggregate cost of the investments made
under authority of this subdivision shall not exceed ten percent of the capital and surplus of the
domestic life insurance company.
    Subd. 3. Rules. The commissioner may issue such reasonable rules as may be appropriate to
carry out the purposes of this section.
    Subd. 4. Other corporations acquired or organized, activities. A domestic life insurance
company may organize or acquire a corporation domiciled in the United States and hold the
capital stock thereof, provided that it shall continuously own more than 50 percent of such
capital stock. The corporation so organized or acquired shall limit its activities to the investing
of its assets in the same corporations, subject to the same ownership requirements, in which
the insurance company may directly invest under subdivisions 1 and 2; provided that the sum
of the total cost of the investments made by both it and the insurance company in corporations
authorized under said subdivision 1 or said subdivision 2 shall not exceed the dollar amount
which would have been applicable had the insurance company directly made such investments.
The limits contained in the other investment sections of the insurance code shall not apply to any
investment made by the insurance company under this subdivision, provided that the aggregate
cost of the investments made by the insurance company hereunder and under said subdivisions 1
and 2 shall not exceed the sum of five percent of the insurance company's admitted assets and ten
percent of the insurance company's capital and surplus.
    Subd. 5. Corporations organized to hold investments. A domestic life insurance company
may organize one or more corporations domiciled in the United States and hold the capital stock
of them, provided that it shall continuously own all of the capital stock and that the corporations
so organized shall limit their activities to acquiring and holding investments, other than under
subdivisions 1 to 4, that a domestic life insurance company may acquire and hold. The investments
of these corporations are subject to the same restrictions and requirements as apply to domestic
life insurance companies, including the applicable percentage limitations for investments in
individual properties and entities and limitations on the aggregate amount to be invested in any
investment category. For the purposes of calculating the amount of an investment held by the
life insurance company, investments in the same property, entity, or investment category that are
owned by the company and all corporations qualifying under this subdivision must be aggregated.
History: 1969 c 494 s 17; 1971 c 816 s 3-5; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1991 c 325 art 9 s 10

61A.282 INVESTMENTS IN NAME OF COMPANY OR NOMINEE AND
PROHIBITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Requirements. A company's investments shall be held in its corporate name
or its nominee name, except that:
(a) Investments may be held in the name of a clearing corporation or of a custodian bank or
in the name of the nominee of either under the following conditions:
(1) The clearing corporation, custodian bank, or nominee must be legally authorized to hold
the particular investment for the account of others;
(2) Where the investment is evidenced by a certificate and held in the name of a custodian
bank or the nominee of a custodian bank, a written agreement shall provide that certificates so
deposited shall at all times be kept separate and apart from other deposits with the depository, so
that at all times they may be identified as belonging solely to the company making the deposit; or
(3) Where a clearing corporation is to act as depository, the investment may be merged or
held in bulk in the clearing corporation's name, or in the name of its nominee, together with
any other investments deposited with the clearing corporation by any other person, if a written
agreement provides that adequate evidence of the deposit will be obtained and retained by the
company or a custodian bank.
As used in this subdivision, the term "custodian bank" means a bank or trust company
licensed by the United States or any state thereof.
(b) A company may participate, through a bank or trust company which is a member of
the Federal Reserve System, in the Federal Reserve's book-entry system, if the records of the
member bank or trust company at all times show that the investments are held for the company
and/or for specific accounts of the company.
(c) If an investment consists of an individual interest in a pool of obligations, or of
a fractional interest in a single obligation, the certificate of participation or interest, or the
confirmation of participation or interest in the investment, shall be held in the manner set forth in
paragraph (a) or held in the name of the company.
(d) Where an investment is not evidenced by a certificate, except as provided in paragraph
(b), adequate evidence of the company's investment shall be obtained from the issuer or its
transfer or recording agent and retained by the company, a custodian bank, or clearing corporation.
Adequate evidence, for purposes of this section, shall mean a written receipt or other verification
issued by the depository or issuer or a custodian bank which shows that the investment is held for
the company. Transfers of ownership of investments held as described in paragraphs (a)(3), (b),
and (c) may be evidenced by bookkeeping entry on the books of the issuer of the investment or its
transfer or recording agent or the clearing corporation without physical delivery of certificates, if
any, evidencing the company's investment.
    Subd. 2. Lending of securities. A company may loan securities held by it under this chapter
to a broker-dealer registered under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 or to a bank which is
a member of the Federal Reserve System, under the following conditions:
(a) The market value of loaned securities outstanding at any one time, excluding securities
held in a separate account established pursuant to section 61A.14, subdivision 1, or 61A.275,
shall not exceed 40 percent of the company's admitted assets as of the December 31 immediately
preceding.
(b) The company is limited to no more than two percent of its admitted assets as of the
December 31 immediately preceding being subject to lending of securities with any one borrower.
(c) Each loan must be evidenced by a written agreement which provides:
(1) that the loan will be fully collateralized by cash or obligations issued or guaranteed
by the United States or an agency or an instrumentality thereof, and that the collateral will be
adjusted each business day during the term of the loan to maintain the required collateral in the
event of market value changes in the loaned securities or collateral;
(2) that the loan may be terminated by the company at any time, and that the borrower must
return the loaned securities or their equivalent within five business days after termination;
(3) that the company has the right to retain the collateral or to use the collateral to purchase
securities equivalent to the loaned securities if the borrower defaults under the terms of the
agreement; and
(4) that the borrower remains liable for any losses and expenses, not covered by the
collateral, which are incurred by the company due to default.
    Subd. 3. Conflicts of interest. No officer, director, or member of any committee passing on
investments shall borrow any of the funds, or become, directly or indirectly, liable as a surety
or endorser for or on account of loans thereof to others, or receive for personal use any fee,
brokerage, commission, gift or other consideration for, or on account of, any loan made by or
on behalf of the company.
History: 1969 c 494 s 18; 1981 c 211 s 35; 1982 c 555 s 4; 1986 c 313 s 3; 1986 c 444;
1994 c 485 s 25

61A.283 ADMITTED ASSETS.
For the purpose of applying any investment limitation based on the amount of a domestic
life insurance company's admitted assets, the term "admitted assets" has the meaning given
in section 60A.02, subdivision 27, with an adjustment in the admitted asset figure to exclude
amounts which on the December 31 immediately preceding the date the company acquires an
investment are allocated to separate accounts.
History: 1969 c 494 s 19; 1991 c 325 art 10 s 9

61A.284 INVESTMENTS; CAPITAL STOCK OF OTHER INSURANCE COMPANIES.
    Subdivision 1. Purchase of insurance company. A domestic life insurance company may
acquire and hold all or part of the capital stock of another insurance company whether or not in
the same line of insurance for cash or through the issuance of its own stock in payment of all or
part of the purchase price. The limits contained in the other investment provisions shall not apply
to these holdings providing the acquiring company secures the prior approval of the purchase
agreement by the commissioner.
    Subd. 2. Organization of subsidiary insurance company. A domestic life insurance
company may organize and hold all or part of the capital stock of another insurance company
whether or not in the same line of insurance. The limits contained in the other investment
provisions shall not apply to these holdings providing the organizing company secures the prior
approval of the commissioner.
    Subd. 3. Investments in health maintenance organizations. An investment in a health
maintenance organization may be deemed by a domestic life insurance company to be an
investment under this section.
History: 1981 c 211 s 36; 1990 c 538 s 11

61A.29 FOREIGN INVESTMENTS.
    Subdivision 1. Authorization. In addition to the Canadian investments permitted by this
chapter, a domestic life insurance company may make foreign investments authorized by
subdivision 2, subject to the limitations contained in subdivision 3. Investments authorized by
this section are restricted to countries where the obligations of the sovereign government are
rated in one of the two highest rating categories by at least one nationally recognized statistical
rating organization in the United States. All investments must be made as provided under foreign
investment guidelines established and maintained by the company under section 60A.112.
    Subd. 2. Authorized investments. A company may invest in (i) foreign assets denominated
in United States dollars; (ii) foreign assets denominated in foreign currency; and (iii) United
States assets denominated in foreign currency. The investments may be made in any combination
of the following:
(a) Obligations of sovereign governments and political subdivisions thereof and obligations
issued or fully guaranteed by a supranational bank or organization, other than those described in
section 61A.28, subdivision 2, paragraph (e), provided that the obligations are rated in one of the
two highest rating categories by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization in
the United States. For purposes of this section, "supranational bank" means a bank owned by a
number of sovereign nations and engaging in international borrowing and lending.
(b) Obligations of a foreign business entity, provided that the obligation (i) is rated in
one of the four highest rating categories by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating
organization in the United States or by a similarly recognized statistical rating organization, as
approved by the commissioner, in the country where the investment is made; or (ii) is rated in
one of the two highest categories established by the Securities Valuation Office of the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners.
(c) Stock or stock equivalents issued by a foreign entity if the stock or stock equivalents
are regularly traded and subject to oversight by the government of the country in which the
regular trading occurs.
(d) Financial transactions for the sole purpose of managing the foreign currency risk of
investments made under this subdivision, provided that the financial transactions are entered into
under a detailed plan maintained by the company. For purposes of this paragraph, "financial
transactions" include, but are not limited to, the purchase or sale of currency swaps, forward
agreements, and currency futures.
    Subd. 3. Investment limitations. Investments authorized by subdivision 2 are subject to
the following limitations:
(a) A company shall not make an investment under this section if the investment causes
the company's aggregate investments authorized under this section to exceed ten percent of its
total admitted assets.
(b) Investments made under subdivision 2 must be aggregated with United States investments
in determining compliance with percentage concentration limitations, if any, contained in this
chapter.
(c) A company shall not invest in the obligations of one issuer under subdivision 2 in an
amount greater than authorized for investments of the same class under this chapter. A company
shall not invest more than two percent of its total admitted assets in the direct or guaranteed
obligations of a sovereign government or political subdivision thereof, or of a supranational bank.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 29; 1969 c 494 s 20; 1981 c 211 s 37; 1983 c 340 s 15; 1991
c 325 art 9 s 11; 2001 c 131 s 14

61A.30 JOINT INVESTMENTS.
No domestic life insurance company shall subscribe to or participate in any underwriting of
the purchase or sale of securities or other property, enter into any transactions for the purchase or
sale on account of the company jointly with any other person, firm, or corporation, nor enter into
any agreement to withhold from sale any of its property, unless the disposition of the property
shall be, at all times, within the control of its board of directors. Nothing contained herein shall be
construed to invalidate or prohibit an agreement by two or more investors to join and share in
the purchase of investments for bona fide investment purposes. In the investments secured by
mortgage or deed of trust, provisions shall be made for a method of resolving any matters relating
thereto as to which the investors are not in agreement.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 30; 1981 c 211 s 38

61A.31 REAL ESTATE HOLDINGS.
    Subdivision 1. Purposes. Except as provided in subdivisions 2, 3, and 4, every domestic life
insurance company may acquire, hold and convey real property only for the following purposes
and in the following manner:
(1) such as shall have been mortgaged to it in good faith by way of security for loans
previously contracted, or for moneys due;
(2) such as shall have been conveyed to it in satisfaction of debts previously contracted in
the course of its dealings;
(3) such as shall have been purchased at sales on judgments, decrees or mortgages obtained
or made for such debts;
(4) such as shall have been subject to a contract for deed under which the company held the
vendor's interest to secure the payment by the vendee.
    Subd. 2. Building projects. In order to promote and supplement public and private efforts to
provide an adequate supply of decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling accommodations for persons of
low and moderate income; to relieve unemployment; to alleviate the shortage of rental residences;
and to assist in relieving the emergency in the housing situation in this country through investment
of funds, any life insurance company may purchase or lease from any owner or owners (including
states and political subdivisions thereof), real property in any state in which such company is
licensed to transact the business of life insurance; and on any real property so acquired or on real
property so located and acquired otherwise in the conduct of its business, such company may
erect apartment, or other dwelling houses, not including hotels, but including accommodations
for retail stores, shops, offices, and other community services reasonably incident to such
projects; or, to provide such housing or accommodations, may construct, reconstruct, improve,
or remove any buildings or other improvements thereon. Such company may thereafter own,
improve, maintain, manage, collect or receive income from, sell, lease, or convey any such real
property and the improvements thereon. A company may not invest in the building projects if
the investment causes the company's aggregate investments under this subdivision to exceed ten
percent of its total admitted assets.
    Subd. 3. Acquisition of property. Any domestic life insurance company may:
(a) acquire real property or any interest in real property, including oil and gas and other
mineral interests, in the United States or any state thereof, or in the Dominion of Canada or any
province thereof, as an investment for the production of income, and hold, improve or otherwise
develop, and lease, sell, and convey the same either directly or as a joint venturer or through a
limited, limited liability, or general partnership in which the company is a partner or through a
limited liability company in which the company is a member. A company may not invest in
any real property asset other than property held for the convenience and accommodation of its
business if the investment causes: (1) the company's aggregate investments in the real property
assets to exceed ten percent of its admitted assets; or (2) the company's investment in any single
parcel of real property to exceed one-half of one percent of its admitted assets;
(b) acquire personal property in the United States or any state thereof, or in the Dominion
of Canada or any province thereof, under lease or leases or commitment for lease or leases if:
(1) either the fair value of the property exceeds the company's investment in it or the lessee,
or at least one of the lessees, or a guarantor, or at least one of the guarantors, of the lease is a
corporation with a net worth of $1,000,000 or more; and (2) the lease provides for rent sufficient
to amortize the investment with interest over the primary term of the lease or the useful life
of the property, whichever is less. A company may not invest in the personal property if the
investment causes the company's aggregate investments in the personal property to exceed three
percent of its admitted assets;
(c) acquire and hold real estate (1) if the purpose of the acquisition is to enhance the sale
value of real estate previously acquired and held by the company under this section and (2) if
the company expects the real estate so acquired to qualify and be held by the company under
paragraph (a) within five years after acquisition; and
(d) not acquire real property under paragraphs (a) to (c) if the property is to be used primarily
for agricultural, horticultural, ranch, mining, or church purposes.
All real property acquired or held under this subdivision must be carried at a value equal
to the lesser of (1) cost plus the cost of capitalized improvements, less normal depreciation,
or (2) market value.
    Subd. 4. Convenience and accommodation of business. A company may acquire and hold
real estate for the convenience and accommodation of its business. Without the prior approval
of the Department of Commerce, a company may not invest in real estate authorized under this
subdivision if the investment causes the company's aggregate investments under this subdivision
to exceed five percent of its total admitted assets, except that a health service plan corporation
operating under chapter 62C may not invest in real estate authorized under this subdivision if
the investment causes the company's aggregate investments under this subdivision to exceed 25
percent of its total admitted assets.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 31; 1969 c 494 s 21-24; 1981 c 211 s 39,40; 1983 c 289 s 114
subd 1; 1983 c 340 s 16; 1984 c 655 art 1 s 92; 1991 c 325 art 9 s 12; 1995 c 214 s 15

61A.315 INVESTMENTS AND HOLDINGS; LIMITATIONS.
The sum of the value of assets permitted to be acquired pursuant to sections 61A.31,
subdivision 3 and 61A.28, subdivision 6, paragraphs (a) and (b) shall not exceed 30 percent of
admitted assets as of the end of the preceding calendar year.
History: 1981 c 211 s 41

61A.32 [Repealed, 2005 c 69 art 2 s 19]

61A.321 [Renumbered 66A.35]

61A.33 [Renumbered 66A.36]

61A.34 [Renumbered 66A.37]

61A.35 [Renumbered 66A.38]

61A.36 [Renumbered 66A.39]

61A.37 [Renumbered 66A.42]

61A.38 [Renumbered 66A.43]

COOPERATIVE COMPANIES;

SPECIAL PROVISIONS

61A.39 COOPERATIVE LIFE AND CASUALTY COMPANIES.
    Subdivision 1. Cooperative plan. Every corporation, society, or association which issues
a certificate or policy or makes an agreement with its members by which, upon the decease of
a member, any money is to be paid to, or benefit conferred upon, the legal representatives or
designated beneficiaries of such member, or reaching a certain age, to pay any money or benefit
to the member, such money or benefit to be derived from voluntary donations, admission fees,
dues, or assessments to be collected from its members or any class thereof, and which reserves the
right to make any additional assessments, or without the consent of the certificate or policyholder
to increase the premium named therein, shall be deemed to be engaged in the business of life
insurance upon the cooperative or assessment plan. Every corporation which likewise agrees, in
case of accident, sickness, or other physical disability, or reaching a certain age, to pay money or
confer benefits likewise derived and issuing certificates or policies with similar conditions with
reference to the payment of dues or assessments, shall be deemed to be engaged in the business of
casualty insurance upon the cooperative or assessment plan, and shall, except as herein otherwise
specified, be subject to the provisions of sections 61A.39 to 61A.42 and 61A.44 to 61A.50.
    Subd. 2. Continued corporate existence. Notwithstanding the repeal of sections 63.01,
63.011, and 63.02 to 63.35 pursuant to Laws 1983, chapter 104, section 1, any corporation,
society or association formed or having existed under Laws 1933, chapter 241, whether or not it
amended its articles of incorporation in accordance with Laws 1945, chapter 178, as amended
by Laws 1951, chapter 257, and which has transformed itself into a cooperative life insurance
company to engage in business under the cooperative plan, shall be and continue to exist as a
corporation by virtue of the provisions hereof and may exercise and shall continue to have and
to hold all the rights, privileges and powers which it had, prior to the repeal of such sections,
including those derived under Laws 1945, chapter 178, section 1, as amended by Laws 1951,
chapter 257, section 2.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 39; 1984 c 602 s 1; 1986 c 444

61A.40 QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICENSE; NUMBER OF MEMBERS.
No corporation not now authorized to transact business in this state shall be licensed to
transact the business of life or casualty insurance, or both, upon the cooperative or assessment
plan, until at least 300 persons eligible to membership have made individual applications, in
writing, containing warranties of age, health, and other required conditions of membership,
and the corporation has on deposit with the commissioner, as security for all its policyholders,
stocks or bonds of this state or of the United States, or bonds of any of the municipalities of this
state, or personal obligations secured by first mortgage on real estate within this state, worth,
exclusive of buildings, the amount of the lien, and bearing interest of not less than three percent
per annum, to an amount the actual market value of which, exclusive of interest, shall never be
less than $100,000; provided, that any corporation which has heretofore procured and filed with
the commissioner a part of the total number of applications required by law shall only be required
to deposit securities of the market value of $5,000; and provided, that a corporation that confines
its membership exclusively to the members of volunteer fire departments shall be required to have
not less than 100 individual applications, in writing, from persons eligible to membership and the
sum of at least $1,000, which amount shall be liable only for death or indemnity claims made
under its policy or membership certificate contracts.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 40; 1978 c 465 s 10

61A.41 RESERVE FUND; RECIPROCAL PROVISIONS.
Every domestic cooperative life or casualty corporation, society or association, except
a fraternal benefit society, which issues a certificate or policy, or makes an agreement with its
members, by which, upon the decease of a member, more than $200 is to be paid to, or benefit
conferred upon, the legal representatives or designated beneficiary of such member, shall set aside
ten percent of its gross premium receipts or assessments each year, as a reserve, until the same,
together with any reserve already accumulated, shall amount to the sum of $25,000.
Every domestic cooperative or assessment company transacting the business of life and
health and accident insurance, which does not issue health and accident policies providing
indemnity for disability from accident or disease in excess of $750 on account of any one accident
or illness, nor issues policies providing indemnity for disability from accident or illness in excess
of $750 on account of any one accident or illness and death indemnity of more than $200, shall
set aside as a reserve ten percent of its gross premium receipts or assessments each year until the
same, together with any reserve already accumulated, shall amount to $2,000, and shall thereafter
set aside as a reserve five percent of its gross premium receipts or assessments each year until the
same, together with any reserve already accumulated, shall amount to $25,000.
Every domestic cooperative or assessment life insurance corporation, society or association,
which issues a certificate or policy, or makes an agreement with its members, by which, upon
the decease of a member, a funeral benefit is to be paid or funeral service is to be furnished, not
exceeding $200 in amount or value, shall set aside ten percent of its gross premium receipts or
assessments each year as a reserve, until the same, together with any reserve already accumulated,
shall amount to the sum of $5,000, which reserve fund, accumulated as herein provided, shall
be deposited with the commissioner in accordance with section 60A.10, subdivision 4, for the
benefit of all its policyholders.
This deposit may consist of securities of the class in which insurance companies are
authorized to invest under the laws of this state, and the company depositing the same shall
be entitled to the income derived from the securities. No foreign insurance company upon
the cooperative or assessment plan shall be permitted to transact business in this state unless
it makes the deposit hereinbefore required of domestic companies, except that where, by the
laws of the state under which the foreign company is organized, it is permitted to, and actually
does, maintain for the benefit of all its policyholders a deposit with some proper officer of that
state of an amount equal to the deposit required by sections 61A.39 to 61A.42 and 61A.44 to
61A.50; the deposit with the other state shall be a sufficient compliance with the provisions of
this section. No deposit of securities, other than that herein provided for, shall be required of
any such cooperative or assessment company. Any company transacting the business of life
insurance upon the cooperative or assessment plan, and creating and maintaining a greater reserve
than herein provided for, may elect, by written stipulation, filed with the commissioner, to keep
on deposit with the commissioner in accordance with section 60A.10, subdivision 4, its entire
reserve and special benefit funds, other than mortuary funds; and thereafter the entire reserve and
special benefit funds shall be deposited with the commissioner in accordance with section 60A.10,
subdivision 4 , in securities of like character and upon the same terms as provided herein for the
deposit of the reserve required by this section.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 41; 1974 c 425 s 5; 1992 c 564 art 1 s 54

61A.42 PAYMENTS; LIENS; ASSESSMENTS; POLICIES TO BE LABELED.
No cooperative or assessment life insurance company shall hereafter issue any policy in this
state which does not provide for the payment of a fixed minimum sum, which may be increased
each year the insurance remains in force, in the amounts to be provided in the policy. Any
agreement or bylaw providing for the placing of a lien upon such policy, except for nonpayment
of premium or assessment, and any agreement or bylaw providing for the payment of a less sum
than the minimum sum specified in the contract, because of the failure of the corporation to
receive or collect the amount in the contract by assessment upon the surviving members, shall
be void. Nothing in this section contained shall be so construed as to render any member liable
for more than one assessment for each death occurring during the period of membership, unless
otherwise specified in the policy. All policies issued by the company shall contain a title including
the word "assessment" on the face and on the back of the policy correctly describing the same.
This section shall not apply to any existing domestic company until it has been in existence
for four years.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 42; 1986 c 444

61A.43 ACCUMULATIONS; AMENDMENT TO ARTICLES OR BYLAWS.
Any insurance company transacting the business of life or casualty insurance upon the
cooperative or assessment plan under any law of this state may, upon so providing in its articles or
bylaws, elect to ascertain and apportion to its outstanding policies or certificates the respective
accumulations upon each such policy or certificate, and to carry to the credit of each such policy
or certificate the future net premiums or assessments and the accretions thereto, less its equitable
contribution to the death claims and other benefits, and that the premiums or assessments upon
any such policy or certificate may, upon such credit becoming exhausted, be increased as may be
necessary to meet its share of death claims and other benefits, and that the holder of any such
policy or certificate may be granted extended or paid-up insurance or the right to convert into
any other form of policy or insurance then being issued by such company and to have the credit
on such former policy or certificate applied to such new policy or insurance. When making
the ascertainment and apportionment, account shall be taken of the premiums or assessments
theretofore paid and of the death claims and other benefits which should be borne by the policy or
certificate, of the interest earnings and other accretions to the accumulated funds, and of other
matters which should equitably be taken into consideration for the purposes of the apportionment.
Subject to such adjustment as shall be equitable, the experience of the company, or any table of
mortality recognized for the purpose of insurance and any law of this state, may be used as a
basis for the ascertainment and apportionment herein authorized; provided, that any company
availing itself of the provisions of this section shall, in its articles or bylaws, specify the table of
mortality and rate of interest which are to be the basis for the charges thereafter to be made to
the policies or certificates aforesaid; and, provided, further, that when any table of mortality is
specified in any policy that table shall be followed.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 43

61A.44 LIMITATION ON EXPENSES; LIFE INSURANCE.
Every corporation, as described in section 61A.39, now or hereafter organized or admitted to
transact the business of life insurance in this state, shall set aside and appropriate exclusively to its
mortuary or benefit funds, including reserve or special benefit funds, not less than 65 percent of all
premium receipts and all interest earnings thereon upon such life insurance policies that shall have
been in force one year or more, and the entire amount of receipts upon postmortem assessment
certificates, except the expense dues and charges therein provided. No such funds heretofore or
hereafter so appropriated to such mortuary or benefit fund, including reserve or special benefit
funds, shall ever be used for the expense of conducting such business; provided, that every such
corporation which issues a certificate or policy or makes an agreement with its members, by
which, upon the decease of a member, a funeral benefit is to be paid, or funeral service is to be
furnished, not exceeding $200 in amount or value, and which pays no accident, disability, or other
benefits, shall set aside and appropriate exclusively to its mortuary or benefit funds, including
reserve or special benefit funds, not less than 60 percent of all premium receipts upon such
insurance policies that shall have been in force one year or more, and the entire amount of receipts
upon postmortem assessment certificates, except the expense dues and charges therein provided.
No such funds heretofore or hereafter so appropriated to such mortuary or benefit funds, including
reserve or special benefit funds, shall ever be used for the expense of conducting such business.
The net accretions to the funds enumerated in this section derived from interest, rents, or
other sources shall also be set aside and appropriated exclusively to the fund producing the
net accretions.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 44

61A.45 LIMITATION ON EXPENSES; COMPANIES WITH RESERVE DEPOSITS.
No company, as described in section 61A.39, transacting the business of casualty or health
insurance in this state shall incur, lay out, or expend, in any one calendar year, as and for the
expenses of conducting such business, more than its application or membership fees and 40
percent of its total premiums or assessments. When any such company shall have on deposit with
the commissioner a reserve of $25,000, as provided by law, then and thereafter the company may
expend, in addition to the 40 percent, the interest earnings on the reserve fund and the interest on
any additional surplus funds it may accumulate.
Any officer of any corporation violating, or consenting to the violation of, this section or
section 61A.44 shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 45

61A.46 NET RATES; RESERVE FUND; LIMITATION OF EXPENSES.
No corporation organized to transact the business of life insurance upon the cooperative
or assessment plan, and no such corporation not already admitted to transact business in this
state, shall be licensed to transact such life insurance business in this state unless it shall, by its
charter, bylaws and policy or certificate contracts, provide for and actually charge and collect
from its members, for and on account of the insurance furnished to them, net rates which are at
least equal to the rates known as the national fraternal congress rates, with four percent interest.
When any such corporation has adopted the use of a net rate not less than the national fraternal
congress table of mortality and interest at the rate of four percent, on the full preliminary term
plan, and shall set aside the net premium to its mortuary or benefit funds, including reserve or
special benefits, for the use and benefit of its members, such corporation shall, on all premiums or
assessments collected from and after January 1, 1927, be exempt from the provisions of sections
61A.41 and 61A.44; but it shall keep on deposit, for the use and benefit of all its policyholders,
an amount equal to the value of its individual policies, as shown by its annual statement each
year, with the commissioner, until the same shall amount to the sum of $25,000. The accretions
to the various funds derived from interest, rents, or other sources, less expense incidental to
investment supervision, shall also be set aside and appropriated to the fund producing the
accretions. Gain from lapses, savings in mortality, surrenders, and changes shall revert to the
expense fund. Policies issued by such corporation may contain a provision that in the event of
default in premium payments, after premiums shall have been paid for three years, shall secure to
the owner of the policy a stipulated form of insurance, the net value of which shall be at least
equal to the reserve at the date of default on the policy and on any dividend additions thereto,
specifying the mortality table and the rate of interest adopted for computing such reserve, less a
sum not more than 2-1/2 percent of the amount insured by the policy, and of any existing dividend
additions thereto, and less any existing indebtedness to the company on the policy; and that the
policy may be surrendered to the company, at its home office, within one month from date of
default for a specified cash value at least equal to the sum which would otherwise be available
for the purchase of insurance, and shall stipulate that the company may defer payment for not
more than six months after the application therefor is made. This provision shall not be required
in term insurance of 20 years or less. Such corporation shall value its policies at the end of each
calendar year and show in its annual statement as a reserve liability the amount of such valuation.
If infantile insurance is written, it may be valued on the table known as Craig's extension below
age ten. If any corporation, society or association operating the business of life or casualty
insurance on the assessment plan under any law of this state shall reincorporate under section
61A.39 and in connection with such reincorporation shall provide in its articles or bylaws that this
section shall not apply to any class or group of assessment policies in force at the time that such
reincorporation becomes effective, then this section shall not apply to such policies; provided that
such corporation, society or association shall, in all other operations and as to all other policies, be
subject to the provisions of sections 61A.39 to 61A.42 and sections 61A.44 to 61A.50.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 46

61A.47 REINSURANCE OR CONSOLIDATION.
Any corporation, association, or society organized or authorized to transact business
under the provisions of sections 61A.39 to 61A.42 and 61A.44 to 61A.50 may, by contract of
reinsurance, assume the risks of any other similar corporation, association, or society engaged in
the business of life or casualty insurance, or both, only on the following conditions:
(1) that both the corporations, associations, or societies which propose to enter into the
reinsurance contract, shall be, upon the date of reinsurance, duly authorized under the provisions
of sections 61A.39 to 61A.42 and 61A.44 to 61A.50 to transact business in this state;
(2) that the contract of reinsurance shall have previously been submitted to the commissioner
and the attorney general and received the approval of the commissioner duly endorsed thereon;
(3) that the corporation, association, or society, which proposes to reinsure and retire, shall
have been thoroughly examined by the commissioner within six months of the date of the
proposed consolidation or reinsurance; provided, that, in the judgment of the commissioner, the
consolidation or reinsurance can in no way impair the solvency of the corporation, association,
or society which proposes to reinsure and assume the business and affairs of the corporation,
association, or society contemplating reinsurance and retirement;
(4) that the contract of reinsurance shall have been approved by a majority vote of all the
members of the corporation, association, or society, which proposes to reinsure and retire, present
in person or by proxy, at any regular meeting thereof, or at any special meeting thereof called
to consider the same; and, that a written or printed notice of the purpose of the corporation,
association, or society to reinsure shall have been mailed to each of its members at least 30
days prior to the date fixed for the meeting.
When the members of any such corporation, association, or society shall have so voted to
reinsure and retire, its officers and the officers of the corporation, association, or society which
proposes to assume the risks and other obligations are hereby authorized to enter into and
consummate the contract of reinsurance as submitted and approved and to do and perform all other
acts necessary to the final and complete consolidation or reinsurance. The retiring corporation,
association, or society shall turn over all its property, securities, moneys, and other assets to
the corporation, association, or society reinsuring and assuming its obligations, to become the
sole and absolute property thereof. The actual and reasonable expenses and costs incident to
proceedings under the provisions of this section may be paid by the companies so consolidating
or reinsuring, and an itemized and verified statement of these expenses, together with proper
vouchers for each of the same, shall be filed with the commissioner. No officer of any such
company, nor any employee of the state, shall receive any compensation, gratuity, employment,
or other promise or thing of value, directly or indirectly, for in any matter aiding, promoting, or
assisting in the consolidation or reinsurance. Any officer or director of any company which is a
party to the agreement of reinsurance herein provided for, who shall receive any compensation or
gratuity for aiding or promoting or consenting to the contract, shall be guilty of theft; and any
other person guilty of willfully violating, or consenting to the willful violation of, the provisions
of sections 61A.39 to 61A.42 and 61A.44 to 61A.50, shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 47

61A.48 CHANGE TO LEGAL RESERVE OR LEVEL PREMIUM COMPANIES.
Any corporation, association, or society, as described in section 61A.39, may, with the
written consent of the commissioner, upon a majority vote of its governing body, amend its
articles of incorporation and bylaws in such manner as to transform itself into a legal reserve or
level premium insurance company and, upon so doing and upon procuring from the commissioner
a certificate of authority, as provided by law, to transact business in this state as a legal reserve
or level premium company, shall incur the obligations and enjoy the benefits thereof, the same
as though originally thus incorporated, and this corporation, under its charter, as amended, shall
be a continuation of the original corporation, and the officers thereof shall serve through their
respective terms, as provided in the original charter, but their successors shall be elected and serve
as in the amended articles provided; but the amendment or reincorporation shall not affect existing
suits, rights, or contracts. Any corporation, association, or society so reincorporated to transact the
business of life insurance, shall, unless a higher method of valuation be provided for in its policy,
or certificates of membership previously written, value its assessment policies or certificates of
membership previously written as yearly renewable term policies, according to the standard of
valuation of life insurance policies prescribed by the laws of this state.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 48

61A.49 [Repealed, 1987 c 268 art 2 s 38]

61A.50 APPLICATION.
Section 60A.16, and all other laws and parts of laws, in so far as they may be inconsistent
with sections 61A.39 to 61A.42 and 61A.44 to 61A.50, shall not apply to corporations transacting
the business of life or casualty insurance solely upon the cooperative or assessment plan, as
defined in sections 61A.39 to 61A.42 and 61A.44 to 61A.50.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 50

61A.51 INSOLVENCY.
In case any cooperative or assessment life, endowment, or casualty insurance association or
society is adjudged insolvent, the balance of its reserve fund, if any, after payment of claims and
other indebtedness, shall be paid to the commissioner who shall pay it into the state treasury.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 51; 1986 c 444

61A.52 RESERVE REQUIRED.
No casualty company or association organized under the cooperative or assessment laws of
this state not having a reserve of at least $25,000 on deposit with the commissioner shall issue
policies or contracts providing for the payment of endowments of any kind.
History: 1967 c 395 art 2 s 52

REPLACEMENT INSURANCE

61A.53 DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Applicability. For purposes of sections 61A.53 to 61A.60, the terms defined
in this section have the meanings given.
    Subd. 2. Replacement. "Replacement" means any transaction in which new life insurance or
a new annuity is to be purchased, and it is known or should be known to the proposing agent or
broker or to the proposing insurer if there is no agent, that by reason of the transaction, existing
life insurance or annuity has been or is to be:
(1) lapsed, forfeited, surrendered, or otherwise terminated;
(2) converted to reduced paid-up insurance, continued as extended term insurance, or
otherwise reduced in value by the use of nonforfeiture benefits or other policy values;
(3) amended so as to effect either a reduction in benefits or in the term for which coverage
would otherwise remain in force or for which benefits would be paid;
(4) reissued with any reduction in cash value; or
(5) pledged as collateral or subjected to borrowing, whether in a single loan or under a
schedule of borrowing over a period of time for amounts in the aggregate exceeding 25 percent of
the loan value set forth in the policy.
    Subd. 3. Conservation. "Conservation" means any attempt by the existing insurer or its
agent or broker to dissuade a policy owner or contract holder from the replacement of existing life
insurance or annuity. Conservation does not include routine administrative procedures such as late
payment reminders, late payment offers, or reinstatement offers.
    Subd. 4. Direct-response sale. "Direct-response sale" means any sale of life insurance or
annuity where the insurer does not use an agent in the sale or delivery of the policy or contract.
    Subd. 5. Existing insurer. "Existing insurer" means the insurance company whose policy or
contract is or will be changed or terminated in such a manner as described within the definition of
"replacement."
    Subd. 6. Existing life insurance or annuity. "Existing life insurance or annuity" means any
life insurance or annuity in force, including life insurance under a binding or conditional receipt
or a life insurance policy or annuity contract that is within an unconditional refund period.
    Subd. 7. Replacing insurer. "Replacing insurer" means the insurance company that issues
or proposes to issue a new policy or contract which is a replacement of existing life insurance
or annuity.
History: 1996 c 446 art 1 s 13

61A.54 EXEMPTIONS.
Unless otherwise specifically included, sections 61A.53 to 61A.60 do not apply to
transactions involving:
(1) credit life insurance;
(2) group life insurance or group annuities;
(3) an application to the existing insurer that issued the existing life insurance or annuity,
where a contractual change or a conversion privilege is being exercised;
(4) proposed life insurance that is to replace life insurance under a binding or conditional
receipt issued by the same company; or
(5) transactions where the replacing insurer and the existing insurer are the same, or are
subsidiaries or affiliates under common ownership or control; provided, however, that agents or
brokers proposing replacement shall comply with section 61A.55, subdivision 1.
History: 1996 c 446 art 1 s 14

61A.55 DUTIES OF AGENTS AND BROKERS.
    Subdivision 1. Submission to insurer. Each agent or broker who initiates the application
shall submit to the insurer to which an application for life insurance or annuity is presented,
with or as part of each application:
(1) a statement signed by the applicant as to whether replacement of existing life insurance
or annuity is involved in the transaction; and
(2) a signed statement as to whether the agent or broker knows replacement is or may be
involved in the transaction.
    Subd. 2. Replacement information. Where a replacement is involved, the agent or broker
shall:
(1) present to the applicant, not later than at the time of taking the application, a "notice
regarding replacement" in the form as described in section 61A.60, subdivision 1, or other
substantially similar form approved by the commissioner. The notice shall be fully completed and
signed by both the applicant and the agent or broker and left with the applicant. The completed
notice must list all existing life insurance and annuity to be replaced, properly identified by name
of insurer, the insured, and contract number. If a contract number has not been assigned by the
existing insurer, alternative identification, such as an application or receipt number, shall be listed;
(2) leave with the applicant the original or a copy of any written or printed communications
used for presentation to the applicant; and
(3) submit to the replacing insurer with the application a copy of the fully completed and
signed replacement notice provided under this subdivision.
    Subd. 3. Materials used to dissuade replacement. Each agent or broker who uses written
or printed communications in a conservation shall leave with the applicant the original or a
copy of the communications.
History: 1996 c 446 art 1 s 15

61A.56 DUTIES OF ALL INSURERS.
Each insurer shall:
(1) inform its field representatives or other personnel responsible for compliance with
sections 61A.53 to 61A.60 of the requirements of those sections; and
(2) require with or as a part of each completed application for life insurance or annuity a
statement signed by the applicant as to whether the proposed insurance or annuity will replace
existing life insurance or annuity.
History: 1996 c 446 art 1 s 16

61A.57 DUTIES OF INSURERS THAT USE AGENTS OR BROKERS.
Each insurer that uses an agent or broker in a life insurance or annuity sale shall:
(a) Require with or as part of each completed application for life insurance or annuity, a
statement signed by the agent or broker as to whether the agent or broker knows replacement is or
may be involved in the transaction.
(b) Where a replacement is involved:
(1) require from the agent or broker with the application for life insurance or annuity, a
copy of the fully completed and signed replacement notice provided the applicant under section
61A.55. The existing life insurance or annuity must be identified by name of insurer, insured,
and contract number. If a number has not been assigned by the existing insurer, alternative
identification, such as an application or receipt number, must be listed; and
(2) send to each existing insurer a written communication advising of the replacement or
proposed replacement and the identification information obtained under this section. This written
communication must be made within five working days of the date that the application is received
in the replacing insurer's home or regional office, or the date the proposed policy or contract is
issued, whichever is sooner.
(c) The replacing insurer shall maintain evidence of the "notice regarding replacement" and
a replacement register, cross-indexed, by replacing agent and existing insurer to be replaced.
Evidence that all requirements were met shall be maintained for at least six years.
(d) The replacing insurer shall provide in its policy or contract, or in a separate written notice
that is delivered with the policy or contract, that the applicant has a right to an unconditional
refund of all premiums paid, which right may be exercised within a period of 20 days beginning
from the date of delivery of the policy.
History: 1996 c 446 art 1 s 17

61A.58 DUTIES OF INSURERS WITH RESPECT TO DIRECT RESPONSE SALES.
(a) If in the solicitation of a direct response sale, the insurer did not propose the replacement,
and a replacement is involved, the insurer shall send to the applicant with the policy or contract a
replacement notice as described in section 61A.60, subdivision 2, or other substantially similar
form approved by the commissioner.
(b) If the insurer proposed the replacement, it shall:
(1) provide to applicants or prospective applicants with or as a part of the application a
replacement notice as described in section 61A.60, subdivision 2, or other substantially similar
form approved by the commissioner;
(2) request from the applicant with or as part of the application, a list of all existing life
insurance policies or annuity contracts to be replaced and properly identified by name of insurer
and insured; and
(3) comply with the requirements of section 61A.57, paragraph (b), clause (2), if the
applicant furnishes the names of the existing insurers, and the requirements of section 61A.57,
paragraphs (c) and (d), except that it need not index the replacement register by replacing agent.
History: 1996 c 446 art 1 s 18

61A.59 ENFORCEMENT; EFFECT OF COMPLIANCE.
(a) An agent, broker, or insurer shall not recommend the replacement or conservation of an
existing policy or contract by use of a substantially inaccurate presentation or comparison of an
existing policy's or contract's premiums and benefits or dividends and values, if any. An insurer,
agent, representative, officer, or employee of the insurer failing to comply with the requirements
of sections 61A.53 to 61A.60 is subject to such penalties as may be appropriate under this chapter.
(b) Patterns of action by policyholders or contract holders who purchase replacing policies
or contracts from the same agent or broker, after indicating on applications that replacement is
not involved, are prima facie evidence of the agent's or broker's knowledge that replacement was
intended in connection with the sale of those policies, and the patterns of action are prima facie
evidence of the agent's or broker's intent to violate sections 61A.53 to 61A.60.
(c) Sections 61A.53 to 61A.60 do not prohibit the use of additional material other than that
which is required that does not violate those sections or any other statute or rule.
(d) Compliance by an insurer, agent, or broker with sections 61A.53 to 61A.60 does not
limit any cause of action or other remedies that the insured may otherwise have against an
insurer, agent, or broker. In a proceeding in which the insured's knowledge or understanding is an
issue, compliance with those sections may be admitted as evidence on that issue, but shall not
be conclusive.
History: 1996 c 446 art 1 s 19

61A.60 REQUIRED REPLACEMENT NOTICE AND FORM.
    Subdivision 1. Notice form; agent sales. The notice required where sections 61A.53 to
61A.60 refer to this subdivision is as follows:

	IMPORTANT NOTICE
	DEFINITION		REPLACEMENT is any transaction where, in connection with the purchase of New Insurance or a New Annuity, you LAPSE, SURRENDER, CONVERT to Paid-up Insurance, Place on Extended Term, or BORROW all or part of the policy loan values on an existing insurance policy or an annuity. (See reverse side for DEFINITIONS.)
	IF YOU INTEND TO REPLACE COVERAGE		In connection with the purchase of this insurance or annuity, if you have REPLACED or intend to REPLACE your present life insurance coverage or annuity(ies), you should be certain that you understand all the relevant factors involved.
			You should BE AWARE that you may be required to provide EVIDENCE OF INSURABILITY and
			(1) If your HEALTH condition has CHANGED since the application was taken on your present policies, you may be required to pay ADDITIONAL PREMIUMS under the NEW POLICY, or be DENIED coverage.
			(2) Your present occupation or activities may not be covered or could require additional premiums.
			(3) The INCONTESTABLE and SUICIDE CLAUSE will begin anew in a new policy. This could RESULT in a CLAIM under the new policy BEING DENIED that would otherwise have been paid.
			(4) Current law MAY NOT REQUIRE your present insurer(s) to REFUND any premiums.
			(5) It is to your advantage to OBTAIN INFORMATION regarding your existing policies or annuity contracts from the insurer or agent from whom you purchased the policy or annuity contract.
			(If you are purchasing an annuity, clauses (1), (2), and (3) above would not apply to the new annuity contract.)
			THE INSURANCE OR ANNUITY I INTEND TO PURCHASE FROM ...................................... INSURANCE CO. MAY REPLACE OR ALTER EXISTING LIFE INSURANCE POLICY(IES) OR ANNUITY CONTRACT(S).
			The following policy(ies) or annuity contract(s) may be replaced as a result of this transaction:

	Insurer		Insured
	as it appears on the policy		as it appears on the policy
	or contract		or contract
	Policy or contract number		Insured birthdate

		The proposed policy or contract is:
			$
		type of policy- or contract-generic name	face amount
		signature of applicant	date
		address of applicant city	state
		I certify that this form was given to and completed by
		(applicant-please print or type)
		prior to taking an application and that I am leaving a signed copy for the applicant.
		agent's signature	date
		address
		city	state

Note important statement on reverse side

    Subd. 2. Notice form; direct response sales. The notice required where sections 61A.53 to
61A.60 refer to this subdivision is as follows:

IMPORTANT NOTICE

REQUIRED BY
MINNESOTA INSURANCE LAW

	DEFINITION		REPLACEMENT is any transaction where, in connection with the purchase of New Insurance or a New Annuity, you LAPSE, SURRENDER, CONVERT to Paid-up Insurance, Place on Extended Term, or BORROW all or part of the policy loan values on an existing insurance policy or an annuity. (See reverse side for DEFINITIONS.)
	IF YOU INTEND TO REPLACE COVERAGE		In connection with the purchase of this insurance or annuity, if you have REPLACED or intend to REPLACE your present life insurance coverage or annuity(ies), you should be certain that you understand all the relevant factors involved.
			You should BE AWARE that you may be required to provide Evidence of insurability and
			(1) If your HEALTH condition has CHANGED since the application was taken on your present policies, you may be required to pay ADDITIONAL PREMIUMS under the NEW POLICY, or be DENIED coverage.
			(2) Your present occupation or activities may not be covered or could require additional premiums.
			(3) The INCONTESTABLE and SUICIDE CLAUSE will begin anew in a new policy. This could RESULT in a CLAIM under the new policy BEING DENIED that would otherwise have been paid.
			(4) Current law DOES NOT REQUIRE your present insurer(s) to REFUND any premiums.
			(5) It may be to your advantage to OBTAIN INFORMATION regarding your existing policies or annuity contracts from the insurer or agent from whom you purchased the policy or annuity contract.
			(If an annuity is being purchased, Items (1), (2) and (3) above would not apply to the new contract.)
	CAUTION		If after studying the information made available to you, you decide to replace your existing life insurance or annuity with our policy or annuity contract, you are urged not to take action to terminate or alter your existing coverage or annuity(ies) until after you have been issued the new policy or annuity contract, examined it and found it to be acceptable to you. If you should terminate or otherwise materially alter your existing coverage or annuity(ies) and fail to qualify for the life insurance for which you have applied, you may find yourself unable to purchase other life insurance or be able to purchase it only at substantially higher rates.
	INSURER'S MAILING DATE:

    Subd. 3. Definitions. The following definitions must appear on the back of the notice forms
provided in subdivisions 1 and 2:

DEFINITIONS

PREMIUMS: Premiums are the payments you make in exchange for an insurance policy or
annuity contract. They are unlike deposits in a savings or investment program, because if you
drop the policy or contract, you might get back less than you paid in.
CASH SURRENDER VALUE: This is the amount of money you can get in cash if you
surrender your life insurance policy or annuity. If there is a policy loan, the cash surrender value
is the difference between the cash value printed in the policy and the loan value. Not all policies
have cash surrender values.
LAPSE: A life insurance policy may lapse when you do not pay the premiums within the
grace period. If you had a cash surrender value, the insurer might change your policy to as much
extended term insurance or paid-up insurance as the cash surrender value will buy. Sometimes the
policy lets the insurer borrow from the cash surrender value to pay the premiums.
SURRENDER: You surrender a life insurance policy when you either let it lapse or tell the
company you want to drop it. Whenever a policy has a cash surrender value, you can get it in cash
if you return the policy to the company with a written request. Most insurers will also let you
exchange the cash value of the policy for paid-up or extended term insurance.
CONVERT TO PAID-UP INSURANCE: This means you use your cash surrender value to
change your insurance to a paid-up policy with the same insurer. The death benefit generally will
be lower than under the old policy, but you will not have to pay any more premiums.
PLACE ON EXTENDED TERM: This means you use your cash surrender value to change
your insurance to term insurance with the same insurer. In this case, the net death benefit will be
the same as before. However, you will only be covered for a specified period of time stated in
the policy.
BORROW POLICY LOAN VALUES: If your life insurance policy has a cash surrender
value, you can almost always borrow all or part of it from the insurer. Interest will be charged
according to the terms of the policy, and if the loan with unpaid interest ever exceeds the cash
surrender value, your policy will be surrendered. If you die, the amount of the loan and any
unpaid interest due will be subtracted from the death benefits.
EVIDENCE OF INSURABILITY: This means proof that you are an acceptable risk. You
have to meet the insurer's standards regarding age, health, occupation, etc., to be eligible for
coverage.
INCONTESTABLE CLAUSE: This says that after two years, depending on the policy or
insurer, the life insurer will not resist a claim because you made a false or incomplete statement
when you applied for the policy. For the early years, though, if there are wrong answers on
the application and the insurer finds out about them, the insurer can deny a claim as if the
policy had never existed.
SUICIDE CLAUSE: This says that if you commit suicide after being insured for less than
two years, depending on the policy and insurer, your beneficiaries will receive only a refund of
the premiums that were paid.
    Subd. 4. Printing of notices. The notices in subdivisions 1 and 2 must be reproduced in
their entirety on one side of an 8-1/2 by 11 inch sheet of plain paper. The definitions contained
in subdivision 3 must be printed on the reverse side. The insurer may print its legal name in
the space provided.
History: 1996 c 446 art 1 s 20; 1999 c 177 s 35