§ 36-4037. Definitions to be delivered to applicant for replacement life insurance policy or annuity.

The following definitions shall be on a form prepared by the insurer and shall be delivered to the applicant for a replacement life insurance policy or a replacement annuity policy along with the notice and statement provided for in Sections 4035 and 4036 of the Life Insurance and Annuity Policyholders Protection Act, Sections 4031 et seq. of this title:

DEFINITIONS

Premiums:  Premiums are the payments you make on the life insurance or annuity contract.  They are unlike deposits in a savings or investment program because if you drop the policy you might get back less than you paid in.

Cash Surrender Value:  This is the amount of money you can get 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 your policy 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.  If a policy has a cash surrender value, you can receive such value in cash if you return the policy to the company with a written request.

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 but you will only be covered for a specified period of time.

Borrow Policy Loan Values:  If your life insurance policy has a cash surrender value, you can usually borrow all or part of said amount from the insurer.  Interest will be charged according to the terms of the policy, and if the loan and unpaid interest ever exceeds the cash surrender value the policy will be terminated.  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 standards of the insurer regarding age, health, occupation, and such other standards as the insurer feels necessary to be eligible for coverage.

Incontestable Clause:  This says that after one (1) or two (2) years, according to the provisions of the contract, the insurer shall not resist a claim because you made a false or incomplete statement when you applied for the policy.  During the first two (2) years if there are false or incomplete answers on the application and the insurer discovers them, the insurer can deny a claim as if the policy has never existed.

Suicide Clause:  This says that if you commit suicide after being insured for less than two (2) years, your beneficiaries will receive only a refund of the premiums that were paid.

The definitions of incontestable clause and suicide clause shall be in 12-point type.

Added by Laws 1983, c. 80, § 7, eff. Nov. 1, 1983. Amended by Laws 1984, c. 149, § 15, eff. Nov. 1, 1984.