Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-1112 — NE Code / Chapter 44 / Section 44-1112
View Statute 44-1112
Status: in_force

(1)(a) A person shall not commit a fraudulent viatical settlement act.

(b) A person shall not knowingly or intentionally interfere with the enforcement of the provisions of the Viatical Settlements Act or investigations of suspected or actual violations of the act.

(c) A person in the business of viatical settlements shall not knowingly or intentionally permit any person convicted of a felony involving dishonesty or breach of trust to participate in the business of viatical settlements.

(2)(a) Viatical settlement contracts and applications for viatical settlements, regardless of the form of transmission, shall contain the following statement or a substantially similar statement: Any person who knowingly presents false information in an application for insurance or viatical settlement contract is guilty of a crime and may be subject to fines and confinement in prison.

(b) The lack of a statement as required in this subsection does not constitute a defense in any prosecution for a fraudulent viatical settlement act.

(3)(a) Any person engaged in the business of viatical settlements having knowledge or a reasonable suspicion that a fraudulent viatical settlement act is being, will be, or has been committed shall provide to the director the information required by, and in a manner prescribed by, the director.

(b) Any other person having knowledge or a reasonable belief that a fraudulent viatical settlement act is being, will be, or has been committed may provide to the director the information required by, and in a manner prescribed by, the director.

(4)(a) No civil liability shall be imposed on and no cause of action shall arise from a person's furnishing information concerning suspected, anticipated, or completed fraudulent viatical settlement acts, if the information is provided to or received from:

(i) The director or the director's employees, agents, or representatives;

(ii) The Director of Banking and Finance or his or her employees, agents, or representatives;

(iii) Federal, state, or local law enforcement officials or their employees, agents, or representatives;

(iv) The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the National Association of Securities Dealers, or the North American Securities Administrators Association, employees, agents, or representatives of any such association, or any other regulatory body overseeing life insurance, viatical settlements, securities, or investment fraud; or

(v) The life insurer that issued the life insurance policy covering the life of the insured.

(b) This subsection does not apply to statements made with actual malice, fraudulent intent, or bad faith. In an action brought against a person for filing a report or furnishing other information concerning a fraudulent viatical settlement act, the party bringing the action shall plead specifically any allegation that this subsection does not apply because the person filing the report or furnishing the information did so with actual malice, fraudulent intent, or bad faith.

(c) A person furnishing information as identified in this subsection shall be entitled to an award of attorney's fees and costs if he or she is the prevailing party in a civil cause of action for libel, slander, or any other relevant tort arising out of activities in carrying out the provisions of the Viatical Settlements Act and the party bringing the action was not substantially justified in doing so. For purposes of this section, a proceeding is substantially justified if it had a reasonable basis in law or fact at the time it was initiated. An award granted under this subdivision shall not apply to any person furnishing information concerning his or her own fraudulent viatical settlement acts.

(d) This section does not abrogate or modify common-law or statutory privileges or immunities enjoyed by a person described in this subsection.

(5)(a) The documents and evidence provided pursuant to subsection (4) of this section or obtained by the director in an investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent viatical settlement acts shall be privileged and confidential and shall not be a public record and shall not be subject to discovery or subpoena in a civil or criminal action.

(b) This subsection does not prohibit release by the director of documents and evidence obtained in an investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent viatical settlement acts:

(i) In administrative or judicial proceedings to enforce laws administered by the director;

(ii) To federal, state, or local law enforcement or regulatory agencies, to an organization established for the purpose of detecting and preventing fraudulent viatical settlement acts, or to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; or

(iii) At the discretion of the director, to a person in the business of viatical settlements that is aggrieved by a fraudulent viatical settlement act.

(c) Release of documents and evidence under this subsection does not abrogate or modify the privilege granted in this subsection.

(6) The Viatical Settlements Act shall not:

(a) Preempt the authority or relieve the duty of other law enforcement or regulatory agencies to investigate, examine, and prosecute suspected violations of law;

(b) Prevent or prohibit a person from disclosing voluntarily information concerning viatical settlement fraud to a law enforcement or regulatory agency other than the department; or

(c) Limit the powers granted elsewhere by the laws of this state to the director or an insurance fraud unit to investigate and examine possible violations of law and to take appropriate action against wrongdoers.

(7)(a) Viatical settlement providers and viatical settlement brokers shall have in place antifraud initiatives reasonably calculated to detect, prosecute, and prevent fraudulent viatical settlement acts. At the discretion of the director, the director may order, or a licensee may request and the director may grant, such modifications of the following required initiatives as necessary to ensure an effective antifraud program. The modifications may be more or less restrictive than the required initiatives so long as the modifications may reasonably be expected to accomplish the purpose of this section.

(b) Antifraud initiatives shall include:

(i) Fraud investigators, who may be viatical settlement provider or viatical settlement broker employees or independent contractors; and

(ii) An antifraud plan submitted to the director. The antifraud plan shall include, but not be limited to:

(A) A description of the procedures for detecting and investigating possible fraudulent viatical settlement acts and procedures for resolving material inconsistencies between medical records and insurance applications;

(B) A description of the procedures for reporting possible fraudulent viatical settlement acts to the director;

(C) A description of the plan for antifraud education and training of underwriters and other personnel; and

(D) A description or chart outlining the organizational arrangement of the antifraud personnel who are responsible for the investigation and reporting of possible fraudulent viatical settlement acts and investigating unresolved material inconsistencies between medical records and insurance applications.

(c) Antifraud plans submitted to the director shall be privileged and confidential, shall not be a public record, and shall not be subject to discovery or subpoena in a civil or criminal action.

Laws 2001, LB 52, § 38;

Laws 2008, LB853, § 14.