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2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 5. Organization and Procedures of Domestic Stock and Mutual Insurers › §33-5-27. Redomestication of Stock and Mutual Insurers

(a) A domestic insurer may, upon the approval of the commissioner, transfer its domicile to any other state in which it is admitted to transact the business of insurance and, upon such transfer, shall cease to be a domestic insurer and shall be admitted to this state if qualified as a foreign insurer. The commissioner shall approve the proposed transfer unless he or she determines the transfer is not in the best interest of the policyholders of this state.
(b) The certificate of authority, agents' appointments and licenses, rates and other items which the commissioner allows, in his or her discretion, that are in existence at the time an insurer licensed to transact the business of insurance in this state transfers its corporate domicile to this or any other state by merger, consolidation or any other lawful method shall continue in full force and effect upon transfer if the insurer remains duly qualified to transact the business of insurance in this state. All outstanding policies of a transferring insurer shall remain in full force and effect and need not be endorsed as to the new name of the company or its new location unless so ordered by the commissioner.
(c) A transferring insurer shall file new policy forms with the commissioner on or before the effective date of the transfer, but may use existing policy forms with appropriate endorsements if allowed by, and under such conditions as approved by, the commissioner. However, every transferring insurer shall notify the commissioner of the details of the proposed transfer and shall file promptly any resulting amendments to corporate documents filed or required to be filed with the commissioner.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 5. Organization and Procedures of Domestic Stock and Mutual Insurers › §33-5-28. Mergers and Consolidations of Mutual Insurers

(a) A domestic mutual insurer shall not merge or consolidate with a stock insurer.
(b) A domestic mutual insurer may merge or consolidate with another mutual insurer in accordance with procedures prescribed by general laws applying to corporations formed for profit, except as hereinbelow provided.
(c) The plan and agreement for merger or consolidation shall be submitted to and approved by at least two thirds of the members of each mutual insurer involved voting thereon at meetings called for the purpose pursuant to such reasonable notice and procedure as has been approved by the commissioner. If a life insurer, right to vote may be limited to members whose policies are in face amount of not less than $1,000 and have been in force one year or more.
(d) No such merger or consolidation shall be effectuated unless in advance thereof the plan and agreement therefor have been filed with and approved in writing by the commissioner. The commissioner shall give such approval within a reasonable time after such filing unless he finds such plan or agreement:
(1) Inequitable to the policyholders of any domestic insurer involved; or
(2) Would substantially reduce the security of and service to be rendered to policyholders of the domestic insurer in West Virginia or elsewhere.
If the commissioner does not approve such plan or agreement he shall so notify the insurer in writing specifying his reasons therefor.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 5. Organization and Procedures of Domestic Stock and Mutual Insurers › §33-5-29. Mutual Member's Share of Assets on Liquidation

(a) Upon any liquidation of a domestic mutual insurer, its assets remaining after discharge of its indebtedness, policy obligations, repayment of contributed or borrowed surplus, if any, and expenses of administration, shall be distributed to existing persons who were its members at any time within thirty- six months next preceding the date such liquidation was authorized or ordered, or date of last termination of the insurer's license, whichever date is the earliest.
(b) The distributive share of each such member shall be in the proportion that the aggregate premiums earned by the insurer on the policies of the member during the combined periods of his membership, bear to the aggregate of all premiums so earned on the policies of all such members. The insurer may, and a life insurer shall, make a reasonable classification of its policies so held by such members and a formula based upon such classification for determining the equitable distributive share of each such member. Such classification and formula shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 5. Organization and Procedures of Domestic Stock and Mutual Insurers › §33-5-31. Proxies, Consents and Authorizations in Respect of Any Voting Security Issued by a Domestic Insurer

(a) The commissioner may, by regulation, prescribe the form, content and manner of solicitation of any proxy, consent or authorization in respect of any voting security issued by a domestic insurer as necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the proper protection of investors in the voting securities issued by such insurer, or to insure the fair dealing in such voting securities.
(b) No person and no domestic insurer or any director, officer or employee of such insurer shall solicit or permit the use of his name to solicit, by mail or otherwise, any person to give any proxy, consent or authorization in respect of any voting security issued by such insurer in contravention of any rule or regulation the commissioner may prescribe pursuant to this section.
(c) Failure to comply with any rule or regulation of the commissioner made pursuant to this section shall be unlawful and any proxy or consent obtained in violation of this section or in contravention of any rule or regulation issued pursuant thereto shall be void. Any domestic insurer or any person (who is legally entitled to vote, consent or authorize by virtue of being the holder of record of such a voting security) or the commissioner, if any of the foregoing parties shall fail to act within fifteen days after the date on which such vote was cast or counted, may enforce compliance with the rules and regulations made pursuant to this section, by appropriate action in law or equity: Provided, That no suit shall be brought more than thirty days after the date on which such vote, consent or authorization was to have been effected.
(d) None of the provisions of this section shall apply to voting securities of a domestic insurer if such voting securities shall be registered pursuant to section twelve of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
(e) The term "voting security" as used in this section shall mean any instrument which, in law or by contract, gives the holder the right to vote, consent or authorize any corporate action of an insurer.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 5. Organization and Procedures of Domestic Stock and Mutual Insurers › §33-5-32. Principal Place of Business of Domestic Insurers

Any domestic insurer which moves or maintains its principal office or place of business outside the State of West Virginia after June 1, 1969, shall not thereafter be licensed as a domestic insurer in this state.
For purposes of this article, "principal office or place of business" means the single state in which the direction, control and coordination of the operations of the insurer as a whole are primarily exercised, with consideration being given to, but not limited to:
(1) The state in which the primary executive and administrative headquarters of the insurer is located;
(2) The state in which the principal office of the chief executive officer of the insurer is located;
(3) The state in which the assets and books and records of the insurer are located;
(4) The state in which the board of directors (or similar governing body) of the insurer conducts the majority of its meetings;
(5) The state in which the executive or management committee of the board of directors (or similar governing body) of the insurer conducts the majority of its meetings; and
(6) The state from which the management of the overall operations of the insurer is directed.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-2. Insurable Interest in One's Own Life or Life of Another; Actions to Recover Benefits; Insurable Interests Defined; Requirements for Charitable Institutions

(a) Any individual of competent legal capacity may procure or effect an insurance contract upon his own life or body for the benefit of any person. But no person shall procure or cause to be procured any insurance contract upon the life or body of another individual unless the benefits under such contract are payable to the individual insured or his personal representative or to a person having, at the time when such contract was made, an insurable interest in the individual insured.
(b) If the beneficiary, assignee, or other payee under any contract made in violation of this section receives from the insurer any benefits thereunder accruing upon the death, disablement, or injury of the individual insured, the individual insured or his executor or administrator, as the case may be, may maintain an action to recover such benefits from the person so receiving them.
(c) "Insurable interest" with reference to personal insurance includes only interests as follows:
(1) In the case of individuals related closely by blood or by law, a substantial interest engendered by love and affection.
(2) In the case of other persons, a lawful and substantial economic interest in having the life, health, or bodily safety of the individual insured continue, as distinguished from an interest which would arise only by, or would be enhanced in value by, the death, disablement or injury of the individual insured.
(3) An individual heretofore or hereafter party to a contract or option for the purchase or sale of an interest in a business partnership or firm, or of shares of stock of a closed corporation or of an interest in such shares, has an insurable interest in the life of each individual party to such contract and for the purposes of such contract only, in addition to any insurable interest which may otherwise exist as to the life of such individual.
(4) A charitable institution as defined under Sections 501(c)(3), 501(c)(6), 501(c)(8) and 501(c)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-3. Insurable Interest in Property

(a) No insurance contract on property or of any interest therein or arising therefrom shall be enforceable as to the insurance except for the benefit of persons having an insurable interest in the things insured.
(b) "Insurable interest" as used in this section means any actual, lawful, and substantial economic interest in the safety or preservation of the subject of the insurance free from loss, destruction, or pecuniary damage or impairment.
(c) The measure of an insurable interest in property is the extent to which the insured might be damnified by loss, injury, or impairment thereof.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-4. Who May Contract for Insurance; Competency of Minors

(a) Any person of competent legal capacity may contract for insurance.
(b) A minor not less than fifteen years of age as at nearest birthday, may notwithstanding such minority, contract for life or accident and sickness insurance on his own life or body, for his own benefit or for the benefit of his father or mother, spouse, child, brother, sister or grandparents. Such a minor shall, notwithstanding such minority, be deemed competent to exercise all rights and powers with respect to or under any contract of life or accident and sickness on his own life or body, as though of full legal age, and may surrender his interest therein and give a valid discharge for any benefit accruing or money payable thereunder. The minor shall not, by reason of his minority, be entitled to rescind, avoid or repudiate the contract, nor to rescind, avoid or repudiate any exercise of a right or privilege thereunder, except that such minor, not otherwise emancipated, shall not be bound by any unperformed agreement to pay, by promissory note or otherwise, any premium on any such insurance contract.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-5. Application or Consent of Person Insured Required; Exceptions

No life or accident and sickness insurance contract upon an individual, except a contract of group life insurance or of group accident and sickness insurance, shall be made unless at the time of the making of the contract the individual insured, being of competent legal capacity to contract, applies therefor or consents thereto, except in the following cases:
(a) A spouse may procure such insurance upon the other spouse.
(b) Any person having an insurable interest in the life of a minor, or any person upon whom a minor is dependent for support and maintenance, may procure insurance upon the life of or pertaining to such minor.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-6. Application for Insurance as Evidence

(a) No application for the issuance of any life or accident and sickness insurance policy or contract shall be admissible in evidence in any action relative to such policy or contract, unless a true copy of the application was attached to or otherwise made a part of the policy when issued. This paragraph shall not apply to industrial life insurance policies.
(b) If any policy of life or accident and sickness insurance delivered in this state is reinstated or renewed, and the insured or the beneficiary or assignee of the policy makes written request, together with in the case of a beneficiary evidence of the beneficiary's vested interest in the policy, to the insurer for a copy of the application, if any, for such reinstatement or renewal, the insurer shall, within thirty days after receipt of such request at its home office or at any of its branch offices, deliver or mail to the person making such request a copy of such application. If such copy is not so delivered or mailed after having been so requested, the insurer shall be precluded from introducing the application in evidence in any action or proceeding based upon or involving the policy or its reinstatement or renewal.
(c) As to kinds of insurance other than life and accident and sickness insurance, no application for insurance signed by or on behalf of the insured shall be admissible in evidence in any action between the insured and the insurer arising out of the policy so applied for, if the insurer has failed, at expiration of thirty days after receipt by the insurer of written demand therefor by or on behalf of the insured, to furnish to the insured a copy of such application reproduced by any legible means.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-7. Representations in Applications

All statements and descriptions in any application for an insurance policy or in negotiations therefor, by or in behalf of the insured, shall be deemed to be representations and not warranties. Misrepresentations, omissions, concealments of facts, and incorrect statements shall not prevent a recovery under the policy unless:
(a) Fraudulent; or
(b) Material either to the acceptance of the risk, or to the hazard assumed by the insurer; or
(c) The insurer in good faith would either not have issued the policy, or would not have issued a policy in as large an amount, or would not have provided coverage with respect to the hazard resulting in the loss, if the true facts had been made known to the insurer as required either by the application for the policy or otherwise.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-9. Grounds for Disapproval of Forms

The commissioner shall disapprove any such form of policy, application, rider, or endorsement or withdraw any previous approval thereof:
(a) If it is in any respect in violation of or does not comply with this chapter.
(b) If it contains or incorporates by reference any inconsistent, ambiguous, or misleading clauses, or exceptions and conditions which deceptively affect the risk purported to be assumed in the general coverage of the contract.
(c) If it has any title, heading, or other indication of its provisions which is misleading.
(d) If the purchase of such policy is being solicited by deceptive advertising.
(e) If the benefits provided therein are unreasonable in relation to the premium charged.
(f) If the coverages provided therein are not sufficiently broad to be in the public interest.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-10. Standard Provisions

(a) Insurance contracts shall contain such standard provisions as are required by the applicable provisions of this chapter pertaining to contracts of particular kinds of insurance. The commissioner may waive the required use of a particular standard provision in a particular insurance policy form, if he finds such provision unnecessary for the protection of the insured and inconsistent with the purposes of the policy, and the policy is otherwise approved by him
(b) No policy shall contain any provision inconsistent with or contradictory to any standard provision used or required to be used, but the commissioner may approve any substitute provision which is, in his opinion, not less favorable in any particular to the insured or beneficiary than the standard provisions or optional standard provisions, otherwise required. This section shall not apply to the standard fire insurance policy.
(c) On or after October 1, 1996, the insurer shall provide to all prospective purchasers of individual life insurance policies with a face value of $25,000 or less a notice upon a form prescribed by the commissioner to such prospective policyholder that the total premiums paid by the purchaser at some point in the future may exceed the death benefit. For purposes of calculating whether or at what point premiums paid by the policyholder will exceed the death benefit, the insurer shall use the annual premium for the life insurance death benefit. All other costs, including, but not limited to, costs for benefits provided pursuant to a policy rider, and costs associated with the exercise of any option permitted by the policy, shall be excluded from the calculation. This notice shall be provided at the time of delivery of the policy. This subsection does not apply to mass market life insurance products as defined in section thirty-five of this article, to life insurance policies used exclusively to fund preneed burial contracts under article fourteen, chapter forty-seven of this code or to life insurance policies for which the total premiums paid by the purchaser will not at any time exceed the death benefit.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-11. Contents of Policy

Every policy, except surety and group policies, shall specify the names of the parties to the contract, the insurer's name, the subject of the insurance, the risks insured against, the time the insurance coverage becomes effective and the term during which such coverage continues, the premium (or if the exact amount of premium is determinable only at stated intervals or termination, a statement of the basis and rates upon which the premium is to be determined), and the conditions pertaining to the insurance.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-11a. Right to Return Medicare Supplement Policy, Certificate or Contract

Medicare supplement or limited benefit Medicare supplement policies, certificates or contracts (as such terms are defined by regulations issued by the commissioner) issued to persons eligible for Medicare by reason of age, other than those issued pursuant to direct response solicitation, shall have a notice prominently printed on the first page of the policy, certificate or contract, attached thereto stating in substance that the insured person shall have the right to return the policy, and to have the premium refunded if, after examination of the policy, certificate or contract, the insured person is not satisfied for any reason. Policies, certificates or contracts issued pursuant to a direct response solicitation to persons eligible for Medicare by reason of age shall have a notice prominently printed on the first page or attached thereto, stating in substance that the policyholder, certificate holder or contract holder shall have the right to return the policy, certificate or contract within thirty days of its delivery and to have the premium refunded if after examination the insured person is not satisfied for any reason.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-11b. Right to Return Life or Accident and Sickness Insurance Policy, Certificate or Contract

All life or sickness and accident insurance policies, certificates or contracts issued to persons in this state shall have a notice prominently printed on the first page of the policy, certificate or contract stating in substance that the insured person or person obtaining the policy shall have the right to return the policy, certificate or contract within ten days of its receipt and to have the premium refunded if, after examination of the policy, certificate or contract, the person obtaining the insurance is not satisfied for any reason: Provided, That this section does not apply to group annuity policies, contracts or certificates issued in connection with a pension or profit-sharing plan qualified or exempt under sections 401, 403, 408, 457 or 501 of the Internal Revenue Code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-12. Additional Contents of Policy

A policy may contain additional provisions not inconsistent with this chapter and which are:
(a) Required to be inserted by the laws of the insurer's domicile;
(b) Necessary, because of the manner in which the insurer is constituted or operated, in order to state the rights and obligations of the parties; or
(c) Desired by the insurer and not prohibited by law nor in conflict with any provisions required to be included therein and which are considered reasonable and just.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-13. Policy Provisions as to Charter, Bylaws, or Other Documents

No policy shall contain any provision purporting to make any portion of the charter, bylaws or other constituent document of the insurer a part of the contract unless such portion is set forth in full in the policy. Any policy provision in violation of this section shall be invalid. This section shall not apply to the subscriber's agreement or power of attorney of a reciprocal insurer.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-14. Certain Policy Conditions, etc., Voided

No policy delivered or issued for delivery in West Virginia and covering a subject of insurance resident, located, or to be performed in West Virginia, shall contain any condition, stipulation or agreement requiring such policy to be construed according to the laws of any other state or country, except as necessary to meet the requirements of the motor vehicle financial responsibility laws or compulsory disability benefit laws of such other state or country, or preventing the bringing of an action against any such insurer for more than six months after the cause of action accrues, or limiting the time within which an action may be brought to a period of less than two years from the time the cause of action accrues in connection with all insurances other than marine insurances; in marine policies such time shall not be limited to less than one year from the date of occurrence of the event resulting in the loss. Any such condition, stipulation or agreement shall be void, but such voidance shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of the policy. This section shall not apply to the standard fire insurance policy.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-14a. Public Liability Insurance Policies Issued to Charitable Associations to Contain Provision for Waiving of Charitable Immunity Defense

Any policy or contract of public liability insurance providing coverage for public liability sold, issued, or delivered in this state to any religious or charitable corporation or association, either directly or to the trustees of such associations, shall be read so as to contain a provision of endorsement whereby the company issuing such policy waives, or agrees not to assert as a defense, on behalf of the policyholder or any beneficiary thereof, to any claim covered by the terms of such policy within the policy limits, the immunity from liability of the insured by reason of such insured's charitable status, unless such provision or endorsement is rejected in writing by the named insured.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-15. Execution of Policies

Every insurance policy shall be executed in the name of and on behalf of the insurer by its officer, attorney-in-fact, employee, or representative duly authorized by the insurer. A facsimile signature of any such executing individual may be used in lieu of an original signature, except that in all policies other than those approved for machine vending the countersignature shall be in original handwriting. No insurance contract heretofore or hereafter issued and which is otherwise valid shall be rendered invalid by reason of the apparent execution thereof on behalf of the insurer by the imprinted facsimile signature of an individual not authorized so to execute as of the date of the policy.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-15a. Notation of Consumer Cost Savings

Each policy issued following enactment of this provision during the two thousand five regular session, during the year following the effective date, shall display in a prominent location on the policy itself or on an insert included with each policy and provided to each policyholder, statements as following:
(1) "YOUR COSTS FOR THIS POLICY (HAVE/HAVE NOT) BEEN REDUCED BY (insert savings amount here) BECAUSE OF CIVIL JUSTICE REFORMS ENACTED BY THE WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE IN 2005 AND SIGNED INTO LAW BY THE GOVERNOR"; and
(2) "YOUR COST FOR THIS POLICY HAS BEEN REDUCED BY (insert savings amount here) BECAUSE OF PREMIUM SURCHARGE REDUCTIONS ENACTED BY THE WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE IN 2005 AND SIGNED INTO LAW BY THE GOVERNOR".
If the insurer did not offer the type of insurance provided by the policy in two thousand four, the requirement for these statements do not apply.
This section was amended twice.
This version passed subsequent to the additional enactment.
§33-6-15a. Notation of consumer cost savings.
Each policy issued following enactment of this provision during the two thousand five regular session, during the year following the effective date, shall display in a prominent location on the policy itself or on an insert included with each policy and provided to each policyholder, statements as following:
(1) "YOUR COSTS FOR THIS POLICY (HAVE/HAVE NOT) BEEN REDUCED BY (insert savings amount here) BECAUSE OF INSURANCE LAW REFORMS ENACTED BY THE WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE IN 2005 AND SIGNED INTO LAW BY THE GOVERNOR".
If the insurer did not offer the type of insurance provided by the policy in two thousand four, the requirement for these statements do not apply.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-16. Underwriters' and Combination Policies

(a) Two or more licensed insurers may jointly issue, and shall be jointly and severally liable on, an underwriters' policy bearing their names. Any one insurer may issue policies in the name of an underwriter's department and such policy shall plainly show the true name of the insurer.
(b) Two or more insurers may, with the approval of the commissioner, issue a combination policy which shall contain provisions substantially as follows:
(1) That the insurers executing the policy shall be severally liable for the full amount of any loss or damage, according to the terms of the policy, or for specified percentages or amounts thereof, aggregating the full amount of insurance under the policy, and
(2) That service of process, or of any notice or proof of loss required by such policy, upon any of the insurers executing the policy, shall constitute service upon all such insurers.
(c) This section shall not apply to cosurety obligations.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-17. Validity of Noncomplying Forms

Any insurance policy, rider, or endorsement hereafter issued and otherwise valid which contains any condition or provision not in compliance with the requirements of this chapter, shall not be thereby rendered invalid but shall be construed and applied in accordance with such conditions and provisions as would have applied had such policy, rider, or endorsement been in full compliance with this chapter.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-18. Binders

(a) Binders or other contracts for temporary insurance may be made orally or in writing, and shall be deemed to include all the usual terms of the policy as to which the binder was given together with such applicable endorsements as are designated in the binder, except as superseded by the clear and express terms of the binder.
(b) No binder shall be valid beyond the issuance of the policy with respect to which it was given, and no agent or insurer shall issue a binder covering a period in excess of ninety days from its effective date.
(c) If the policy has not been issued a binder may be extended or renewed beyond such ninety days with the written approval of the commissioner, or in accordance with such rules and regulations relative thereto as the commissioner may promulgate.
(d) This section shall not apply to conditional receipts issued by life and accident and sickness insurers, nor to policies of group insurance.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-19. Renewal of Policy by Certificate or Endorsement

Any insurance policy terminating by its terms at a specified expiration date and not otherwise renewable, may be renewed or extended at the option of the insurer and upon a currently authorized policy form and at the premium rate then required therefor for a specific additional period or periods by certificate or by endorsement of the policy, and without requiring the issuance of a new policy when such certificate and its use for such purpose have been approved by the commissioner.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-20. Assignment of Policies

Whenever the insured in a policy owned by him has reserved to himself the right to change the beneficiary thereunder, the insured shall have the right to and may assign said policy to the extent permitted by the terms thereof as collateral security for a loan or loans, or for any other purpose without any beneficiary thereunder joining therein or assenting thereto, and such assignment shall subordinate the rights and interests of any beneficiary in the proceeds of the policy to the rights and interests of the assignee as created and defined by such assignment.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-21. Annulment of Liability Policies

No insurance policy insuring against loss or damage through legal liability for the bodily injury or death by accident of any individual, or for damage to the property of any person, shall be retroactively annulled by any agreement between the insurer and the insured after the occurrence of any such injury, death, or damage for which the insured may be liable, and any such attempted annulment shall be void.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-22. Payment Discharges Insurer

Whenever the proceeds of or payments under a life or accident and sickness policy or annuity contract heretofore or hereafter issued become payable in accordance with the terms of such policy or contract, or the exercise of any right or privilege thereunder, and the insurer makes payment thereof in accordance with the terms of the policy or contract or in accordance with any written assignment thereof, the person then designated in the policy or contract or by such assignment as being entitled thereto shall be entitled to receive such proceeds or payments and to give full release therefor, and such payments shall fully discharge the insurer from all claims under the policy or contract unless, before payment is made, the insurer has received at its home office written notice by or on behalf of some other person that such other person claims to be entitled to such payment or some interest in the policy or contract.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-24. Simultaneous Deaths

Where the individual insured or the annuitant and the beneficiary designated in a life policy or policy insuring against accidental death or in an annuity contract have died and there is not sufficient evidence that they have died otherwise than simultaneously, the proceeds of the policy or contract shall be distributed as if the insured or annuitant had survived the beneficiary, unless otherwise specifically provided in the policy or contract.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-26. Acts of Insurer Not Constituting Waiver of Policy Provisions or Defenses Thereunder

Without limitation of any right or defense of an insurer otherwise, none of the following acts by or on behalf of an insurer shall be deemed to constitute a waiver of any provision of a policy or of any defense of the insurer thereunder:
(a) Acknowledgment of the receipt of notice of loss or claim under the policy.
(b) Furnishing forms for reporting a loss or claim, for giving information relative thereto, or for making proof of loss, or receiving or acknowledging receipt of any such forms or proofs completed or uncompleted.
(c) Investigating any loss or claim under any policy or engaging in negotiations looking toward a possible settlement of any such loss or claim.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-27. Life Insurance Proceeds Exempt From Creditors

(a) If a policy of insurance, whether heretofore or hereafter issued, is effected by any person on his own life or on another life, in favor of a person other than himself or, except in cases of transfer with intent to defraud creditors, if a policy of life insurance is assigned or in any way made payable to any such person, the lawful beneficiary or assignee thereof, other than the insured or the person so effecting such insurance or executors or administrators of such insured or the person so effecting such insurance, shall be entitled to its proceeds and avails against the creditors and representatives of the insured and of the person effecting the same, whether or not the right to change the beneficiary is reserved or permitted, and whether or not the policy is made payable to the person whose life is insured if the beneficiary or assignee shall predecease such person.
(b) Subject to the statute of limitations, the amount of any premiums for such insurance paid in fraud of creditors, with interest thereon, shall inure to their benefit from the proceeds of the policy, but the insurer issuing the policy shall be discharged of all liability thereon by payment of the proceeds in accordance with its terms, unless before such payment the insurer received written notice by or in behalf of some creditor, with specification of the amount claimed, claiming to recover for certain premiums paid in fraud of creditors.
(c) For the purposes of paragraph (a), above, a policy shall also be deemed to be payable to a person other than the insured if and to the extent that a facility-of-payment clause or similar clause in the policy permits the insurer to discharge its obligations after the death of the individual insured by paying the death benefits to a person as permitted by such clause.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-28. Group Life Insurance Proceeds Exempt From Creditors

(a) A policy of group life insurance or the proceeds thereof payable to the individual insured or to the beneficiary thereunder, shall not be liable, either before or after payment, to be applied by any legal or equitable process to pay any liability of any person having a right under the policy.
(b) This section shall not apply to group life insurance issued to a creditor covering his debtors, to the extent that such proceeds are applied to payment of the obligation for the purpose for which the insurance was so issued.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-31b. Nondiscriminatory Automobile Insurance Rates for Handicapped Persons

No insurer, in determining rates to be charged for a policy or contract of bodily injury liability insurance or of property damage liability insurance, covering liability arising from the ownership, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle, may discriminate in any manner on the basis of an insured's or potential insured's physical handicap.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-31g. Electronic Insurance Verification Program; Insurer's Duty to Cooperate

(a) If the Division of Motor Vehicles establishes an electronic insurance verification program in accordance with the provisions of section six-a, article two-a, chapter seventeen-d of this code, any insurance company that issues or delivers in this state a policy or contract of bodily injury liability insurance or of property damage liability insurance covering liability arising from the ownership, maintenance or use of any motor vehicle, or upon any motor vehicle for which a certificate of title has been issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles of this state, shall comply with the requirements of the program.
(b) The insurance commissioner may propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code as necessary to implement the provisions of this section, and may initially promulgate emergency rules pursuant to the provisions of section fifteen, article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. Such rules may prescribe penalties, including fines and other administrative sanctions, that may be imposed by the commissioner for a company's failure to comply with requirements of the electronic insurance verification program.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-31h. Excluded Drivers; Definitions; Legislative Findings; Restrictive Endorsements

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) A "motor vehicle liability policy" means an "owner's policy" or an "operator's policy" of liability insurance certified as provided in section twelve, article four, chapter seventeen-d of this code.
(2) "Excluded driver" means any driver specifically excluded from coverage under section thirty- one, article six, chapter thirty-three of this code.
(3) "Minimum financial responsibility limits" means those limits defined in section two, article four, chapter seventeen-d of this code.
(b) The Legislature finds that:
(1) The explicit, plain language of a motor vehicle liability policy between an insurer and its insureds should control its effect;
(2) Where insurers are required by the common law to provide minimum financial responsibility limits coverage for excluded drivers, consumers not excluded by restrictive endorsement are negatively impacted;
(3) The decision of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia in Jones v. Motorists Mutual Insurance Company, 177 W. Va. 763 (1987) interpreted chapter seventeen-d of this code to require insurers to provide minimum financial responsibility limits of coverage to excluded drivers; and
(4) It is not the intent of the legislature to require insurers to provide minimum financial responsibility limits of coverage to excluded drivers.
(c) When any person is specifically excluded from coverage under the provisions of a motor vehicle liability policy by any restrictive endorsement to the policy, the insurer is not required to provide any coverage, including both the duty to indemnify and the duty to defend, for damages arising out of the operation, maintenance or use of any motor vehicle by the excluded driver, notwithstanding the provisions of chapter seventeen-d of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-32. Newly Born Children to Be Covered by All Health Insurance Policies

All individual and group health insurance policies providing coverage on an expense incurred basis and individual and group service or indemnity type contracts issued by a nonprofit corporation which provide coverage for a family member of the insured or subscriber shall, as to such family members' coverage, also provide that the health insurance benefits applicable for children shall be payable with respect to a newly born child of the insured or subscriber from the moment of birth.
The coverage for newly born children shall consist of coverage of injury or sickness including the necessary care and treatment of medically diagnosed congenital defects and birth abnormalities.
If payment of a specific premium or subscription fee is required to provide coverage for a child, the policy or contract may require that notification of birth of a newly born child and payment of the required premium or fees must be furnished to the insurer or nonprofit service or indemnity corporation within thirty-one days after the date of birth in order to have the coverage continue beyond such thirty-one day period.
The requirements of this section shall apply to all insurance policies and subscriber contracts now existing or hereafter delivered or issued for delivery in this state.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-33. Valuation of Motor Vehicle Involved in Claim

Insurance companies doing business in this state shall use the most recent version of an "official used car guide" approved by the Insurance Commissioner as a guide for setting the minimum value of any motor vehicle involved in a claim settlement arising from the total loss of a motor vehicle. In addition to any cash settlement value so agreed to by the claimant, there shall be added an amount equal to the consumers sales tax set forth in §11-15-3c (b) of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-34. Fee for Form, Rate, and Rule Filing

(a) As used in this section, "filing" means any form filing made pursuant to 33-6-8 of this code or any rule or rate filing made pursuant to this chapter.
(b) A fee of $100 shall be submitted with each filing for each insurer, irrespective of the number of forms, rules, or rates included within or affected by the filing. If a filing is made on behalf of more than one insurer, other than a filing made by a rating organization licensed by the commissioner, the applicable fee shall be $100 multiplied by the number of insurers on whose behalf the filing is made. Fees submitted pursuant to this section may not be refunded, and a resubmission of a filing previously disapproved by the commissioner shall be considered a new filing for the purposes of the filing fee. Any request by the commissioner for additional information pertaining to a form filing shall not be considered a new filing for purposes of the filing fee. All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be used for the operation of the offices of the Insurance Commissioner.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-35. Mass Marketed Life and Health Insurance

(a) No mass marketed life or health insurance including mass marketed life or health insurance under a group or blanket policy issued outside this state to residents of this state, shall be effected on persons in this state until the commissioner finds that the total charges for the insurance to the persons insured are reasonable in relation to the benefits provided.
(1) "Direct response solicitation" means any offer by an insurer to persons in this state, either directly or through a third party, to effect life or health insurance coverage which enables the individual to apply or enroll for the insurance on the basis of the offer. It shall not include solicitations for insurance through an employee benefit plan which is defined in P.L. 90-406, 88 Stat. 829, nor shall it include such a solicitation through the individual's creditor with respect to credit life or credit health insurance.
(2) "Mass marketed life or health insurance" for purposes of this article, means the insurance under any individual, franchise, group or blanket policy of life or health insurance which is offered by means of direct response solicitation through a sponsoring organization or through mails or other mass communications media and under which the person insured pays all or substantially all of the cost of his or her insurance.
(b) Any insurer extending mass marketed life or health insurance under a group or blanket policy issued outside this state to residents of this state shall comply with respect to such insurance with the requirements of this state relating to advertising and to claim settlement practices.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 33. Insurance › Article 6. The Insurance Policy › §33-6-36. Continuation of Coverage Under Automobile Liability Policy; Selection of Coverage; Exclusions; Notice

(a) In the event of death, legal separation or termination of the marital relationship of the named insured, the named insured or spouse covered by a motor vehicle liability policy for a period of two or more years shall, upon request of the named insured or spouse within thirty days of the expiration of said policy, be issued his or her own individual motor vehicle liability insurance policy providing the same coverage as the original policy through the same insurer, without any lapse in coverage: Provided, That any such named insured or spouse may elect to increase or decrease the amount of coverage in his or her respective policies without affecting any privilege provided by this section. Any named insured or spouse requesting an individual policy pursuant to this section shall be entitled to the continuation of all rights and privileges afforded by section one-a and section four of article six-a of this chapter which were accrued under the original policy: Provided, however, That this section shall not apply to any motor vehicle liability insurance policy canceled, nonrenewed or terminated pursuant to the provisions of section one or section four, article six-a of this chapter.
(b) Insurers shall notify all named insureds at policy issuance or the first renewal after the effective date of this section and upon any change or termination of the policy for reasons other than those provided in sections one and four of article six-a of this chapter of the right of the named insured or spouse to continue coverage as provided by this section.
(c) The commissioner shall promulgate rules in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code regarding the form of such notice and procedures required by this section.