Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-1110 — NE Code / Chapter 44 / Section 44-1110
View Statute 44-1110
Status: in_force

(1) It is a violation of the Viatical Settlements Act for any person to enter into a viatical settlement contract at any time prior to the application or issuance of a policy which is the subject of a viatical settlement contract or within a five-year period commencing on the date of issuance of the insurance policy or certificate unless the viator certifies to the viatical settlement provider that one or more of the following conditions have been met within the five-year period:

(a) The policy was issued upon the viator's exercise of conversion rights arising out of a group or individual policy if the total of the time covered under the conversion policy, plus the time covered under the group or individual policy, is at least sixty months. The time covered under the group policy shall be calculated without regard to any change in insurance carriers if the coverage has been continuous and under the same group sponsorship;

(b) The viator submits independent evidence to the viatical settlement provider that one or more of the following conditions have been met within the five-year period:

(i) The viator or insured is terminally or chronically ill;

(ii) The viator's spouse died;

(iii) The viator divorced his or her spouse;

(iv) The viator retired from full-time employment;

(v) The viator became physically or mentally disabled and a physician determined that the disability prevented the viator from maintaining full-time employment; or

(vi) A final order, judgment, or decree was entered by a court of competent jurisdiction, on the application of a creditor of the viator, adjudicating the viator bankrupt or insolvent, or approving a petition seeking reorganization of the viator or appointing a receiver, trustee, or liquidator for all or a substantial part of the viator's assets; and

(c) The viator enters into a viatical settlement contract more than two years after the date of issuance of a policy and, with respect to the policy, at all times prior to the date that is two years after policy issuance, the following conditions are met:

(i) Policy premiums have been funded exclusively with unencumbered assets, including an interest in the life insurance policy being financed only to the extent of its net cash surrender value, provided by, or fully recourse liability incurred by, the insured or a person described in subdivision (15)(c)(v) of section 44-1102 ;

(ii) There is no agreement or understanding with any other person to guarantee any such liability or to purchase or stand ready to purchase the policy, including through an assumption or forgiveness of the loan; and

(iii) Neither the insured nor the policy has been evaluated for settlement.

(2) Copies of the independent evidence described in subdivision (1)(b) of this section and documents required by subsection (1) of section 44-1109 shall be submitted to the insurer when the viatical settlement provider or other party entering into a viatical settlement contract with a viator submits a request to the insurer for verification of coverage. The copies shall be accompanied by a letter of attestation from the viatical settlement provider that the copies are true and correct copies of the documents received by the viatical settlement provider.

(3) If the viatical settlement provider submits to the insurer a copy of the owner's or insured's certification and the independent evidence described in subdivision (1)(b) of this section when the provider submits a request to the insurer to effect the transfer of the policy or certificate to the viatical settlement provider, the copy shall be deemed to conclusively establish that the viatical settlement contract satisfies the requirements of this section and the insurer shall timely respond to the request.

(4) No insurer may, as a condition of responding to a request for verification of coverage or effecting the transfer of a policy pursuant to a viatical settlement contract, require that the viator, insured, viatical settlement provider, or viatical settlement broker sign any forms, disclosures, consent, or waiver form that has not been expressly approved by the director for use in connection with viatical settlement contracts in this state.

(5) Upon receipt of a properly completed request for change of ownership or beneficiary of a policy, the insurer shall respond in writing within thirty calendar days with written acknowledgment confirming that the change has been effected or specifying the reasons why the requested change cannot be processed. The insurer shall not unreasonably delay effecting change of ownership or beneficiary and shall not otherwise seek to interfere with any viatical settlement contract lawfully entered into in this state.

Laws 2001, LB 52, § 36;

Laws 2008, LB853, § 11.